Wild Wild West

“Cooking and eating in a foreign country may be the surest, truest way to its soul.” – Travel & Leisure Magazine.

Part of the fun of traveling is sharing your trip with others. Of course, you can show pictures and/or videos, display your souvenirs, and regale unwary persons with your travel stories and adventures. I like to take it one step further and share the culture of a country or region with my family through food. Since I can’t always take my family with me when I travel, on Christmas I like to bring a small part of the world to my family at a themed dinner. You never know what you’re going to eat at my house on Christmas, but rest assured there will be plenty of it! Bring your appetite, your sense of adventure, and some Tupperware for carry-out.

The tradition began 10 years ago, when I was contemplating what to make for a special Christmas dinner for my family. I didn’t want to subject them to yet another ham or turkey dinner, and you know I hate anything ordinary! I had taken a class at WIU to study agriculture in China in 2005, where I enjoyed authentic Chinese food - which is worlds apart from the Chinese food we typically find here in the US. So, one thing led to another, and before I knew it I was planning a Chinese Christmas dinner. A tradition was born, and since that time we have enjoyed holiday dinners from Russia (2006), Costa Rica (2007), the Florida Keys (2008), Australia (2009), Jamaica (2010), Germany (2011), Hogwarts Castle (2012), the fantasy world of Dr. Seuss (2013), and Scotland (2014).

Which bring us to 2015. I started the year with a delightful trip to sunny Arizona, had an amazing time in Jamaica in March, thoroughly enjoyed some long weekends in Petersburg MI, St. Louis MO, Chicago IL, and Pittsburgh PA, and loved every hilarious minute of a wild and woolly western adventure to the buffalo roundup in Custer, SD! So I had a few options to choose from, and finally settled on a theme of “Wild Wild West” to encompass both the Arizona and South Dakota trips.

Appetizer Buffet

I wanted to work with foods indigenous to Arizona and South Dakota that were available to Native Americans and early settlers. This included staples that the emigrants would have carried with them, though I did take some liberties just for fun. This is the final menu:

APPETIZERS:    Pickled Eggs

                             Elk Summer Sausage

                             Assorted Cheeses

                             Sunflower Crackers

                             Cowboy Boot Cheese Ball

                             Candied Walnuts

MAINS:              Buffalo Ravioli

    Venison Fajitas on Indian Fry Bread

    Wild Game Stew

SIDES:               Hominy Casserole

   Fart ‘N Dart Beans

   Southwest Chopped Salad

                           Cornbread w/ Buffalo Berry Jelly and Honey

DESSERT:        Mixed Fruit Cobbler

                           Plum Kuchen

  Buffalo and Cactus Shaped Sugar Cookies

                           Popcorn Balls

BEVERAGES:    Apple Juice

                             Apple Cider

                             Milk

                             Spring Water

If you’re interested in the research that helped me plan the menu, read on. I find the planning phase fascinating, and sometimes have to force myself to stop studying and start cooking!

Homemade Buffalo Ravioli

I began by looking at which edible plants and animals are indigenous to Arizona and South Dakota. For South Dakota, this came partly from a list of plants and animals recorded and described by the Lewis and Clark expedition. Some were new to science; some were previously known species. The list included: Ramps (Wild Onion), Pin Cherry, Prairie Apple, Prickly Pear Cactus, Buffaloberry, Straggly Gooseberry, Wild Ginger, Desert Cottontail, Mule Deer, White-Tailed Deer, Bison, Eastern Cottontail, and Elk. Also native to South Dakota are: Bullfrog, Crabapple, Black Walnut, Indian Celery, Common Chokecherry, Wild Plum, Wild Garlic, Sunflower, Red and Black Raspberry, and Blackberry.

The arid state of Arizona’s indigenous species included Arizona Elk, Jackrabbit, White-tailed Deer, American Wild Carrot, Common Sunflower, Arizona Black Walnut, Jicama, and Prickly Pear Cactus. These are not complete lists of the animals and plants in these states, just the ones that made my short list of potential ingredients.

Cheese and Elk Summer Sausage

The next step was looking at what Native Indians in these areas ate. The plains Indians were nomadic, following the buffalo herds which provided them with their chief source of meat. They supplemented their diet with other game and fish, as well as eggs, honey, nuts, seeds, berries, fruits, greens, and roots gathered by tribal women.

The Southwest appears to be less abundant with food than other parts of the country, but to those who knew where and how to look, the harsh environment supplied a variety of foods. Natives hunted game and foraged for berries, seeds, roots, and cactus. Cacti were an integral part of the diet for those who lived near the Sonoran Desert.

Cornbread, Venison Fajitas, Indian Fry Bread,
& Southwest Chopped  Salad

Many southwestern tribes developed sedentary cultures based on agriculture. Maize (corn) was the dominant crop, and was first cultivated in the Southwest between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago. Corn was eaten in many different ways, including corn-on-the-cob, popcorn, hominy, tortillas and corn bread baked in clay ovens. Other important American Indian crops were beans, squash, sunflowers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and avocados. Anasazi Beans were one of the crops cultivated by the Anasazi Indians in the four corners area (now Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico). Chiles have been essential elements of both food and medicine among indigenous peoples in the Southwest for over 9,000 years, and joined corn, beans, and squash to form the “Big Four” staple crops. The wild sunflower was domesticated by American Indians in present-day Arizona. Some archaeologist suggest that sunflowers may have been domesticated before corn.

Buffalo Ravioli & Game Stew

Frybread became a staple food to the Native Americans in the mid-1800s. According to Navajo tradition, frybread was created using the flour, sugar, salt, and lard that was given to them by the United States government when they were relocated to reservation land that could not support their traditional staples of vegetables and beans. It became common food for many tribes, and can be found at most Pow Wows today.

Candied Walnuts, Pickled Eggs, & Crackers

Finally, I studied the foods brought along by the emigrants during the great westward migration. The 2,000 mile trek was a long battle to conserve the dwindling supplies, supplemented by what they could acquire at trading posts along the way or by hunting. A basic list of provisions for a family of four included 600 pounds of flour, 300 pounds of bacon, 150 pounds of sugar, 100 pounds of cornmeal (into which eggs could be packed for the rough journey), 100 pounds of hardtack, and 20 pounds of saleratus (baking soda). Sacks of dried beans, rice, and dried fruit augmented their diet, and salt, pepper, vinegar, and molasses added seasoning. Additional food like pickles, canned butter, cheese or pickled eggs were occasionally carried. Some families took along milk cows, goats, and chickens (penned in crates tied to the wagons). Milk was churned into butter in buckets suspended from the bottom of the wagon.

Fart 'N Dart Beans, Hominy Casserole

Baking bread was a daily and necessary activity, so flour was a critical item on the emigrants’ list. In order to make breads and cakes rise, they packed saleratus. Hardtack or crackers were eaten at meals when there wasn’t time or fuel for a fire. While not nearly as important as flour as a survival food, everyone carried sugar. Pies, cakes, and jams from fresh berries were frequently made on the trail. Since it was expensive to separate white and brown sugar and remove all the molasses, the sugar the settlers carried was a lumpy, sticky product. The hot sun would melt it back into molasses.

Next to bread, bacon was the food most often eaten – sometimes twice a day. Cornmeal was a desirable commodity to carry because it was easy to cook and did not spoil. Beans played an important role in the diet of early explorers and settlers. They provided protein, and were easy to store, transport, and cook. Cheeses carried by the emigrants were likely a commodity cheddar cheese commonly sold in the grocery stores at the time. If they had made cheese at home, it could vary from a simple soft cheese to an aged European style cheese.

Vast herds of buffalo provided fresh meat for the trip. Wild game was relished as a welcome change in a monotonous diet. Travelers could hunt antelope, buffalo, sage hens, and occasionally elk, bear, deer, ducks, and geese along the trail.

Desserts

So there you have it – a huge list of potential ingredients! Narrowing it down was the hardest part, and I kept adding and subtracting recipes to the menu. The shopping was a breeze – since many of the recipes used ‘staples’, I had a lot of the ingredients in my pantry already. This was old fashioned cooking at its most basic – fresh and from scratch! The food was cooked and served in antique graniteware pans and bowls. Doesn’t everyone have four boxes of them stashed in their basement?!

I really enjoy this Christmas tradition! The kids laugh at me when it’s time to eat, because before we can dig in they must hear about each dish and why I chose it. But the silence that falls as everyone is busy eating, and the groans that follow when everyone is stuffed - priceless!  When even the grandsons request seconds, and ask for carry-outs on certain dishes, I know the meal is a success.

Always drink upstream from the herd, and don’t squat with your spurs on!

Recipe Index:

Pickled Eggs (I made the Cidered Eggs. Remember Timmons in Dances With Wolves?): http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/pickled_eggs.html

Elk Summer Sausage (From Meatheads in Milan.)

Sunflower Crackers (Organic Sunflower Seed Crackers from Aldi.)

Cheese Ball (My recipe was most like the Nacho Cat Ball, but shaped in a cowboy boot mold.): http://www.buzzfeed.com/emofly/glorious-balls-of-cheese#.xlaqQ3zpL

Candied Walnuts: http://natashaskitchen.com/2014/01/11/5-minute-candied-walnuts/

Buffalo Ravioli (Use ground buffalo instead of ground beef, and double the cheese.): http://myitaliangrandmother.blogspot.com/2010/02/homemade-meat-ravioli.html

Venison Fajitas (I made up my own marinade recipe with honey, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, orange juice, salt and pepper. Just cut the venison into strips and marinade a couple hours. Then stir-fry until cooked through. Break open the fry bread and fill with venison. Top with Southwest Chopped Salad and Sour Cream.)

Indian Fry Bread (Made with a mix I purchased in South Dakota. Mmmmm good!)

Wild Game Stew (I used venison, rabbit, and frog instead of chicken, because I wanted to represent what a settler might do if there wasn’t enough of any one meat for a meal.): http://glitterandbruises.com/pennsylvania-dutch-chicken-pot-pie/

Hominy Casserole (Sauté the onions in bacon grease, add ½ pound bacon, cooked and crumbled, and double the cheese.): http://www.food.com/recipe/hominy-casserole-54219

Fart ‘N Dart Beans (I used authentic Anasazi Beans that I brought home from Arizona): http://realhousemoms.com/homemade-baked-beans/

Southwest Chopped Salad (Skip the lettuce and add prickly pear cactus pads and avocados. This was good on top of the fajitas and also as a salad.): http://thecafesucrefarine.com/2014/05/mexican-chopped-salad/

Cornbread (I cheated a little and used Jiffy mixes – I like them better than homemade! The Buffaloberry Jelly came back with me from South Dakota.)

Mixed Berry Cobbler (I used red raspberries, cherries, blackberries, and gooseberries): http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/merry-berry-cobbler/b9e2f09d-93d9-4dc1-bbd3-be0c56e1c9fe

Plum Kuchen (The official state dessert of South Dakota.): http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/plum-kuchen

Buffalo and Cactus shaped Sugar Cookies (Just use your own favorite sugar cookie recipe, and  a glaze that has corn syrup so it remains shiny and dries hard.)

Popcorn Balls (I included this not only because popcorn was eaten by Native Americans but also because my Grandmas would tell of social gatherings back in ‘old times’ where they would pop popcorn as entertainment. This is their recipe.): http://www.food.com/recipe/marys-jello-popcorn-balls-217668

Wild West Christmas Tree