Booklist Review
It's easy to see, after leafing through this cookbook, the origin of many American dishes--roasted turkey, gumbo, clam chowder, even popcorn. With the help of native American authorities, former Cook's magazine editor Cox has harvested the best of tribal foodstuffs, adapting them to modern kitchens and ingredients. Herein lie the secrets behind the cooking of the Utes, Pawnees, Cherokees, Navahos, Iroquois, and other nations: simple, nutritious meals relying on the essence of natural foods for flavor--nuts, berries, corn, beans, game, and seafood. Some of the 150 recipes may be too exotic for most palates (such as fried deer liver, venison mincemeat pie, and cactus and eggs); others can be readily integrated into entertaining lunches and dinners (peanut soup, oyster potato cakes, and whipped raspberries and honey, among others). Though Cox indicates appropriate substitutions for many ingredients, the pressed-for-time cook will view this as a once-a-year culinary reference--more of an oddity than an everyday collection. ~--Barbara Jacobs
Library Journal Review
This handsome volume provides an impressive record of the tribal cooking of the North American Indians. The recipes, organized by region, have been adapted for contemporary kitchens but are as authentic as possible, emphasizing native ingredients over those introduced by the Europeans. The dishes themselves are generally simple, but varied and even exotic--Smoked Salmon Soup, Maple-Basted Broiled Bluefish, Cranberry Fritters. Cox's recipe headnotes are eminently readable mini-histories, filled with information on the various tribes, their histories, and their customs. Jacobs's color photographs of the food feature Indian artifacts, and the page borders and line drawings scattered throughout reproduce tribal motifs and designs. One of the few recent books on the subject, this is a unique work; highly recommended. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
