# US Traditional Dishes



## babas & baron (Oct 26, 2001)

not beeing an american i would be very glad if you post some traditional american dishes. i mean, what is the typical traditional food from US? /and don't mention the hamburgers, there must be so much more!!)

looking forward to hear from you!!


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## babas & baron (Oct 26, 2001)

...and don'tbe mad about me. sorry. i'm seriously curious.


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

Hello, Babas & Baron, and welcome to ChefTalkCafe! 

American food is quite eclectic, and becoming more so all the time. Much of what people think of as "American food" has roots or influences of other cultures. That's the nature of our nation. 

However, here are a few dishes that are probably known in most parts of the country:

meat loaf
mashed potatoes and gravy
macaroni and cheese
fried chicken
chicken fried steak
pecan pie, pumpkin pie
roasted, stuffed turkey

Some ingredients which are strongly identified as "American", although some can be found in other cultures:
cranberries
wild rice
peanut butter
root beer

Okay, Cafe denizens, it's your turn to jump in!


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## w.debord (Mar 6, 2001)

Current weeknight types of dinners the average American family eats would consist of items that are quick to fix since were very busy. Often housewives use pre-packaged rice or noodle items and serve that with a simple broiled or sauteed meat item and a boiled or steamed veggie. 

Baked chicken
Spagetti
Chili
Tacos
Pizza
Pot roast
Pork chops
Take-out chinese food
steak pork roast
lamb chops
salad
lots of simple chicken dishes, sauteed, stir fried or grilled
kabobs

many different casseroles:
tuna noodle
goulash
lasagne

Side dishes are often simple:
baked potato
mashed potatos
Boiled or steamed veg.
mac and cheese
rice
salad


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## chefboy2160 (Oct 13, 2001)

Out here in the west one of the biggest sellers is Beef .
A steak and baked potato with a nice fresh veggie and a salad bar will never recieve a bad review here . Of course here out west we have a major hispanic population so mexican food and its influences can be seen in a lot of the restaurants . Also dont forget about the Chinese food (fried rice) , Italian (Lasagna) , Greek( Salad with Feta Cheese) , Basque(Paella) ,German (Wienerschnitzel) , English (Fish and Chips) Japanese (Sushi) ,
Like its been said , America is a melting pot of culture from all over the world and our food is reflective of this .:bounce:


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## marzoli (Nov 17, 2000)

Did anybody mention Cajun? Red beans and rice! Yumm.


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

Mez,

You forgot the Apple Pie!


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## shimmer (Jan 26, 2001)

Chocolate chip cookies (stemming from Toll House Cookies)

Peanut butter (just TRY finding it in other countries!!!!)

Do other countries have Ritter's Frozen Custard? Heck, Oregon doesn't even have that. Yum!

Cobb salad (from California!)

Since America as America (since 1776) has been around for such a short time, most "American" dishes would almost have brand names attached to them. 

And pizza, the way we eat it, with tomato sauce and thick chewy crust and loads of cheese, is definitely an American adaptation of an Italian classic.

Probably everything we eat is an American adaptation, though, so its really hard to say.

Mountain Dew!
Pepsi!
Coca-Cola!
Hersheys!
Doritos!

I must be hungry, all I can think of is junk food.

~~Shimmer~~


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Johnnycakes made with real Flint Corn grown only by one farmer in Rhode Island.:chef:


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## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

That's very true, however over the formative years people moved around, planted themselves and adapted themselves to the area bringing their own influences to the local denizens of the wild. What we ended up with was a very regional style of cooking. All countries have done this with the regional specialties ranging from Alsace to the Basque, Canton to the Szechuan Province,
Mexico city to Havana. We are no different.
*Northeast coast of the US * you'll find Boston Baked Beans to Steamed Maine Lobster to Vermont Maple.
*East Coast* , steamed crabs from the Chesapeake Bay to Smithfield Ham.
*Southern Fried Chicken * to Key Lime Pie
Cajun Crawfish, Shrimp Etouffe to Texas Barbecue.
*New Mexico * Corn and Bean, to California Salads and fruit smoothies.
*Northwestern planked Salmon * to Oregon Blackberry pie.
*Midwestern * corn and grain fed beef the best in the world. Home style farm cooking second to none.
*Wisconsin Cheese* to Chicago Bratwurst
This is a big country with the best of the worlds cooking blended with Americas own diverse culture and gifts to create the best cuisine in the world.:chef:


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

What a great post!


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## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

Kimmie,
I love my neighbors to the frozen north. If it's okay can we expand this topic, after all it is considered *"North America"* 
and what does Canada offer up in the way of food. Is there a particular cuisine or cuisines? Forgive my ignorance. I am schooled on foods of the world, but not on Canada! Shame on me. I mean besides Back BAcon, Beer and Donuts! Mmmmmm...
donuts.


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

This is a gorgeous, charming country with a harsh winter, this is no place for the weak-hearted. So no wonder the food is hearty - lots of pork lard, and beef and butter are called for.

Quebec cooking has french, english and native origins. Some of Quebecers favorite recipes are pea soup, pigs feet and meatballs ragout, meatpie and sugar pie to name a few. And we must not forget our national treasure: Maple syrup!!

I will leave the fine dining to Isa...

Anneke, CoolJ, Linda Smith, and other Canadian Cheftalk members may want to continue with the "Canadian" aspect, from Coast to Coast...


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## anneke (Jan 5, 2001)

Ahhhhhhh poutine. Nuff said.

Maybe Kimmie or Isa would like to describe for our readers what 'oreilles de criss' are?

We've had a really tough time up here trying to define what is Canadian cuisine. We are a seasonal and a regional people, and from what is native to our parts, we adapt according to our heritage and our taste. We have fabulous game meats up here, incredible fish and seafood on the east coast, beautiful fruit and veg in the Niagara region and BC... But when it comes to particular dishes, I think Quebec is the only province that has truly recognisable dishes. Creton anyone?


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

Reading this thread I couldn’t help but laugh, the more I read the more I laughed. 

I read Kimmie’s comment and think what the **** is she doing citing very stereotype dishes. Then I saw the line:



Almost fell off my chair laughing.

I should not proceed to the fine dining before adding a few treats Kimmie forgot, how could you?, œuf dans le sirop, feves au lard, beaver tail, tourtiere, cipaille, Cod Cheeks
. And how could you forget poutine!!

As for oreille de christ, they are fried piece of lard served with maple syrup. Or they are pig ears, depends to whom you ask the question

Now off with the stereotype, they are I’ll admit hard to shell. Even the Larousse present a Canadian menu as you found only find in the lumberjack camp in the middle of winter. 

Yes there are lots of good food, fine food and well cooked. As time goes by we are developing a terroir and an expertise on various are of food. Our cheese for example can be held in high value, it is of a quality that will stand up any day to European cheese.


You will fine here the most wonderful fish, cook with imagination. Our seafood, specially the scallops princesse are unique. So is our lobster.

As for meat Quebec lamb has won many awards in the past years, they rival in quality the agneau des pres sales from France.

Tune in tomorrow for more...


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## daveb (May 1, 2001)

To the best of my knowledge, the oldest documented "American" food is succotash, a boiled mixture of corn and beans. Early explorers, visiting the Native American tribes along the Southern Altlantic coast, reported both the recipe and the name around 1600.

Click here for a basic contemporary recipe

For something more interesting and complex, click here


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

I laughed equally hard while I was reading YOUR post! You are such a card! LOL!

I must admit that I grew up in the purest "French" environment, that's Grandfather's legacy...oui il parlait pointu...!

As for Poutine, well, I still have to taste it...

And with respect to traditional foods served with maple syrup, I went to a sugar shak only once, a very long time ago. I remember eating maple syrup on snow!

Thanks Isa for completing my post


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## sisrst (Oct 24, 2001)

I remember my grandfathers smokehouse in Virginia, hams hanging for months to cure.

Sliced ham with red eye gravy and mashed potatoes
and always homemade biscuits.

Country ham can be used to flavor many dishes, Elizabeth Terry from Elizabeth's on 37th in Savannah has some great American recipies using ham and other southern items.


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

Was it a dream or was I just talking poutine to you? Anyway you're not missing much.


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## 9hundred (Aug 20, 2001)

The only thing I know is absoulutely 100% American is.....


SQUEEzECHEESE
:lips: :lips: :lips:


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Squeezecheese???!!! Ummmmm is that what we're know for abroad? I gather that is a velvetta (processed rubbery orange/yellow) "food product".


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## elakin (Jan 12, 2001)

sadly, it's true, shroom. when i was living in italy, i got so much grief from my fellow cooks over how bad american food was. 

they're only exposed to the aspects of american culture that are exported--coca cola, mcdonalds, etc--and they think that's all there is. absolutely no awareness of the amazing variety that makes up american regional cooking.

very much like, i guess, the (now, thankfully outdated) perception that most americans had about italian food. that it's all spaghetti and meatballs or lasagna.

that's why i really appreciate this topic and i'm grateful to see that there are people out there who keep their minds open to what's really being eaten in some "foreign" land.

i personally love the trend of taking "low" foods that are traditional regional specialties and dressing them up in a more fine-dining setting. Patrick Clark was a master at this, elevating things like biscuits, country ham, grits, and black-eyed peas up to the level of foie gras and lobster. anyone interested in this should check out the charlie-trotter-produced cookbook that honored patrick clark. i think it's the best book charlie's done.


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

What about the jar with peanut butter and jelly swirl? Goes well with squeeze cheese.


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

When I think of American (all parts of North American), I think of great feasts -- potlatches of native foods such as game and squashes and beans and such; and foods that just can't be made in small quantities: New England boiled dinners with corned beef or pork, potatoes, beets, other root vegetables, the leftovers of which yield Red Flannel Hash; Midwestern Fish Boils, with freshwater fish, onions, potatoes; Clambakes, with lobsters, clams, chicken, corn, potatoes, sausages...

and of course the "traditional" Thanksgiving feast, which like the best of the continent's cuisine celebrates the bounty available here. We are truly lucky to have such good foods, and have to work to make sure that it is these wholesome foods -- and not the over-processed, high-salt, high-fat, low-nutrient, low-flavor stuff -- that are available to everyone, whatever their income and class.


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## 1538 (Jun 3, 2001)

Oh, I love living in a melting pot! With our mobile society, the regional pockets are leaking into each other. Even though current American food is a mixture of regional, ethnic, and just plain convenience, to me, "traditional American" means food native to here. *Maple syrup. Turkey. Squash; zucchini, acorn, butternut, pumpkin* - this time of year, we throw pumpkin into just about everything; cookies, muffins, cakes, ice cream, pie. Roasted, salted *pumpkin seeds*, anyone? In previous centuries, pumpkin was used as just another squash, or sliced, dried, and used as sweetening. 
*Potatoes, tomatoes* - those two have really traveled the world. (You're welcome, world.) *Sweet potatoes. * Several different *beans*, including *lima beans* for succotash, and *navy beans* used in baked beans. 
And *corn; sweet corn, popcorn, cornmeal.* For corn muffins, johnnycake - great with maple syrup! Then there's *corn on the cob*, an all-American favorite seen at just about every picnic. We're so used to this that we don't realize it's not everywhere. During the 1970s, some family friends greeted their European exchange student with an American spread complete with corn on the cob. She ran crying from the room, insulted. Eventually she forgave them for treating her like a barnyard animal… Then there are some things that are rarely eaten nowadays; squirrel, opossum, groundhog. Or at least not widely admitted to - I have made Brunswick stew - but somebody else caught the squirrels. I know there are more foods native to North America...Anyone?

Squeezecheeze, Blech!


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

I'm pretty sure all soul food is quite American. Here in the South it is not as ethnic as in some places. Red Beans, greens,all corn based foods, pork a thousand different ways. I love most peasant foods from all cultures.
Baking: German Chocolate Cake, Red Velvet Cake, 7 up Cake,
Dump Cake, Rice Krispy Treats, Grooms Cake, Fruit Cake, etc.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

American foods....we've had alot of threads this past year on regional foods...big list....it's almost like taking China and saying Chineese food or European food,what crosses all the state borders and is identified as American...(Velvetta DOESNOT count as it is not really food) hmmmmm


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## shimmer (Jan 26, 2001)

Yeah, and besides, they make Velveeta in places besides the United States anyway. I should know, because I was a DJ at the university I went to, and I had a night-time talk show full of silliness, and one night we had a Velveeta Taste Test, between American and Canadian Velveeta. They really are different! 

Wasn't as succesful as the eyebrow contest, but still fun.

~~Shimmer~~


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

Judging from what I've seen of American food imports in European grocery stores (England and France)  we know whom to blame for a reputation for abysimal food! It's the food importers and exporters who need the educating, so we send the French and English better food products than Old El Paso refried beans, Pop Tarts and Diet Coke. Add to that Kentucky Fried Chicken and fast food burgers, and you have a very poor profile of Americans as diners indeed. If we can agree that the best food is freshly made from fresh ingredients, it's cookbooks and chefs we'll have to place our trust in, to educate Europeans via television and print. You can't export a really good plate of freshly-prepared food, only the expertise to prepare it. We import a lot of creditable European cooking shows; do they import _our_ best?


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## chef nosko (Feb 2, 2002)

Hi Canadian Chefs:

I was in Ontario over the Christmas holidays....

Stopped into a bookstore in a mall, looking for Canadian cookbooks. I had trouble finding any.

Most of what I found were from American Chefs.

Maybe I just stepped into the wrong place. Who Knows???

What would some of your Cookbook recommendations be for good regional type fare?

Oh, by the way.....I could use a Raisin Butter Tarte from Tim Hortons about now!!!

Chef Nosko
A Fresh Endeavor
Boston, MA


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## marmalady (Apr 19, 2001)

Some more 'merican food from the South - 

Krispy Kreme donuts - especially when the light is flashing "Hot NOW!".

Panini, you got all my Southern cakes in a previous post! How about Hummingbird cake?

Grits - white grits, yellow grits, shrimp and grits, grits souffle, cheese grits, fried grits, grits 'n greens.

Country Captain - a recipe born in Charleston S.C., that last bastion of the true South! 

Benne wafers; 'perlow'; Frogmore stew; she-crab soup; crab dip 1,000 ways!; and last but not least, 'Rack of Spam'!


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

Oh yea, hummingbird cake, and sweet potato pie. Dr. Pepper everything.


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## mirepoix man (Jan 26, 2002)

Did someone say Winnipeg Goldeye? Arctic Char? We have a bounty of ingredients here....and like every other country we are able to poach, steam stew, braise , roast , smoke, cure, steam etc. I guess the question is how you use your indiginous ingredients..do we "fuse" them with other non-native items? Or do we heep them pure?

Just a thought!


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