Typical american food?

[PiecesOfGlass]

I don't know if this thread should be in the ethnic forum (what counts as ethnic food? xD), but I post it here...
I wonder what is typical american food (from the US. that is), and if perhaps you can help me with some recipes?

Frida

 

[pdswife]

I've never been able to answer that because I think that we eat such a wide varity of different foods.

If you tell us what kinds of recipes your looking for we'd be glad to post some for you!!

Welcome to the site !!

 

[PiecesOfGlass]

Oh well, that complicates things.. I was afraid I'd get that answer. Guess I'll just have to do some research now then, and get back later. :P

 

[pdswife]

Sorry!!

How about... soup! Here's my favorite.

Shaffer style clam chowder

Description:
Add some nice French bread and a green salad and you've got a wonderful dinner! Use small bowls so you can have seconds! As with most soups this is better the next day!


Ingredients:

3 10 oz cans chopped clams
1 lb bacon
3 cups peeled and chopped potatoes
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
2 chicken bouillon cubes
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon thyme (some times I use parsley instead)
2 cups half and half
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons all purpose flour

salt and pepper to taste



Directions:
Open canned clams reserving all juice
set aside

cut up bacon, removing a lot of the extra fat
in large sauce pan cook bacon until crisp. Keeping the bacon and the grease in the pan
add potatoes, clam juice, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, onions, pepper,bouillon cubes.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer for about ten minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Combind milk, cream and flour till smooth. Add to potatoe mixture. Cook and stir until slightly thickened. Stir in Clams. Return to boiling reduce heat. Cook for a few minutes more. Add salt and pepper to taste.

If soup is too thick add more milk or cream
if soup is too thin add more flour mixing with milk or cream first!

We add a tablespoon of butter to each bowl when serving ( not at all good for you
but it tastes great!!!)

or

This one for STUFFED TOMATOES

Lamb stuffed tomatoes

Description:


Ingredients:



First make up a batch of your favorite parmesan mashed potatoes and set aside. I added cheese, butter, salt,pepper, parsley and milk to mine.

1 pound ground ground lamb ( can use beef but lamb is better)
chopped garlic. ( amount is up to you I used 5 cloves but we LOVE garlic.)
1 small chopped onion
olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup garlic bread crumbs
4 large tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste




Directions:
put a tablespoon of olive oil in your frying pan and add onions and garlic
cook until soft.

Add lamb and cook until no longer pink.

Add Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix bread crumbs and parmesan cheese together. You can add Oregano, parsley, garlic, onion powder and or any other spices that you like also.

Cut the tops off of your tomatoes and remove the seeds.

Fill the bottom half of the tomato with mashed potatoes
Fill the top half with the meat mixture
Top with the bread crumbs

Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes.


Number Of Servings:

Preparation Time:

OR

Here's another good one that I really like and make all the time



Beef stroganoff

Description:

Ingredients:



1 1/2 - 2 pounds stew meat ( sometimes I use round steak or hamburger)
2 tablespoons butter ( I use three)
1 1/2 cups beef broth
3 tablespoons catsup ( I some times us tomato paste instead)
1 small clove garlic minced ( I use three or four nice size cloves)
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion choped ( I slice mine and use a large onion)

3 tablespoons flour
1 cup sour cream
3-4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce





Directions:
Brown meat in the butter.
Stir all but 1/3 cup of the beef broth in with the beef. Set the 1/3 cup to the side. ( I also add the garlic and about 1/2 cup of the onion now and the Worcestershire sauce now) Heat to boiling and then reduce heat, cover and simmer until the meat is nice and tender about 90 minutes.

Stir in mushrooms and onions.
Cover and simmer until onions are soft.
Shake reserved broth and the flour in a tightly covered jar.
Then slowly add it to the meat mixture. Heat to boiling. Sirring constantly. Cook for one more minute.

Reduce heat and stir in the sour cream.

Serve over rice or noodles.

I sometimes find that I have to add more beef broth.
The Worcestershire can me added, left out or doubled depending on your taste.

ENJOY!

Number Of Servings:

Preparation Time:

 

[GB]

Fried chicken, Mac and Cheese, Hamburgers, BBQ, Chili...These are things I think of when thinking of American food.

 

[larry_stewart]

I remember I had a friend from Switzerland and she told me she ad just gotten back from the American store. When she told me this I laughed because it didnt make sense to me. I guess I took American food for granted. But my weekly food shopping outings included the Asian store, Spanish store, Vegetarian store, Indian store... so why not an American store somewhere else. I then asked, what do you buy in an American store. The only thing I remembered that she said was macaroni and cheese.

 

[GhettoRacingKid]

when i think american food meatloaf pop into my head right away

then hot dogs, hamburgers, apple pie, anything with tomatos, corn and a few other things. ohh maybe a pot roast.

there is new american cusiine whcih you can do some research on. that might suit your fancy

I do hate to say it but this country is so diverse that its hard to find "american food"

 

[elaine l]

Baked beans, potato salad, hot dogs, grilled cheese, anything bbq, Yankee pot roast, chicken and dumplings, chowder.

We had friends that visited from Sweden this summer. The four yr. old loved our "American" pancakes.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Beef stroganoff
Lamb stuffed tomatoes

I'd definitely question any kind of "stroganoff" as "American". Isn't it a strong component of Russian cuisine? As for Lamb-Stuffed Tomatoes - that's a recipe from New Zealand. Don't get me wrong - both look like fabulous recipes, but I wouldn't consider either one as the "typical American food" the OP is looking for.

For me, I'd be thinking of boiled or steamed lobster with lemon butter, steamed hard-shell or sauteed soft-shell blue-claw crabs, Maryland crab cakes, fried flounder &/or catfish, Southern-fried chicken, hot dogs &/or burgers with all their "fixins", pot roast with all the usual accompanying veggies, macaroni & cheese, meatloaf, plain grilled meats (like steak, lamb, pork), barbecued/grilled spare ribs, clam &/or fish chowders - I could go on & on & on without even touching the good old "melting pot" of dishes with truly ethnic orgins.

 

[jpmcgrew]

Thats a tough question since all Americans came from another country with the exception of the Native Americans. We have so many different cultures that have contributed to American cuisine although usually not always exact but a version of. It's not quite like a European country since we have so many people from foreign countries that have contributed for so many years. Which is why America has been described as the melting pot of cultures. Oh and where are you from Frida? If we know that, we may be able to tell you what we have different here than what you have in your country.

 

[pdswife]

Breezy, that's what I mean... as Americans... WE EAT EVERYTHING
~

 

[JoeV]

Good old Chicken Soup...plain broth...with noodles....with rice. Then chicken salad sandwiches with the shredded chicken. Nothing better when you're feeling under the weather.

Oh, then there's grilled cheese sammies with tomato soup. Very American.

Welcome to the forum.

JoeV

 

[Michael in FtW]

This will get you started on some in addition to what has already been mentioned.

Maize (corn):
On the cob: boiled or roasted
Off the cob: boiled, creamed, fried, fritters, chowder, custard, mixed with equal part lima beans (succotash)
Dried and ground: cornbread, muffins, hoecakes, pancakes, as a coating for fried foods like fried catfish or okra or tomatoes, as a cereal (corn meal mush)

Tomatoes:
Stuffed and baked, stewed, stewed with bread (breaded tomatoes), tomato and okra gumbs, soups, sauces, sliced and broiled, picked and sliced green then dredged in flour or cornmeal or batter and fried (fried green tomatoes), or just eaten raw - alone or added to salads, sandwiches, etc.

Potatoes:
Baked, boiled, mashed, fried, hash browns, soup, chowder, potato salad

Sweet potatoes:
Baked, mashed, fried, quick breads, muffins, pies

Pumpkin:
Quick breads, muffins, pies, soup

This doesn't even get into uses for other native summer and winter squashes, beans, etc.

 

[Constance]

I live right in the middle of the USA, in the southern tip of Illinois. It is a largely rural area, with lots of farms, coal mines, hills, hardwood forests and wildlife.
Indigenous foods are:

Pan fish like catfish and bluegill, which are generally dipped in a cornmeal/flour/spice mix and pan fried or deep fried in vegetable oil, along with hush puppies and then sliced potatoes. Cole slaw (made from cabbage) and baked beans are typical accompaniments.

Chicken and rolled dumplings, green beans cooked with onion and bacon, and corn bread.

Biscuits and creamy sausage gravy with Scrambled or fried eggs.

Pan-fried and braised rabbit or squirrel with cream gravy and mashed potatoes.

Pan-fried pork chops, fried potatoes with onions, corn on the cob and sliced fresh potatoes.

Fried chicken, chicken gravy, mashed potatoes, biscuits and honey.

We are famous for our pies...apple, cherry, pumpkin, pecan, White Pie, Million Dollar Pie, and many more.

 

[lifesaver]

These all sound yummy.

 

[deelady]

Thfirst thing that popped into my head for "American food" was good ol' Fried Chicken!! Yum!

 

[buckytom]

Thats a tough question since all Americans came from another country with the exception of the Native Americans.

even native americans aren't really indigenous to the americas. they walked here over a period of 35 millenia. GETTING TO THE NEW WORLD: Distribution of Founding Lineage in Native Americans

anyway, with thanksgiving coming up, my first thought was the traditional thanksgiving dinner.

roast turkey, cornbread stuffing/dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.

 

[justplainbill]

Side order of pomfrits and a bacon cheeseburger with a big slice of sweet raw onion and catsup or a slice of tomato and Hellmans mayonnaise.

 

[PiecesOfGlass]

Wow, now I know where to turn when I don't know what to cook for dinner.. :P

Everything sound really delicious (well, except for the tomatoes and anything with fish; I've just never been able to learn to like that..). The things I can say that I myself connect to america is macaroni and cheese, hamburger and fried chicken. Anyone have any good recipes of that?

Also, I'd love it if anyone had some sort of dessert? I guess pie is sort of obvious there?

jpmcgrew
I'm from Sweden, and we do have some typical swedish food, though those words doesn't really have any good translations..

elaine l
I can imagine that kid loved the pancakes.. I love them too ^^