Gourmet Food Recipes - America's Top Five Favorite Recipes

Hamburgers

The name "hamburger" originated in Hamburg in Germany. These guys used to put a piece of roast pork into a roll, and serve it warm. This tradition was imported into America by German immigrants, and over time adapted until it became a very typical American dish. According to legend the first person in America to make hamburgers was a certain Charlie Nagreen of Seymour, Wisconsin. He flattened a meatball and placed it between two slices of bread, and the hamburger was born! There are various others claims to the title of "originator of the hamburger" though.

BBQ Baby Back Ribs

This started off during the latter part of the 1800s during cattle drives in the American West. The so-called "cowboys" were given very cheap cuts of meat, often so tough or stringy that it had to be cooked for hours before becoming soft enough to eat.

They started to cook this outside, over an open fire. The taste of the smoking wood gave it a very special taste, and once again a dish was born that become part of American culture. The addition of marinade or a basting sauce has further enhanced the taste and softness of ribs, and nowadays it is really something to die for!

Buffalo Chicken Wings

This is one dish for which we can claim with certainty that it originated in the United States. The then proprietors of the Anchor Bar (in Buffalo, New York) claim to be the first to prepare this dish way back in 1964.

What happened apparently is that the owner's son and his friends arrived home unexpectedly late one night, and she couldn't think of anything else but to deep-fry some chicken wings and afterwards dip them in a very hot sauce.

This proved to be so popular they they started serving them to customers. The end result is well known. Today we even have chain restaurants specializing in buffalo wings, and of course the National Buffalo Wing festival!

Chili "Con Carne" (Chili with meat)

There are of course also many places claiming to be the home of this mouth-watering dish. One of them is Baja California in Mexico. But the most widely accepted home of Chili Con Carne is San Antonio in Texas.

Texas style chili (the original version at least) contains no other vegetables - only chili. The meat always has to be beef, venison or other mature meats. Prime beef and veal will not work - it tends to simply fall apart.

Other variations on the basic recipe include the following: Pedernales river chili, Cincinnati style chili, New Orleans style chili, Vegetarian style chili, and chili hot dogs.

Pizza

Nobody will claim that Pizza originated in America. That was the privilege of Italy, or as some would have it even China. But America certainly perfected the Pizza.

There are too many varieties of pizza to discuss all of them in detail in this article. New York Style pizza is most likely the most traditional type. It is created in a pizza oven, and usually has a relatively thin crust. Chicago style pizza, or pan-fried-pizza has a thicker crust, and is cooked in a deep-fry pan. St Louis style pizza uses St Louisan Provel cheese instead of mozzarella.

American gourmet food recipes are in a class of their own. Some might call it junk food - others call it food made in heaven.