Tag Archives: Christmas

The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen

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Cider-Braised Turkey Thighs

I first heard about the Sioux Chef about a year ago when I started following the Standing Rock posts in social media. For me, it’s been an awakening experience- seeing the world through the perception of the Indigenous Peoples of America. After following Standing Rock and the Tribes from North Dakota, I started seeing other Indigenous People from around the world differently. That missing element, the mysteries of the world’s peoples became clearer than I’ve ever known. I’ve always been drawn to different cuisines, native garments, languages, and travel- but for some odd reason I must confess, I’ve never liked American culture. America seemed to lack culture, despite it’s 200-year old history. It needed something beyond the surface.

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Sage and Rose-Hip Roasted Duck; Maple-Sage Roasted Vegetables; Wild Rice Pilaf with Wild Mushrooms, Roasted Chestnuts, and Dried Cranberries; Cranberry Sauce.

I’ve been rebellious against everything I’ve been taught for a reason- something was awfully wrong with the big picture. I finally found that missing element last year when I learned Thanksgiving is actually a celebratory feast of ransacking Native villages. It used to be celebrated all the time, throughout the entire year until Abraham Lincoln dismissed all the little Thanksgivings and turned it into a national holiday. I haven’t looked back since discovering this little secret and can’t help not getting as excited about Thanksgiving anymore. Instead, I prefer to celebrate the beauty of the Native cultures which brings me to introduce to you, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen cookbook authored by Sean Sherman with Beth Dooley. Some of the ingredients were hard for me to source, so I remained to cooking the recipes with ingredients that are easier to find in my neck of the woods- Northern New Jersey. To my amazement, the recipes were easy, simple, and utilized a lot of the vegetables I’ve always used, except everything had an earthiness I haven’t sensed before. I can’t even begin to describe it- you can’t write it into words, it’s something you just sense. I recreated a Thanksgiving meal with a fresh killed duck ordered from Gofle Road Poultry Farm. The spices used include Juniper and Sage. Instead of cooking the traditional Colonial American Sweet Potatoes or Mashed Potatoes recipe, I made Wild Rice Pilaf. Here is where I started to recognize the Indigenous flavors of wilderness and fresh cranberries. The cranberry sauce from the cans and bottles seem rather profane compared to the fresh and natural hunters and gatherers version.

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Amaranth Crackers and a Bean dip I developed and made to accompany it.

At one point during this week long cookbook review process- I ventured outdoors to a nearby recreational park looking for acorns but to no luck, I was confronted by hissing squirrels and no acorn supply. I had amaranth in my pantry forever and never knew what to make with it. Here it is cooked (boiled) and then baked off in the oven for about an hour. The end result is a wholegrain cracker like you’ve never had before. I am seeing where the marriage of different cultures stems from after reading and cooking off some of these recipes. I envisioned the Indigenous tribes sharing the three sisters with the Colonists and enslaved Africans. I see the influence in Southern Cuisine, in Mexican cuisine, and throughout Latin American cuisines. It was an absolute delight to see the source of our cultural history and I can’t wait to discover more recipes in the future! You won’t find butter or cattle or even chicken recipes. You’ll find recipes based on the plants and animals that are Indigenous to America, just as they were before the mass immigration wave from Europe began. This cookbook will help you connect to where you’re living if you are here like I am, looking to find new ways of rediscovering your surroundings. For me this cookbook means more than a recipe collection. It’s a piece of America we’ve been longing for and missing. I’ve never felt more American than I do right now, embracing this Indigenous food with the native plants and wildlife that nourishes our bodies.

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Summer’s Vegetable Soup with Wild Greens

The Sioux Chef is cooking off an Indigenous Feast at the Sioux Chef at James Beard House on October 27th. Tickets cost $135 for members and $170 for the general public. You can get a copy of the Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen cookbook via Amazon here.

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Filed under Cookbook Reviews, Dinners at the James Beard House 2017, Recipes, Restaurants, Special Events, Spirit Cooking, Uncategorized

How to Gear Up for the Holidays

Let the festivities begin and Happy Holidays to you! If you’re not feeling festive yet- may I entice you in gearing up for the upcoming month of December? You don’t have to be religious to celebrate Christmas, after all it’s based on a pagan Nordic tradition from the folklore elves to the festive drinks.

Nothing better than celebrating the darkest days of the year with some lights, fairy dust, and gift giving and I can’t think of a better reason to throw another big festive food shindig…can you? I did pretty good this year and got a Canadian Fraser Fir the day after Thanksgiving. Nothing beats a black Friday Christmas tree deal, over six feet tall for under thirty bucks.

I decided to turn myself into the anti-Scrooge this year. Normally I’ld cringe and hiss before family members manage to get me into the holiday mood- occurring sometime towards Christmas Day (the day before to be exact). I just always believed religion and obsessive spending/ indulging in food, drink, and buying excessive unnecessary stuff was just unnecessary and therefore a bit sinful.

But there’s nothing wrong with celebrating the darkest days with lots of light, elves, festive food and drink to warm your soul. Since that’s a strictly unreligious practice- I’m glad to announce I’ve been converted, yay! To gear up for the holidays I’ve managed to prepare: 

1. Christmas tree decorated by the kids. All I had to do was drive them there, let the kids pick their tree and pay (cash only) the man who tied the tree to my car. Don’t forget to tip the person who carries the tree to your car. They work under extreme conditions standing outdoors all day long, often times till midnight- encountering festive little brats with their parents pick out a tree several hundred times a day yet always manage to cheer a smile for you when you’re there buying your pick of the forest.
2. I prepared 15 gallons liters of kimchi for my annual kimchi giveaway. This practice wasn’t inspired merely for the holidays, it just so happens to be cabbage season and kimchi making practices normally occur at this time of the year. So why not get some brownie points for sharing with my beloved friends and family? I tried it last year and got a bunch of hoorays and they’ve been waiting all year to get some more…so here it is!
3. The first kimchi takers of 2012. The Insatiable-Critic Gael Greene was the first person I handed a jar to (not pictured since I promised not to publish the photo- can I publish it later Gael? How about if I drew a nice hat into the photo?)
4. I have to give some kudos to the Red Farm Chef Joe Ng pictured above, who managed to make some amazing little sculptures out of Dim Sum dough. We’re planning on taking some Dim Sum classes hopefully very soon. Kimchi for Dim Sum lessons, not a bad barter eh?
5. I decided to go for it and build the candy covered edible Christmas tree this year for the kids (shhhh- they don’t know about it yet)….
6. For inspiration, I dug up this old (very bad hair day photo) of a peacock I sculpted using edible foodstuffs. The armature was made of rabbit carcass and a roasted turkey breast before I laid a vinegar based dough over it and fire torched the thing, then molding it to look like this. It originally sat on top of aspic neatly decorated with flower petal designs before somebody decided to move my piece in the walk in and I discovered an ugly pile of liquid crapped on my perfectly ruined aspic the following day. Thanks anonymous person who ruined my aspic two years ago…I don’t know who you are- but you should be getting one of these bottles coming in your direction very soon. Karma’s a Bitch. See bottle below.

7. Last but not least. If you get one of these bottles gifted to you this holiday season, you know you’ve been a little naughty this year. P.S. They’re sold at big chain liquor stores and Whole Foods Market nationwide.

That’s about it for today! I hope ya’ll are ready for Christmas! The one thing I didn’t get a chance to get is a furry red sweater with reindeer and snowflakes. Still shopping for one of those cooky sweaters. Where to buy a Cooky Christmas Sweater Guide coming very soon! Happy December Everyone!!

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Filed under Dining with Outlaws, Holidays, Hot on the Blog