Hmmm....where was the sandwich invented? :-?

I assume that was rhetorical, starrs, but I'll bite. The answer, at least according to legend, is England. The Earl of Sandwich, playing cards, etc.

kireland - yep, blasphemy - that's why I do the mashed potato or it wouldn't be 'right'. I followed (American) recipes from the internet to make it as authentic as possible. Last time I had accompaniments of (I think) sweet potato, 3-green-veg (sprouts, french beans and peas)with hazelnuts. And the mashed potato. I did the gravy the way I always do it - you could say pan dripping, yes. And pumpkin pie and cream for dessert. Last year's pie wasn't so good as I used fresh pumpkin (which i'd laboriously scraped out) which I'd frozen - I think it was too wet. Better to use the canned stuff, which I had to buy from the US!
I just don't like mashed potato with turkey - personal taste, I guess. Now then bangers and mash (preferably fried with onions) and then you're talking!

hax - I don't know what part of Germany (or Denmark) your relatives are from - but, of course, although they do eat plenty of sausages 'on the plate' with knife and fork - they DO have hot dogs, believe me! Also burgers in buns - even if only McD's! Corn on the cob - I'm pretty sure they have that too - certainly we do here and always have, at least during my half century of life! Ribs are a normal European bbq food too. As for not having green salads. I think they're pulling your leg! What's 'fancy'?

I LOVE American food - but there isn't really anything that's unique, because, of course, you got it from somewhere else! Grits, maybe. (But are those Caribbean?) And I was going to say, jerky, but I think I've seen that in the shops over here. Perhaps we are all becoming too American!

starrsville - aha, yes, England - but, believe me, if you came over here and asked for a cheese sandwich, you wouldn't believe it was the same species! (THIN cheese, half a slice of tomato and a bit of limp lettuce).

Growing up in Texas, I would say that TexMex played a huge role in our "American meal".
We never, ever ate ribs.
In fact, I don't think I ate a rib until I was an adult!
I ate alot of fried chicken and BBQ chicken + burgers, hot dogs and such.
We like making real fajitas for visitors... with wonderful homemade, fluffy tortillas.
Mexican rice and pinto beans round that meal out.
For dessert? Homestyle peach cobbler (not a rolled crust) and Homemade Vanilla Bluebell ice cream!
The next meal would be chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans and country gravy!
Night 3... FRITO PIE!

Yep, TX, hard to get much more American than Frito Pie! But again, regional. It's something you rarely, if ever, see around here. We sure did enjoy it when we were in NM a few years back.

Yes, of course, wildblueyonder, you are right. You can find everything in Denmark and Germany that we have here, including hamburgers and hot dogs, just as you can find any ethnic food here. But my relatives (from Copenhagen and a suburb of Frankfort) ate their hamburgers, right on my deck, with a knife and fork

This thread makes me think of the church potluck dinners of my childhood. These were put on by Kansas farm wives. Oh the food! All homemade from scratch. Table after table of food. The pies used fresh fruit or home canned. The vegetables were also fresh or home canned. Corn freshly cut off the cob, it is so good. Fresh baked rolls, breads and cakes. And yes! all colors of jello.

There is still potlucks. But they're not as good as they were. Most farm wives have to work jobs as the husbands do too. Very few can just farm for a living.

hi hax
I don't know if I've been doing it wrong then, but whenever I've had a hamburger (in bun) in a cafe or diner or restaurant, they've always brought it on a plate with the fries and a salad. And I've eaten it with a knife and fork, because I've thought that's what you were supposed to do! (But I would pick it up if I were home!

Ooops! Pressed post before I was done. Sorry!

I was saying my relatives ate their hamburgers here with a knife and fork, and served my daughters "hot dogs" with a knife and fork while in Germany. (And "fancy" was their word, not mine, for green mesclun salads with fresh toppings--sort of California style.
They were crazy for them.)

They just think it funny and very American to eat with your fingers.

They also ask to be taken to diners!

LOL - hax - I've been to Germany many times and, at least the ones you buy in markets etc, hot-dogs have never been served to me on a plate! And they do eat a lot of sauerkraut, which is perhaps why they like American salads!

I would ask to be taken to the diner too!

Just thought of something else different. Your fish 'n' chips. I had great fnc in Seattle - battered salmon! You wouldnt' find salmon in a fish 'n' chip shop here - the cod gets battered and the salmon gets poached and made a fuss of, because it's expensive here!

A number 5 at my favorite Mexican restaurant: cheese enchilada, chicken taco, tamale, rice and beans. And an ice cold Corona with lime.

Wildblueyonder - your Thanksgiving sounds like a delicious traditional feast! If you want to check out some fantastic North American Thanksgiving recipes go to www.gourmet.com and do an advanced search for Thanksgiving recipes - you'll find wonderful variations of roast turkey and all of the side dishes and desserts. I get all of my Thanksgiving recipes from there. Mmmmmm!

Hi wildblueyonder,
Too funny! See what I mean? You are served a hamburger with a knife and fork so you can eat the coleslaw or side dwith the fork and use your knife to spread your burger with ketchup (or catsup) and mustard. Although I have learned you can never generalize (as evidenced on this thread), I have never seen an American eat a hamburger with a knife and fork, and have only done so myself in Denmark, trying to mimic the locals! I learned to keep my fork in my left hand there, too

P.S. I love that you celebrate Thanksgiving!

My son did a foreign exchange program after high school, and lived in Istein, Germany for a year. Anxious to give them a taste of home, one of the host mothers cooked an authentic American Thanksgiving dinner for the students. She cooked a 22 pound turkey (her first) and prepared all the fixings(except pumpkin pie-she couldn't get the ingredients). My son said they all oohed and ahhed over the lovely meal she had made. They waited for the hosts to begin serving, but they stood there looking perplexed. Turns out they had no idea how to carve the turkey! It gave them all a good laugh as they hacked away at it...

I only eat McDonald's and Burger King "happy meal" burgers with my hands.
I have never willingly eaten a real burger with my hands... an I am from Texas.
Even as a kid, I recall wrapping a napkin around chicken legs so I did not have to touch it.
Maybe that explains why I never ate ribs.
Maybe it is OCD?
Hmmm...

Yeah - me thinks it is OCD - LOL.

Actually my great-grandfather, when he ate fried chicken, sandwiches, or anything with his hands, wouldn't eat the part he actually touched. He left that bit on the plate - LOL. He also had lots of animals - dogs, cows, goats, etc - and he would only handle them with gloves on, never touched them with bare hands.

Ah, yes, the church pot lucks of my sixties farm town Southern Baptist childhood...my my my. There would be a whole TABLE of jello salads! I wish I could go back in time and go through the line one more time, because in my memory, that was about the best food in the world.

My DH is from the country and we sometimes entertain the seniors at the 'ol Baptist church. They still have all those "brown food group" dishes. Broccoli casserole with Campbell's soup, velveeta and Ritz crackers on the top, macaroni and cheese with Ritz Crackers on top....you name it, there's a Campbell's soup in there and Ritz Crackers on the top! Very slimming......NOT! A yes, the Americanized version of Le Cassoulet....LOL!

Churches all over this country are still having "dinner on the grounds" - especially this month. If you want to enjoy the potluck feasts you are describing, they are still being served. Our church in the middle of the SE's largest city is having one in a couple of weeks.

But I find so much purchased food at church potlucks these days. I'd prefer something homemade with creme of mushroom soup over a fancy salad from an expensive deli any day.