Tuna casserole. And/or green bean casserole, which has already been mentioned.
MMM pickled watermelon rind. MMMM
That was a colonial favourite “relish” according to the folk down in Williamsburg. That would likely take way too much effort to make for a potluck though for what is essentially rind pickles.
SOS may be a choice as well. That is the biscuits with sausage gravy on them breakfast food. I personally don’t really like it but I don’t think I have seen that outside of the states. Since I am from Texas, I tend to do a lot of tex-mex things for potlucks. But you are probably really looking for something that is more distinctively white north american. So that means no fry bread or tortillas for you.
How about a sweet potato casserole? That nasty Thanksgiving dish that so many people adore that is made from mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows atop it and cooked in the oven? It is reminescent of pumpkin pie but makes way too much to hog to yourself.
msgotrocks, which country are you living in? Might give us some ideas. Are there many Vegitarians, or people with religious food requirements coming to the pot luck?
Cheers, Bippy
First of all, Patti LaBelle’s famous “Over The Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese”:
http://www.post-gazette.com/food/20011115thanksj.asp
The best you will ever find!
Or, go to:
They have everything from the fast food restaurants (KFC Cole Slaw for instance) and more.
Also, invest in a Joy Of Cooking book…
shoo fly pie and apple pan dowdy
New Orleans Beans & Rice. Which is a lot more than beans & rice.
My god, half of these things I’ve never even heard of. Shoo fly pie? Pickled watermelon rind?
I’d suggest apple pie. Nothing more American than apple pie.
Although, when I returned to the US after living abroad, I arranged requested that my aunt pick me up at the airport with burritos in hand.
Fried Chicken of course.
Unless you want to splurge on some T-Bones.
Technically speaking Pizza IS american.
Hot Dogs, chili and potato salad and potato chips are purebred american
BBQ baby back ribs. Aw garontee!
American Pot roast.
and the ever popular standby … Peanut butter and jelly samwiches!! Yuuummmm 
Just a quick extra thought, if you can get hold of condensed milk, and bananas you could make Banoffee Pie.
What can I say? Just mention what to put in a bowl of red and you get an argument.
Ain’t chilli grand?
I mention the tomatoe for the same reason I mentioned the peppers and turkeys. They’re all New World food products, unknown to the world before Chris C. made his big trip. As is Bippy’s Pumpkin.
Definitely cornbread and fried chicken, iced tea to drink (or rootbeer if you can get hold of it), and apple pie, or for something more buffet-friendly, cookies. Hamburgers and hot dogs are definitely seen as the American food, even though they’re available all over the world.
If you want to surprise your friends with something they’ve probably heard of in the movies but never actually eaten, make some biscuits (very simple recipe) or even grits. thinks back to sole grits experience Perhaps not grits after all.
Depends if you want to take what you think of as American food, or what your fellow diners would expect.
For a buffet friendly dish, Buffalo wings would be pretty ideal. Although not a classical Murican dish like Maryland Fried Chicken, it is a lot more economical and you do not have to worry about portion control. Remember the blue cheese dressing.
I’d do chili dogs, but that’s just me. Here’s my recipe for hot dog chili.
As to all the chili arguments going on here, I refer you to the most authentic chili recipe I know; Chili de Guaillo
No beans, no tomatoes, just honest-to-goodness chili that brings tears of homesickness to Mexican nationals I have known.
They’re both great stuff. Well. shoo fly pie if you like really sweet stuff.* Pickled watermelon rind is sublime. (The melon’s okay, if you’re really thirsty, but I buy the stuff just for the rind.) Made properly, i.e. by my family’s recipe, the pickles are a perfect blend of spicy/sweet/salty, with a nice crunch. But they also take a hellish amount of time to make and preserve so that option’s out for a potluck.
For affordability and audience recognition I’d opt for jambalya.** Or Caesar salad. Okay, a slight historical stretch but very tasty, and very typical. Just don’t wimp out on the anchovy, real Parmesan or best olive oil.
Veb
- almost in league with chess cake, a diabetic coma on a plate
** have a killer recipe; e-mail me if you want it.
Zenster good lookin chili recipe. One question what is a Gauillo chilie pod?
Contrary to popular belief, chow mein, chop suey, Cung Pao chicken, sweet & sour anything, spaghetti & meatballs, any kind of pasta with meat sauce, pizza (with anything on it besides cheese), vichyssoise, ice cream cones and hamburgers are American inventions.
Most foreigners I know hate root beer, so be forewarned.
It aint a party until someone brings the cocktail weenies!
(don’t forget the fancy toothpicks)
TelecontarStorm, l ook a little closer at who mentioned pumpkin pie first. I guess that means that I am an attention HO.
What about the vinegar and cucumber thing? Everyone I know makes that. It is several chopped up cucumbers soaked in a vinegar/sugar solution and sometimes has onions in it as well?
Banana pudding! I made this at a potluck for foreign exchange students in England and it was a huge hit. I don’t know if you’ll be able to find appropriately Nilla wafer-like cookies, though.
S’mores were another winner in England, though I had to make them with Cadbury’s and digestives instead of Hershey bars and graham crackers. You can do them in the oven if a campfire isn’t an option.
My SO’s sister worked in France as an au pair. The family she worked for loved her brownies, and would beg her to make them, so that’s another option.
Only if you want to argue about chilli ingredience
You obviously didn’t have cheese grits. Cheese grits are heaven.