Freely Interpreted Hoppin' John

So I am making a New Year's picnic to eat after our hike, and am faced with wrapping up every food tradition not yet observed this season:  mince pie, black-eyed peas for good luck in the new year, and Grandma's meatloaf which is mandatory at picnics.

I contemplated the mince pie recipe and something inside me (probably the place where my gall bladder used to be) told me that it just wasn't right to use the entire cup of fat required to make a two-crust pie.  I opted for a fruit cobbler made with mince filling, with my usual additions of a chopped apple, more raisins, and some whiskey.  That bourbon bottle looks bad on the kitchen counter at 10 a.m.

For the Hoppin' John Salad I used my Succotash Salad recipe, substituting a can of black-eyed peas for the lima beans.  Some cubed ham would be nice in this, but we've already got meatloaf.

The menu, for the record:

Brie
Green Grapes
Bread
Meatloaf
Hoppin' John Salad
Mincemeat Cobbler with Ice Cream