American Recipes
2885 recipes found
Summer Slaw
Beignets
The French might have been the first to deep-fry choux pastry, but it’s in New Orleans that beignets became a true mainstay in bakeries and cafes. This version is relatively easy to make at home: The yeast-leavened dough comes together quickly, is very forgiving to work with and fries up light and airy. The yeast must be fresh and active: Once stirred with warm water and sugar, let the mixture stand for 10 minutes. If the yeast is fresh, it will create a foamy, bubbly layer on top. (If this doesn’t happen, you’ll need to start over with new yeast.) You can cook the beignets in a Dutch oven or deep skillet, no deep-fryer necessary. To obtain the perfect puffs, fry the fritters in batches so they have plenty of room to cook evenly on all sides. Beignets are best eaten hot, buried in a blanket of powdered sugar.
Boston Cream Doughnuts
This is a recipe for a popular riff on the classic Boston Cream Pie, with a crisp, flaky doughnut as the vessel for silky pastry cream. The only specialty tool you’ll need is a pastry bag. But you can also poke a funnel into the side of the doughnut and spoon the cream into the center of the pastry.
Cabbage-Radish Slaw With Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette
Prune Pudding
This smooth, satisfying pudding recipe served at Franklin Delano Roosevelt's White House originally called for leaving the prunes in water overnight. But now that pitted prunes are readily available, an hour’s soak is all you need to speed the cooking process. Sweet, but not overly so, it lends itself to delicious variations: add a bit of cardamom; sprinkle with walnuts; spoon some over thick, creamy yogurt; or try all of these together. The strong cinnamon flavor and dark color make the pudding ideal for autumn and holiday desserts. The portions here may seem small, but as with any dish involving prunes, a little goes a long way.
Wild King Salmon With Savory Whipped Cream
The wild king salmon season opens in May on the West Coast and continues through summer, from Alaska all the way to San Diego. The first wild salmon in spring has brilliant red flesh, a mild sweet flavor and a velvetlike texture. Farmed salmon doesn’t compare. In this recipe, the salmon is cut on the diagonal into thin slices that cook quickly. They are topped with softly whipped cream that's seasoned with mustard, cayenne and lemon zest.
Whole Roasted New York Strip Loin
Roast beef for a holiday dinner or festive occasion is easy and impressive. There are many cuts to consider, from the pricey tenderloin and standing rib to the more affordable rump roast. A whole strip loin, also know variously as New York strip or Kansas City strip — usually cut into steaks — also makes a great centerpiece. Served with roasted potatoes and parsnips and horseradish sauce, it is the quintessential Anglophone meal.
Thin Pan-Seared Pork Chops
Double-thick pork chops always look appetizing, but unless they are cooked perfectly, they tend to be dry, regardless of whether you grill or bake them. That's especially true if they are lean loin chops. But skinny chops cooked over high heat on the stovetop are far more apt to come out juicy. Giving them an hour in quickly made brine adds even more flavor and tenderness. Ask your butcher to cut thin chops that weigh 4 to 5 ounces.
Pumpkin Skillet Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Fall in simple skillet cake form, this easy pumpkin cake that can be made in one bowl. The frosting is fluffier and comes together more quickly with the help of an electric mixer, but it can be mixed by hand in a pinch. It's also great without a drop of frosting.
Malted Milk Fudge Ripple Ice Cream
If you love the flavor of malted milk, you’ll adore this ultra-creamy ice cream, which tastes like a chocolate malted in solid form. To achieve the most intense flavor, seek out the barley malt syrup (available in health food stores), which deepens the malted milk powder whisked into the ice cream base. Be gentle when folding in the fudge ripple; you want the fudge to stay in distinct pockets and not disappear into the ice cream base. Or skip the rippling altogether and serve the fudge as a sauce on top of the ice cream.
Chamomile Strawberry Gin Daisy Cocktail
The perfect warm weather cocktail, this pretty-in-pink libation is fresh and perfectly tangy and sweet. It celebrates everything you love about the spring in one glass, and tastes great all summer, too.
Pork Chops With Brandied Cherries
Pork and fruit is a classic combination, and for good reason: The sweetness and tang of the fruit softens the gamy richness of the meat. Here, a pan sauce of ripe summer cherries seasoned with a little brandy and fresh thyme adds verve and complexity to seared pork chops, while garam masala and allspice add heady, aromatic notes. You can use either sour or sweet cherries, as long as you balance the flavors at the end. Sweet ones will need a touch of vinegar for acidity, while sour cherries may need a drizzle of honey. Do take the time to get a good, dark sear on the meat before making the sauce. Those browned bits on the bottom of the pan are the flavor backbone of the sauce. The darker the color, the deeper the sauce.
Fernet Branca 'Oreo Cookies'
Shrimp Pasta With Corn and Basil
This particularly American combination of flavors — shrimp and corn — is light, summery and very tasty, both sweet and slightly spicy. If you are feeling flush, you can make this pasta with lobster instead.
Lobster Succotash
If you take some liberties with traditional American succotash you can transform it from a side dish to a deluxe starter or even a main course. Fresh shelling beans, such as cannellini beans or cranberry beans, are available at farmers' markets from mid-to-late-summer. If you can’t find them, use frozen limas.
Pickled Asparagus
Preserving food cannot be considered new and trendy, no matter how vigorously it’s rubbed with organic rosemary sprigs. But the recent revival of attention to it fits neatly into the modern renaissance of handcrafted food, heirloom agriculture, and using food in its season. Like baking bread or making a slow-cooked tomato sauce, preserving offers primal satisfactions and practical results.
Mushroom-Farro Soup With Parmesan Broth
This dish is layered in earthiness and umami thanks to its ingredient list: farro, dried and fresh mushrooms, shallots and Parmesan broth. Farro is a rustic grain, hearty enough to maintain its integrity and stand up to a long simmer. Similar to arborio rice, pearled farro readily releases its starch as it cooks, thickening the broth and marrying the ingredients in a blissful union. A pinch of fennel pollen at the end is a classy move, though absolutely not mandatory.
Wild Mushroom Broth With Buckwheat Noodles
Perfect Hash Browns
When it comes to breakfast potatoes, most people fall into one of two camps: home fries or hash browns. This recipe from Alison Roman shows you how to make an ideal batch of the hashed variety that are aggressively crisp on the outside and creamy tender on the inside. To ensure ultimate crispness, be sure to rinse the grated potatoes with cold water until the water runs nearly clear and to use a very hot, well-seasoned pan. As with all potato dishes, remember to season well.
Arugula Salad With Peaches, Goat Cheese and Basil
This simple, quintessential summer salad is a reminder that seasonal ingredients at their very best don’t need much fussing (or much cooking at all, in this case). Here, peppery arugula and earthy goat cheese get brightened with juicy summer peaches, but the recipe can be tweaked to suit all seasons: If you can’t find ripe peaches, you can use cherries, strawberries, plums, raspberries or even cherry tomatoes in their place.
Modern Chicken Potpie
Here's a radical notion: chicken potpie does not have to be filled with goopy white sauce, carrots and peas. Traditional recipes are long on starch and richness, short on flavor. This updated version is savory with chicken stock, herbs, and wine (no white sauce needed), easier to make, and still familiar. Use thigh meat, for more taste and better texture than breast. And vegetables should be served separately, not forcemarched into the filling. Roasted carrots, peas with mint and buttered steamed asparagus are all nice to serve alongside chicken potpie.
Cod and Kimchi Stew
Kimchi is a seriously versatile kitchen staple because it’s packed with so many flavors and textures. It’s great chopped and folded into mayonnaise, cooked with your favorite taco filling or stirred in to sauces and soups. In this recipe, which is inspired by kimchi jjigae, kimchi takes center stage as the base for an umami-rich broth. Once cooked, the kimchi is tender and provides a counterpoint to perfectly poached cod. For a heartier meal, serve it over steamed rice and top it with a fried egg.
Turkey Thighs With Pickled Cranberries and Onions for Two
Roasted turkey thighs are quicker, easier and more adaptable than a whole bird, and just as satisfying with their crisp, bronzed skin and tender meat. You can scale this recipe to feed as many as you’re serving, or if you want to make extra for leftovers. Simply double, triple or even quadruple it, spreading out the thighs on your largest sheet pan. Or you can halve it to feed one. The quick-pickled onions and cranberries are a tangy contrast to the richness of the meat, and, with their fuchsia hue, a welcome bit of color on the plate.
One-Pan, One-Pot Thanksgiving Dinner
Perfect for a small gathering, this streamlined Thanksgiving meal is cooked in one medium pot and on one sheet pan (and OK, yes, it also calls for an extra bowl). It has all the traditional flavors of the classic menu — juicy turkey, crisp-topped stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, roasted brussels sprouts and marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes — but with a fraction of work (and far fewer dishes).