Today we’re setting off on a gastronomic journey across the USA—a country where comfort food has been elevated to a cult, and every state guards its own legendary recipes. Three iconic dishes, three stories, three explosions of flavor!
A lavish casserole of large pasta elbows in an unbelievably thick, stretchy cheese sauce, topped with a golden crisp crust. Every bite is creamy, rich indulgence that’s impossible to stop eating.
Ingredients (serves 6):
• Elbow macaroni — 450 g
• Aged cheddar — 300 g
• Gouda — 150 g
• Butter — 60 g
• Wheat flour — 45 g
• Whole milk — 700 ml
• 20% cream — 100 ml
• Dijon mustard — 1 tsp.
• Smoked paprika — 0.5 tsp.
• Ground nutmeg — a pinch
• Salt — to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper — to taste
• Breadcrumbs — 50 g
• Butter for the crust — 20 g
Method:
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (175°C convection). Put a large pot with 4 liters of water over high heat and add a tablespoon of salt. Once the water comes to a rolling boil, add the elbow macaroni and cook it for exactly 2 minutes less than the package says (it should remain slightly firm inside—“al dente minus”). Drain, tip the pasta into a colander, and lightly drizzle with vegetable oil so it doesn’t stick together.
Step 2. Grate both cheeses on the coarse side of a grater. Set aside around 80 g of cheddar for the top layer. In a heavy, thick-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt 60 g of butter until lightly foamy. Add the flour and whisk vigorously for exactly 2 minutes—the mixture should turn golden beige and smell nutty. This is the roux, the base of the sauce.
Step 3. Begin pouring in the milk in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Add it in 100–150 ml portions, making sure the sauce is completely smooth before adding the next one. Then pour in the cream. Raise the heat to medium and, stirring constantly, cook the sauce until thickened—it should coat the back of a spoon in a thick layer, and a line drawn through it with your finger should not flow back together. This will take 5–7 minutes.
Step 4. Take the saucepan off the heat. Add the grated cheeses (except for the reserved 80 g) by the handful, stirring thoroughly each time until fully melted. Add the Dijon mustard, smoked paprika, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir—the sauce should be utterly smooth, glossy, thick, and stretchy.
Step 5. Add the cooked macaroni to the cheese sauce and gently fold with a spatula so every elbow is completely coated. Transfer the mixture to a ceramic baking dish (about 25×30 cm) and level the surface.
Step 6. Sprinkle the surface with the reserved grated cheddar. In a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with 20 g of melted butter and spread evenly over the top—this will create a crisp crust.
Step 7. Put the dish on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the surface is golden brown and the sauce begins bubbling around the edges. Take it out and let it stand for 10 minutes—the sauce will thicken slightly during that time, and the dish will hold its shape perfectly when served.
💡 Fact: Mac & Cheese entered American cooking thanks to Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, who brought the recipe back from Italy in 1802 and served it at an official dinner at the White House. Since then, the dish has become a true national comfort-food icon.
Philadelphia’s legendary sandwich: a long, crusty roll packed with thinly sliced beef fried to caramelized perfection, melted cheese, sweet onions, and peppers. Every bite is juicy, smoky, cheesy-meaty perfection.
Ingredients (serves 4):
• Beef tenderloin or strip loin — 700 g
• Baguettes or long sandwich rolls (hoagie rolls) — 4
• Provolone (or young cheddar) — 200 g
• Large onions — 2
• Green bell peppers — 2
• Button mushrooms — 150 g
• Vegetable oil — 3 tbsp.
• Butter — 30 g
• Worcestershire sauce — 1 tbsp.
• Coarse salt — to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper — to taste
• Garlic powder — 0.5 tsp.
Method:
Step 1. Wrap the beef in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for 45–60 minutes. The meat should not freeze solid—it needs to become very firm while still yielding to a knife. This is necessary for ultra-thin slicing. Take out the beef and, using a sharp knife, slice it across the grain into pieces no more than 2 mm thick. The thinner, the more authentic the result.
Step 2. Peel the onions and slice them into thin half-rings, 3 mm thick. Cut the green peppers in half, remove the seeds and membranes, and slice into strips 5 mm wide. Slice the mushrooms into 3–4 mm pieces. Cut the cheese into thin slices.
Step 3. Heat a large cast-iron skillet or flat grill pan over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp. vegetable oil and the butter. Add the onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 12–15 minutes, until the onions are golden, caramelized, soft, and sweet; the peppers tender; and the mushrooms have released all their moisture and turned golden. Season with a pinch of salt. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl.
Step 4. Return the same pan to high heat and add the remaining vegetable oil. Once the oil begins to smoke lightly, lay out the thin beef slices in a single layer (work in batches—do not overcrowd the pan). Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook without touching for 1–1.5 minutes, until the underside develops a deep brown crust. Flip, drizzle with Worcestershire sauce, and cook for another 1 minute. The meat should be fully cooked but still juicy.
Step 5. Return the caramelized vegetables to the pan with the meat. Use a spatula to mix and lightly chop the meat right in the pan—the pieces should become smaller, but not turn into ground beef. Divide the mixture in the pan into 4 equal oblong portions.
Step 6. Split each roll lengthwise without cutting all the way through—it should open like a book. Toast the rolls in the oven at 180°C for 3–4 minutes—they should be crisp outside but soft within. Lay slices of provolone over each portion of meat and vegetables in the pan. Cover the pan with a lid for 1–2 minutes—the cheese should melt completely and cloak the meat in a stretchy blanket.
Step 7. Carefully lift each portion with a spatula and place it in a prepared roll. Serve immediately, while the cheese stretches and the roll crunches. Traditionally, it is eaten with your hands, holding the sandwich at a slight angle so the juices run toward the far end.
💡 Fact: The Philly Cheesesteak was invented in 1930 by Pat Olivieri, the owner of a Philadelphia hot dog stand. One day, he decided to fry thinly sliced beef instead of sausages—and a passing cab driver asked him to make the same sandwich for him. That was how a legend was born, and Pat’s King of Steaks still operates in the same spot today.
A dense, moist, almost truffle-like chocolate square with a thin crisp crust on top and a gooey, intensely rich center. Pieces of walnut add textural contrast and nutty depth. This is the quintessence of chocolate pleasure.
Ingredients (makes 12–16 pieces):
• Dark chocolate (70% cocoa) — 200 g
• Butter — 150 g
• Sugar — 250 g
• Large eggs — 3
• Wheat flour — 100 g
• Cocoa powder (unsweetened) — 30 g
• Vanilla extract — 1 tsp.
• Fine sea salt — 0.5 tsp.
• Walnuts — 120 g
• Flaky sea salt — for sprinkling (optional)
Method:
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 175°C. Line a 20×20 cm square pan (or a 20×25 cm rectangular pan) with parchment paper, leaving the edges hanging over the sides—this will make it easy to lift out the finished brownies. Lightly butter the parchment.
Step 2. Spread the walnuts on a dry baking sheet and toast in the oven for 6–8 minutes at 170°C, until they become intensely fragrant and darken slightly. Watch them closely—nuts burn quickly. Remove, cool, and roughly chop with a knife into pieces about 1 cm in size. Set aside 2 tablespoons for decoration.
Step 3. Break the chocolate into small pieces. In a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water (a bain-marie; the bottom of the bowl must not touch the water), melt the chocolate together with the butter. Stir with a silicone spatula until completely smooth—the mixture should be glossy, smooth, and fluid. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
Step 4. Add the sugar to the chocolate mixture and stir with a spatula until fully dissolved. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing vigorously for 30 seconds after each addition. Once the last egg is in, whisk the mixture vigorously for 2 minutes—the batter should become glossy, smooth, and slightly stretchy, like melted fondant. This whipping is exactly what creates the characteristic thin, shiny crust on top. Add the vanilla extract.
Step 5. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients through a fine sieve directly into the chocolate mixture. Gently fold with a spatula, using bottom-to-top motions—20–25 strokes are enough, just until the white streaks of flour disappear. Do not, under any circumstances, overmix—this activates the gluten and will make the brownies tough instead of fudgy.
Step 6. Add the chopped walnuts (except for the reserved ones) and make another 3–4 folds with the spatula, distributing them evenly through the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and level the surface with a spatula. Sprinkle the reserved nuts over the top, pressing them lightly into the batter. If desired, add a few flakes of sea salt—they bring out the chocolate flavor spectacularly.
Step 7. Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 22–28 minutes. The key doneness test: insert a wooden toothpick into the center—it should come out with moist crumbs, but NOT liquid batter. If the toothpick comes out clean, the brownies are overbaked. The surface should form a thin matte crust with slight cracks, and when the pan is gently shaken, the center should barely wobble. Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan for at least 2 hours (3 is even better)—the structure will set during this time. Then lift out by the parchment edges and cut into squares with a sharp knife.
💡 Fact: Brownies were invented in 1893 in Chicago at the request of Bertha Palmer, a socialite, for the World’s Columbian Exposition. She asked the chef of the Palmer House hotel to create a dessert that would be easy to eat by hand from a lunch box. That very original recipe, with apricot glaze, is still made at the hotel today.