American cuisine consists of the cooking style and traditional dishes prepared in the United States. It has been significantly influenced by Europeans, Indigenous Americans, Africans, Latin Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and many other cultures and traditions. Principal influences on American cuisine are European, Native American, soul food, regional heritages including Cajun, Louisiana Creole, Pennsylvania Dutch, Mormon foodways, Texan, Tex-Mex, New Mexican, and Tlingit, and the cuisines of immigrant groups such as Chinese American, Italian American, Jewish American, Greek American and Mexican American. The large size of America and its long history of immigration have created an especially diverse cuisine that varies by region.
The Reuben sandwich is a North American grilled sandwich composed of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing or Thousand Island dressing, grilled between slices of rye bread. It is associated with kosher-style delicatessens but is not kosher, as it combines meat and cheese.
The cuisine of California reflects the diverse culture of California and is influenced largely by European American, Hispanic American, East Asian and Oceanian influences, and Western European influences, as well as the food trends and traditions of larger American cuisine.
Russian dressing is a piquant American salad dressing consisting of mayonnaise, ketchup, and other ingredients.
Louis dressing is a salad dressing based on mayonnaise, to which red chili sauce, minced green onions, and minced green chili peppers have been added. It is commonly used as a dressing for salads featuring seafood, such as a crab or shrimp.
Salade niçoise is a salad that originated in the French city of Nice. It is traditionally made of tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, Niçoise olives and anchovies or tuna, dressed with olive oil, or in some historical versions, a vinaigrette. It has been popular worldwide since the early 20th century, and has been prepared and discussed by many chefs. Delia Smith called it "one of the best combinations of salad ingredients ever invented" and Gordon Ramsay said that "it must be the finest summer salad of all".
Green goddess is a salad dressing, typically containing mayonnaise, sour cream, chervil, chives, anchovy, tarragon, lemon juice, and pepper.
Chef salad is an American salad consisting of hard-boiled eggs, one or more varieties of meat, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cheese, all placed upon a bed of tossed lettuce or other leaf vegetables. Several early recipes also include anchovies. A variety of dressings may be used with this salad.
Pasta salad is a salad dish prepared with one or more types of pasta, almost always chilled, and most often tossed in a vinegar, oil, or mayonnaise-based dressing. It is typically served as an appetizer, side dish or a main course. Pasta salad is often regarded as a spring or summertime meal, but it can be served any time of year.
Mayfair salad dressing is a salad dressing incorporating anchovies, created at the Mayfair Hotel in downtown St. Louis. It was first served in the hotel's restaurant, The Mayfair Room, the first five-star restaurant in Missouri, which featured Elizabethan-inspired decor. Chef Fred Bangerter is believed to have created the dressing around 1935. The dressing was also credited to the head waiter of that era named Harry Amos.
Chinese chicken salad is a salad including chopped chicken and Chinese culinary ingredients that is common in parts of the United States. Though many variations exist, common features of Chinese chicken salads include lettuce, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, chicken, deep-fried wonton skins or rice vermicelli and nuts. A basic vinaigrette for the salad includes ingredients like vegetable oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar. Optional seasonings include dry hot mustard, sesame seeds, coriander and raw ginger or pickled ginger. In restaurants, Chinese chicken salad may be more embellished and offered as an American-style entree salad, similar to Caesar, Chef, and Cobb salads.
Celery Victor is an historical American marinated celery salad dish invented in 1910 by Victor Hirtzler, head chef at San Francisco's St. Francis Hotel, who is also credited with inventing Crab Louie.
Victor Hirtzler was a French chef who was head chef of San Francisco, California's St. Francis Hotel from its opening in 1904 until 1926. One of America's first celebrity chefs, he publicized himself and his hotel by inventing dishes, writing cookbooks, and hosting meals.
Clams casino is a clam "on the halfshell" dish with breadcrumbs and bacon. Green peppers are also a common ingredient.
Olivier salad is a traditional salad dish originating in the Russian Empire, created by French and Belgian chef Lucien Olivier.
Shrimp Louie is a traditional salad from California made with shrimp, lettuce, egg and tomato. The dressing is similar to Thousand Island dressing and is made with mayonnaise, ketchup, chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, onion, salt, and pepper. Shrimp Louie originated in San Francisco in the early 1900s. A variation on the salad includes avocado. A version made with crab is known as Crab Louie.
Judy Rodgers was an American chef, restaurateur, and cookery book writer. She became famous at Zuni Café, in San Francisco, California, of which she became chef in 1987. Rodgers' food was influenced both by Chez Panisse, where she had worked, and by the food of France, where she had spent time as an exchange student living with the family of Jean Troisgros. The Zuni Café Cookbook, published in 2002, spread the influence of her painstaking, attentive approach to food further outside the United States.
Thousand Island dressing is an American salad dressing and condiment based on mayonnaise that can include olive oil, lemon juice, orange juice, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, vinegar, cream, chili sauce, tomato purée, and ketchup or Tabasco sauce. It also typically contains finely chopped ingredients, which can include pickles, onions, bell peppers, green olives, hard-boiled egg, parsley, pimento, chives, garlic, or chopped nuts.
Mister Jiu's is a Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, San Francisco. It specializes in Cantonese cuisine blended with modern Californian twists.
