New year recipes

New Year's paella with saffron rice, chicken, chorizo, shrimp, mussels, squid, and rockfish. A show-stopping Spanish feast cooked in one pan and served straight to the table.

Good luck New Year's soup: a hearty mix of black-eyed peas, lentils, and beans simmered low with smoky ham, tomato, and garlic until thick. The legume-packed pot that's said to bring prosperity in the new year.

A Bloody Mary in a bowl: smooth tomato soup with celery, horseradish, Worcestershire, and lime, spiked with vodka stirred in off the heat. The savory, boozy New Year's Day hair-of-the-dog, served warm in mugs.

Really wonderful flavor on this pizza. Light and fresh tasting. I had never used Fontina cheese before, and it was excellent. This pizza was incredible, and I didn't change a thing.

Spanish pan con tomate with Serrano ham slow-roasts plum tomatoes for a sweet, garlicky spread piled onto toasted baguette and topped with thin slices of jamón. A classic tapas party platter.

Hopping John simmers long-grain rice with smoky bacon, sweet onions, beans, and Ro-Tel tomatoes for the classic Southern New Year's good-luck dish. One pot, simple ingredients, big flavor.

Classic Tex-Mex chili has never failed me and my family. We have been making this chili for years, and have also tried plenty of other chili recipes. This is one of a few all-time-loved recipes by us.