Two recipes that bring Native American traditions to your table

"In her new cookbook " Rooted in Fire: A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking," Pyet DeSpain, Season 1 winner of Gordon Ramsay's "Next Level Chef" competition series, offers a warm introduction to the culinary traditions that shaped her upbringing in Kansas City, Kan., and on the Osage Reservation in Pawhuska, Okla. She invites readers to embrace a land-first approach to cooking that emphasizes an intimate understanding of how their food reaches their plates."

""When people think about American cuisine, it's a hodge-podge of diverse cuisines, but the one thing that's been missing is the actual food of Americas, Native American cuisine," DeSpain said. The cookbook spans recipes from both sides of DeSpain's family, including the Mexican recipes that her paternal grandmother, Shirley, was an expert in, as well as the Indigenous American traditions passed down from her grandma Barbara on her maternal side."

"As she deepened her understanding of these culinary heritages, DeSpain realized that the two cultures had more overlap than she had thought. "I am Indigenous fusion," she writes in the book, "and it was time to bring that fusion to the plate." This Thanksgiving, DeSpain plans on borrowing a few recipes from her book. "My maple and sage roasted sweet potatoes are a really good holiday dish because those flavors pair so well with everything else you're going to be seeing on the table." For a simple and comforting dish, try DeSpain's bison and sweet corn soup."

Pyet DeSpain blends Native American and Mexican culinary traditions rooted in her Osage and Mexican family heritage and promotes a land-first approach that emphasizes how food reaches plates. Recipes draw from paternal grandmother Shirley's Mexican expertise and maternal grandma Barbara's Indigenous American traditions, revealing significant overlap between the cuisines and supporting an Indigenous fusion approach. Highlighted dishes include maple-and-sage roasted sweet potatoes for holiday tables and a bison-and-sweet-corn soup that benefits from dried sweet corn; bison's leanness requires mindful cooking techniques and ingredient choices.

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