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ITALIAN-AMERICAN CUISINE
Italian American cuisine is what is commonly called Italian food in the United States. It is based heavily on the cuisine of southern Italy, particularly that of Campania and Sicily, and is characterized by heavy use of tomatoes and dry pasta as well as substantially larger quantities of meat than are used in Italy. Coastal forms of Italian-American food (particularly West Coast and New England) often use substantial quantities of fish as well. Another key difference is in the structure of the meal -- while standard Italian cuisine follows a pattern of "appetizer-first course-second course", Italian-American food somewhat muddles the distinction, allowing entire meals to be built on what Italians would consider only a first course.
Italian American food is often somewhat pejoratively known as "red sauce" food from the significant amounts of tomato sauce characteristic of the style. A common aesthetic associated with Italian American food is the cliched image of a "red sauce joint", a restaurant specializing in such foods as spaghetti with meatballs, decorated with red checked tablecloths and old-fashioned straw-covered Chianti bottles serving as tabletop candleholders; while more upscale restaurants specializing in continental Italian cuisine tend to avoid something so formulaic, the design is de rigueur for more traditional Italian-American restaurants, to the point where some chain restaurants such as Papa Gino's use the same red checked pattern on their laminate tabletops.
Prominent chefs who work in the Italian American style include Michael Chiarello and Rachael Ray. Italian-American food (and Mediterranean influences in general) has been highly influential in New American cuisine as well.
Specialties
- Main courses
- Spaghetti and meatballs - a combination that does not exist in Italy, but is iconic in the USA. Often the meatballs are used in cooking the sauce along with Italian sausage (salsiccia) and braciole (stuffed beef rolls).
- Polenta - Cornmeal mash, either in a soupy or more solid form. Sometimes served with a meat sauce, or with deli meats. (The soup version in completely unknown in Italy)
- Frittata - An open-faced omelette. There can be potatoes and eggs, peas and eggs, asparagus and eggs, peppers and eggs, cucuzza (i.e. squash/zucchini) and eggs. These can be eaten by themselves or on sandwiches.
- Sausage and Peppers - Salsiccia, peppers and onions and a very light red sauce.
- Pizza, particularly Americanized forms such as deep dish or Greek pizza
- Cioppino - a fish stew characteristic of West Coast Italian American cookery, particularly San Francisco
- Baked ziti - Ziti pasta, similar to penne, mixed with a tomato sauce and covered in cheese then baked in the oven
- Lasagna, particularly using ricotta cheese as a filling rather than the more common style in Italy that uses béchamel sauce
- Sunday gravy - a meat-infused tomato sauce commonly made on Sundays and special occasions; derived from the Italian ragù napoletano. There is some friendly debate among Italian-Americans over whether it should be called "sauce" or "gravy".
- Lobster Fra Diavolo - A pasta dish made with Lobster, and sometimes other seafood, that contains crushed red pepper to make it spicy.
- American chop suey - a relative of Ragu bolognese made primarily with hamburger meat
- Chicken Parmesan - fried breaded chicken cutlets covered in sauce and cheese
- Pasta Fagioli (pronounced Pasta Fazool by some, from southern Italian fasule) - Pasta with beans, often cannelini beans, that has the consistency of a stew.
- Pizzagiena or pizza ghen - Easter Pie, made with various cheeses and salted meats.
- Baccalà - salted cod fish for Christmas Eve or during Lent. Can have it fried, baccala salad, etc.
- Alici - another integral dish served during Christmas Eve's "Feast of the Seven Fishes." This dish's real name is Spaghetti con Aglio E Olio E Aliche which essentially means spaghetti with garlic, oil and anchovies. The anchovies and garlic are sliced very thin and dissolve in the oil. When served, the dish appears to be just pasta covered in hot oil. (The Italian original dish doesn't have anchovies)
- Peas and Eggs - originally a meal eaten by poor Italian immigrants has since become a favorite lenten meal. It consists of simply eggs and peas, fried in a pan with olive oil and some garlic, onion and pepper.
- Desserts
- Cannoli - a sweet ricotta filling in a fried pastry shell
- Strufoli (or Struf') - Fried dough for dessert
- Evushgadil or biscotti d'annodare - knot cookies
- Sfogliatelle - a sort of custard turnover made with leaved ("foglie") pastry
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