All recipes

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Club sandwich

The club sandwich was born in the gentlemen's clubs and grand hotels of New York in the late 1800s and is still on every American hotel room-service menu and diner board. Three slices of toast hold two layers: roast turkey or chicken with mayonnaise in one, crisp pork bacon with lettuce and tomato in the other, held with cocktail sticks and cut into neat triangles. The common mistake is building it on untoasted bread, which goes soggy and slides apart. Toast all three slices until firm and golden, cook the bacon until crisp and rigid, and pat the tomato dry. Serve with chips or crisps and a dill pickle. Chef's tip: spread mayonnaise right to the edges of the middle slice on both sides; it glues the layers so the quarters stand up tall when you cut them.

27 min

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Chocolate chip cookies

The chocolate chip cookie was invented in a Massachusetts roadside inn kitchen in the 1930s, when a cook stirred chopped chocolate into butter cookie dough, and it has been the cookie of American cookie jars, school lunches and after-school snacks ever since. This version uses more brown sugar than white, so the edges crisp up and caramelise while the centre stays soft and chewy, with pools of melted chocolate. They contain wheat, egg and milk. Eat them warm with cold milk. The usual mistake is baking until they look done in the middle: take them out when the edges are golden and the centres still look pale and puffy, because they firm up on the hot tray. Chef's tip: chill the dough for at least 2 hours, or overnight; the flour soaks up moisture, the cookies spread less and taste more of toffee.

27 min

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BLT sandwich

The BLT is the lunch-counter sandwich of every American diner from New York to Los Angeles, at its best in late summer when tomatoes are ripe and heavy. It contains pork: thick rashers of streaky smoked bacon cooked until crisp, layered with crunchy lettuce and thick tomato slices on toasted bread spread generously with mayonnaise. The usual mistake is using limp, pale bacon: it chews like leather and goes soggy. Cook it slowly until it is evenly browned, rigid and stops bubbling, then drain it. Salt the tomato slices lightly so they taste of summer. Serve with crisps and a pickle. Chef's tip: bake the bacon on a rack in the oven at 200 °C; it cooks flat and evenly crisp with no spitting pan.

25 min

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Shrimp scampi

Shrimp scampi is an Italian-American restaurant classic from the East Coast, especially New York and New Jersey, a quick weeknight pasta or a Friday-night date dish. Large prawns are seared briefly, then tossed with plenty of garlic, chilli flakes, butter, white wine, lemon and parsley, and twirled through linguine so the glossy sauce clings to every strand. The dish uses wine, which is simmered briefly so some alcohol remains; for an alcohol-free version use the same amount of chicken or vegetable stock with an extra tsp of lemon juice. The usual mistake is overcooking the prawns into rubbery curls: they need only 2–3 minutes until pink and opaque all the way through. Buy raw prawns that smell of the sea; throw away any that smell of ammonia or feel slimy. Chef's tip: add the butter off the heat in cold cubes and swirl the pan; it emulsifies into a creamy sauce instead of turning greasy.

25 min

American Fish

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Chicken and waffles

Chicken and waffles became famous in Harlem supper clubs, where jazz musicians finishing late at night ordered something between dinner and breakfast; today it is a weekend brunch star from Baltimore to Los Angeles. Boneless chicken thighs marinate overnight in spiced buttermilk in the fridge, are dredged and fried until craggy and golden, then set on hot, crisp waffles with maple syrup and a splash of hot sauce. The common mistake is frying in oil that is too cool: the coating drinks fat and slides off. Keep the oil at 170–175 °C and fry until the chicken reads 74 °C inside and the crust is deep golden. Chef's tip: drizzle a spoonful of buttermilk into the seasoned flour and rub it in to make small clumps; they fry into the extra-crunchy crags everyone fights over.

70 min

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Fudgy chocolate brownies

Brownies are said to have started in a Chicago hotel kitchen in the 1890s, and today they turn up at every American bake sale, school fundraiser, office birthday and late-night craving. This fudgy style uses lots of melted dark chocolate and butter with very little flour, so the middle is dense and almost truffle-like under a thin, shiny, crackled top. They contain egg, milk (butter) and wheat. Serve them just warm with vanilla ice cream, or cold from the tin with a glass of milk. The common mistake is baking until a skewer comes out clean: by then they are cakey and dry, because they keep cooking in the hot tin. Pull them when a skewer pushed in 5 cm from the edge shows moist, sticky crumbs. Chef's tip: beat the eggs and sugar hard for a full 3 minutes before adding the chocolate; the dissolved sugar is what forms that paper-thin crackly crust.

40 min

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Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan, or chicken parm, was created by Italian-American cooks in New York and New Jersey, inspired by Southern Italy's aubergine parmigiana, and it is now a fixture of red-sauce restaurants and hero sandwiches across the United States. Chicken breasts are pounded thin, breaded with Parmesan crumbs, fried until crisp, then blanketed with marinara and mozzarella and baked until bubbling. The usual mistake is drowning the cutlets in sauce: the crust turns soggy. Spoon sauce only on the centre and leave a crisp rim. Thin, even cutlets cook through in minutes; they are done at 74 °C, when the centre is white with no pink. Serve with spaghetti in the extra sauce or in a toasted roll. Chef's tip: let the breaded cutlets rest on a rack for 10 minutes before frying; the coating sets and stays on in one piece.

60 min

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Sloppy joes

Sloppy joes are a mid-century American family supper, beloved at school cafeterias, scout camps and quick Friday dinners from Iowa to Ohio. Beef mince is browned with onion and green pepper, then simmered in a sweet, tangy tomato sauce until it is thick enough to heap into a soft burger bun without soaking straight through. The usual mistake is leaving it too wet: the bun collapses at the first bite. Simmer until a spoon dragged across the pan leaves a clear trail for a second or two. Brown the mince until no pink remains; it should reach 71 °C. Serve with coleslaw, pickles or crisps, and have napkins ready. Chef's tip: toast the cut sides of the buns in a dry pan first; the crisp surface holds back the sauce long enough to finish the sandwich.

30 min

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Blueberry muffins

Blueberry muffins are the morning bake of New England, where wild blueberries grow across Maine in late summer, and they sit by the till of every American coffee shop. This bakery-style version starts in a hot oven so the tops dome high, with a soft, lemony crumb, pockets of jammy berries and a crunchy sugar crust. They contain wheat, egg and milk. Eat them warm for breakfast or with coffee mid-morning. The common mistake is stirring the batter smooth, which makes muffins tough and full of tunnels; fold just until the flour disappears, lumps and all. Doneness: they are ready when the tops spring back and a skewer comes out clean apart from berry juice. Chef's tip: toss the blueberries in a spoonful of the flour before folding them in, so they stay suspended instead of sinking to the bottom.

37 min

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Thanksgiving roast turkey

On the fourth Thursday of November, from Massachusetts to California, the roast turkey is the centre of the Thanksgiving table, carved beside stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. This recipe dry-brines a 5–6 kg bird with salt in the fridge for two days, then roasts it with herb butter under the skin for juicy meat and crackling golden skin. The commonest mistake is roasting by the clock and either serving it underdone or cooking the breast to sawdust. Use a thermometer: it is safe when the thickest part of the thigh, not touching bone, reads 74 °C and the juices run clear. Thaw a frozen bird in the fridge (allow 24 hours per 2 kg) and never stuff the cavity; bake the stuffing separately. Chef's tip: leave the salted turkey uncovered in the fridge for the last night; the skin dries like parchment and roasts shatteringly crisp.

240 min

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Brown sugar glazed ham

A glazed ham is the centrepiece of Easter lunch and Christmas dinner across the American South and Midwest, carved at the table with scalloped potatoes, green beans and soft rolls, and turned into sandwiches and split-pea soup for days afterwards. It is pork: a fully cooked, bone-in smoked ham is warmed slowly under foil, then brushed with a glossy brown sugar, Dijon and pineapple glaze and baked until lacquered and sticky. The common mistake is glazing from the start: the sugar burns black long before the centre is hot. Heat the ham first and glaze only for the last 30 minutes. Heat until the centre reads 63 °C, then rest for 15 minutes before carving. Chef's tip: score the fat in a 2 cm diamond pattern only through the fat, not into the meat; the glaze pools in the cuts and caramelises into crisp, sweet edges.

165 min

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General Tso's chickenSweet and spicy crispy chicken

General Tso's chicken is the star of American-Chinese takeaway, created by Hunanese chefs in Taiwan and reinvented in New York's Chinatown restaurants in the 1970s; today it comes in white cartons from Manhattan to small-town Ohio. Chunks of chicken thigh are coated in egg and cornflour, fried until shatteringly crisp, then tossed in a glossy sauce of soy, vinegar, sugar, ginger, garlic and dried red chillies. The usual mistake is pouring the sauce on too early or letting the chicken sit in it: the crust melts away. Thicken the sauce first, then toss the hot chicken in for no more than 30 seconds and serve. The chicken is done at 74 °C, when the pieces are firm and white inside. Serve with steamed rice and broccoli. Chef's tip: fry the chicken twice, the second time for 1 minute in hotter oil; the double fry keeps it crunchy under the glaze.

50 min

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Yankee pot roast

Yankee pot roast is the Sunday dinner of New England, simmering through the afternoon in Vermont farmhouses and Boston family kitchens while the windows steam up on a cold day. A whole chuck roast is browned hard, then braised low with onions, carrots and potatoes until it falls apart under a fork, and the liquid turns into a dark, beefy gravy. The usual mistake is pulling it too soon: chuck at 'cooked' temperature is still tough and stringy, and only softens after about three hours, when the connective tissue melts. It is done when a fork twists easily into the meat and the slices pull apart. Serve with the vegetables, gravy and a hunk of bread; leftovers become hash or sandwiches. Chef's tip: dry the beef very well and brown it in two stages, fat side first, until it is the colour of a dark crust of bread; that crust is where all the gravy's flavour comes from.

235 min

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Classic diner cheeseburger

The cheeseburger is the backbone of American roadside diners and summer cookouts, from Los Angeles drive-ins to New Jersey lunch counters. This one is the thick diner style: a loosely packed beef patty seasoned only with salt and pepper, seared hard on a hot griddle, topped with slices of melting cheese and stacked with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and a tangy burger sauce in a toasted bun. The usual mistake is overworking the mince and pressing the patty in the pan: it squeezes out the juice and turns tight and dry. Shape gently, press a dimple in the centre so it stays flat, and flip only once. Beef mince must be cooked through to 71 °C, when the juices run clear. Chef's tip: season the patties only on the outside, right before they hit the pan; salt mixed into the mince turns it springy like sausage.

27 min

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Buttermilk chicken tenders

Chicken tenders, also called chicken fingers or strips, are on every American kids' menu, sports bar and fast-casual counter from Georgia to Washington State, eaten with fries and a pot of dipping sauce. Strips of chicken breast soak in seasoned buttermilk in the fridge, which keeps them juicy, then get a double dip in spiced flour and are fried golden. The common mistake is crowding the pan: the oil temperature crashes and the tenders come out pale and greasy. Fry a few at a time at 175 °C until golden and the thickest strip reads 74 °C, with white, juicy meat inside. Serve with honey mustard, ranch or barbecue sauce. Chef's tip: after the first coat of flour, dip the strip back into the buttermilk and flour again; the double coat gives a thick, craggy crunch that stays crisp.

40 min

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Classic meatloaf

Meatloaf is the Midwest's great weeknight and Sunday-supper dish, served in Ohio and Iowa farmhouse kitchens and in diners from Chicago to Cleveland, always with mashed potatoes, green beans and gravy or ketchup. This version uses beef mince softened with milk-soaked bread and grated onion, baked free-form on a tray so every side gets a sticky, tangy ketchup and brown-sugar glaze. The common mistake is packing the mixture hard in a deep tin: it steams, sits in its own fat and turns dense and rubbery. Mix lightly with your fingertips, shape it loosely on a lined tray and bake until the centre reads 71 °C on a thermometer; the juices run clear and the slices hold together after a 10-minute rest. Leftovers make the best cold meatloaf sandwiches the next day. Chef's tip: brush on half the glaze at the start and the rest for the last 15 minutes, so you get a deep caramelised layer under a glossy fresh one.

85 min

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Eastern Carolina pulled pork

In eastern North Carolina barbecue means pork, slow-smoked whole hog or shoulder chopped and dressed with a thin sauce of cider vinegar, chilli flakes and pepper, with no tomato at all. It is served at pit-cooked joints around Ayden and Goldsboro with slaw and hushpuppies, and piled into soft buns at cookouts. This oven version slow-roasts a pork shoulder until it pulls apart. Chef's tip: dress the meat with the sauce while it's still warm, so it soaks right in.

440 min

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New England lobster roll

From Kittery to Bar Harbor, roadside lobster shacks on the Maine coast serve this every summer: big chunks of sweet lobster meat, barely dressed with mayonnaise, lemon and celery, piled into a hot-dog bun toasted in butter. Over the border in Connecticut they serve it warm with melted butter instead, and both camps think the other is wrong. Chef's tip: dress the lobster lightly, just enough to gloss it; the meat should be the star, not the mayonnaise.

50 min

American Fish

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Country ham with red-eye gravy

Salt-cured, aged country ham is a pride of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia smokehouses, and on mountain breakfast tables it is pan-fried in thin slices, then the pan is deglazed with black coffee to make red-eye gravy, thin, salty and bitter-sweet, spooned over the ham, grits or biscuits. This is pork, and very salty, so the slices are soaked first. Chef's tip: soak the ham in water or milk for 30 minutes if your country ham is very salty, then pat dry.

20 min

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Whoopie pies

Whoopie pies are Maine's official state treat and a lunchbox favourite in Pennsylvania Dutch country too; you find them wrapped in cling film by the till at petrol stations and bake sales all over New England. Two domed, soft chocolate cakes hold a thick, fluffy white filling. This filling is a meringue buttercream, so there's no gelatine-based marshmallow. Chef's tip: pipe or scoop the batter in even mounds and leave room, as they spread to 8 cm.

37 min

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Fortune cookies

Fortune cookies are not from China at all: they were first sold in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the early 1900s, probably from a Japanese tea garden recipe, and Chinese-American restaurants made them famous. A thin vanilla and almond batter is baked into a wafer, then folded while hot around a paper message. Write your own fortunes for a party. Chef's tip: bake only two or three at a time; the wafers set in seconds and crack if you can't fold them fast enough.

50 min

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Southern fried catfish

Fried catfish is the Friday night fish-fry and Delta church supper of Mississippi and Arkansas, where much of America's catfish is farmed. Fillets are soaked in seasoned milk or buttermilk, rolled in cornmeal and fried until the crust crackles and the mild, sweet fish inside flakes apart. Serve with hushpuppies, slaw and lemon. Chef's tip: cut thick fillets in half lengthways so they cook in the same time as the crust browns.

30 min

American Fish

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Wisconsin kringle

Kringle came to Racine, Wisconsin, with Danish bakers in the 1800s, and the town's bakeries still ship thousands of these flat oval pastry rings at Christmas. Thin layers of buttery laminated dough wrap a pecan and brown sugar filling, and the top is glazed with white icing. It is the official state pastry, eaten with coffee at breakfast. Chef's tip: keep the dough and butter cold at every fold; if the butter melts into the dough you lose the flaky layers.

90 min