Happy Independence day to Americans everywhere and a special “Thank you” from me as American foods are some of my favourites.
On an eye-opening trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, I once witnessed children eating turkey legs the same size as small dogs. We went to a pizzeria where the soda was on tap and refills were limitless. The portion sizes were incredible too, as a gang of 1980s kids we couldn’t get our heads around the fact that we got a whole pizza each and didn’t have to share. Everything was super sized and we rolled home to Ireland after a great holiday.
Here are my top five “American Foods”, all of which happen to be carbohydrate based and almost all of which come under the treat category. No better day to enjoy them ...
Bagels
Before the amazing Kemp sisters brought their chain of Itsa bagels to Ireland, bagels were relatively rare here. After I finished my leaving cert, aged 16, I moved to New York to be an au pair for the summer. On my days off I'd buy a hazelnut latte, a bagel with cream cheese and wander around the city wide eyed like the country bumpkin I was. It was pure bliss. If you've never tried making your own bagels well today's the day! They couldn't be easier and taste nicer than most shop bought ones. Here's my fail proof recipe.
Pizza
When my sister Maeve moved to New York in 1999 I called over on my school holidays. Over a few weeks I discovered my love for JayZ and literally spent all of my life savings on pizza. Every penny I earned spud picking was given to street vendors in exchange for slices of perfect dough oozing incredible amounts of cheese. Pizza by the slice is genius. The ultimate food on the go. Try chorizo, courgette and peppers.
Doughnuts
While in Florida we stayed in an apartment at the beach for a week and went "food shopping", which just involved lots of "oohing and aahing". We bought huge boxes of powdered sugar and you had to reach inside to pull out a donut. Even the bread is sweeter over there, soft and addictive. Now there are doughnuts to equal those American ones available in Ireland. In fact, we're quite spoiled for choice with Aungier Danger and Revolution Bakery in Dublin and Ali's Kitchen in Cork to name but a few. I don't usually make my own as I don't have a deep fat fryer but here's my recipe for a really American Indulgent cake – Peanut Butter and Chocolate.
Macaroni & cheese
As part of my babysitting duties in New York I had to "cook dinner". This involved opening a box of mac n' cheese and tipping it into a saucepan with milk. Dinner was served in minutes and the kids loved it. What's not to like?! Here's my homemade macaroni cheese with grilled tomato recipe.
Pancakes & waffles
The world has gone pancake and waffle crazy. My Instagram feed is overflowing with stacks of pancakes doused in peanut butter, caramel sauce, blueberries and more. There are healthy versions and there are triple chocolate chip versions. All of which need to be tried at least once. Waffle makers are now easy to get so we're all whisking up batters with eggs and flour come the weekend. Why not try my recipe for potato waffles, a great savoury way to use that waffle iron.
