I’ve very rarely had spirits with a meal: in my experience, people tend to drink them without food. (This may be because of my state’s arcane liquor laws, but I don’t think so). The most American of spirits is probably going to be bourbon, drunk straight or with chipped ice. I prefer it straight, and I’m astonished and delighted that some people don’t think Woodford Reserve is the best damn bourbon out there (at least in its price range): different bourbons have tremendously different flavors, and it’s pretty fun to try the different ones out.
I’d say the archetypal American mixed drink is a Jack and Coke: nothing but a shot of Jack Daniels in a Coke. However, rum punch has a long and illustrious history; a version of it called (I think) cherry bounce was instrumental in locating North Carolina’s capital in its historically inconvenient location. (Basically, a local promoter invited the legislators to his favorite bar, plied them all with the beverage, and convinced them that the field across yonder would make for a great seat of government).
If you expand to beer and wine, there’s an American style of wheat beer; Widmer’s is the only one I’ve had that I think is palatable. It’s ubiquitous in the Pacific Northwest and difficult to find in the South. I think there are a variety of different American-style ales, in addition to the obvious American-style lager, which I don’t much care for.
Are there American-style wines? Certainly there’s gobs of wine made in the US, but other than nasty shit like scuppernong wine (a super-sweet wine made from a native grape), I’m not aware of native varieties.
They’re not made with native American grapes, but of course there are American style wines. You aren’t going to see many zinfandels (white or red, red is much better if you don’t like sweet wine) from outside the US, for example. American-style wines tend to be fruitier and higher in alcohol than European wines, and tend to be named after varieties of grapes.
There are tons upon tons of American wines, but by nature, they’re usually to be the same grape as European wines, genetically at least. But flavors differ even for the same type of grape, and let my check my books tonight, because I think there are a few grapse which simply Do Not Exist outside of America.
New Englander checking in, if you want to do that regional cuisine. you could do a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. In case you are unfamiliar with it, there is a whole turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and green bean casserole (some people add other things like corn on the cob, sweet potato casserole, etc.)
If you wanted to be really ambitious, you could try and do some seafood from here, if you can find it or an equivalent in England. Lobster is huge, as is clam chowder.
Chardonnay. Often done in a malolactic, very buttery style, as opposed to the lighter, fruitier style of, say, Australian Chardonnays.
White Zinfandel (America’s most popular wine, or so I’ve heard). A sweet pink wine. There are also sweet pink wines made with other red grapes, such as White Merlot.
Cabernet Sauvignon.
Merlot.
Zinfandel (red).
The reds (Cabernet, Merlot, and Zinfandel) are usually made in a very fruit-forward style, and are often higher in alcohol than European wines (15% isn’t unheard of, it’s hard to find an American red wine with less than 14%).
Zinfandel is a grape that is not made into wine much (if at all) outside the US. But it is the same species, Vitis vinifera, as other wine grapes, and not the same species as native American grapes.
One American food I haven’t seen mentioned: Mac & Cheese, possibly with canned tuna mixed in. If you can find boxed Kraft macaroni & cheese, there you go. If not, it’s penne pasta with a cheddar cheese sauce (basically bechamel with some cheese added) poured over it and then baked.
If you have fries, they must be served with ketchup, not any of that Euro vinegar or mayonnaise nonsense. You can squirt the ketchup over the fries or dip them in the ketchup.
On the subject of ketchup, there is cocktail sauce. It is a mix of ketchup and horseradish (no mayonnaise). Cocktail sauce and tartar sauce are the proper sauces to have with fried fish or seafood.
A breakfast idea that started out as a Jewish dish but is now popular among non-Jewish Americans would be bagels with cream cheese and lox (which is smoked salmon).
You should have coffee with your breakfast. It can be black or have milk or cream in it, and can be with or without sugar.
We drink rum & coke as well.
A Bloody Mary is tomato juice, vodka, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco, and is another popular cocktail.
Boil a couple cups of water, add the macaroni noodles and cook until soft. Drain the water, add about 1/3 c milk, a pat of butter and stir in the powdered cheese.
Boil the hot dogs for about 10 min.
Hot Dogs (all beef) - cut up into medium size pieces Campbells’ Pork & Beans
Cherry Kool-Aid (don’t forget the sugar)
Put the beans in a saucepan on low, mix in the cut-up hotdog and add a little sugar and yellow mustard. Heat over low for about 10min until the sauce thickens a little bit. Eat this while it’s hot.
Cornbread is great with this too. The very best cornbread is baked in a cast-iron skillet. You have got to have real butter to put on your cornbread.
Cook the Ricearoni in a deep skillet, not a saucepan. While that’s simmering, brown the ground beef. Mix them together when finished. Grean beans can be mixed in or served on the side.
Um, maybe I missed it, but where the hell did the typical American dinner of a Steak go??? Beef is the mainstay of American cuisine, just ask anyone from Texas where they raised enough of them to herd to Kansas to ship to Chicago to butcher and sell.
While I am certainly a devotee of the Biscuit and Gravy breakfast (without grits, it just ain’t the same thing!), that ain’t truly “American.” You’d have to go with the more traditional eggs over easy, with bacon or sausage (links) and hotcakes (pancakes). Potatoes are optional (frankly, that’s a relatively recent addition in many places from what I remember growing up). Put some OJ on the table, and you have the typical American breakfast (if you want something more hearty, add some oatmeal - the old used to be Quaker Oats Co. will love you!).
