American Food

Marie, That's a tough question! It might be a good idea to "keep it simple", as you'll have a better chance of finding ingredients. Although it's not strictly "American", as you're from California you might consider something with a slight Mexican touch such as Tacos or Enchiladas. I'm not sure how available Tortilla Shells or the requisite spices will be in Italy, so you may have to pack along a few extra items. Another option would be a basic "meat & potatoes" meal. Hopefully the others will have more ideas. Good luck and Buon Appetito!

For dessert, I'd suggest chocolate chip cookies or brownies. As far as the main, I don't have any great suggestions. Chili, Fried Chicken, Steak and Potatoes, Burgers, Mac and Cheese (you'd need to bring the cheddar cheese), and any variety of barbecue are all things that might be considered "American food". Something southwestern as Ken suggested would also be good, but you'd probably need to bring tortillas and some spices with you (although when I lived in Sweden, Old El Paso brand was available) Why don't you ask your son?

Italians love BBQ. Whenever we cook hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill here they all come running and our next door neighbors have told me that the only American food they really like is burgers and dogs on the grill. Of course, you might have trouble finding some decent BBQ stuff in Verona.

What a nice invitation from your future family! Very open-minded. :-) BBQ is a good idea, if they have a grill. Meatloaf is something quite American, and it's easy to get those ingredients. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes screams "home" to me (although I have not made meatloaf here). Fried chicken is also a possibility if that's in your repertoire. Scalloped potatoes, maybe? If you go Tex-Mex, bring seasonings. We can find cumin, etc., but generally it is in a spice shop, not the grocery store. I have yet to see chili powder anywhere, but you can buy canned green chiles. I buy tortillas at the military exchange as I haven't even seen them in any of the three grocery stores I shop at regularly. easy to put some shelf-stable ones in your suitcase. As mentioned, cheddar is not available. Not sure you can bring it with you due to import regs? One other idea is to make breakfast: scrambled eggs, home fries, toast. Bacon is tough because they don't "do" bacon like we do in North America. Nor do they do breakfast sausage, so it might need to be a meatless breakfast.

I love this question! We will be in Verona for the months of Sept & October. My very American dad is joining us for a week and is strictly a meat and potatoes kind of guy and almost nothing else. We have told him to pack a jar of peanut butter, but I would be interested to hear what "American" food is available in Verona stores. Do they sell ground beef in the stores?
For the OP- if they do sell ground beef, there are a multitude of American dishes- burgers, tacos, sloppy joes, goulash, meatloaf, shepherds pie. If all else fails, throw in the peanut butter:)

As Rik metioned whenever we cooked burgers and dogs on the grill it was an event but....a big but....the big thing was the soft buns. You can find them in grocery stores in Italy but they just ain't the same. I also cooked chili dogs with all the fixins and that was a favorite. Pulled pork sandwiches, tacos/burritos/fajitas were well liked, baked beans and, especially, buffalo chicken dip (you can bring a bottle of ranch dressing and buffalo wing sauce in your luggage and should be able to find the rest there). Things that weren't popular: potato salad, pasta salad was so so and garlic bread.

I would say Ron's suggestion of Fajitas is the winner, in terms of ease of finding the right ingredients and popularity/taste. Burgers are a good idea but the grill is essential, and you probably will have trouble finding the right bread for buns, as well as the condiments. For fajitas, you can easily bring a small amount of the dry spices ( cumin, chile powder) as well as a package or two of flour tortillas ( they will keep for several days without refrigeration). If you are checking luggage you could add a jar of your favorite salsa, but if not you can make it fresh from local ingredients. You probably won't find jalapenos, but they should have other hot peppers. You may have to improvise a bit on the sour cream. Maybe Ron or Rik knows if you are likely to find avocados at the produce stands.

Thank you so much for the great ideas! I will give it some thought and stash some things in my suitcase. It will be an exciting adventure. My son and his fiance met in Australia and went back to her home country to apply for her visa to come to the U.S. It is a long process. I'm thinking, destination wedding..Italy. Her family thinking, destination wedding..U.S.A. Haha. Looking forward to combining the two!

Thinking about it some junk food that was popular also: Skittles, Starburst, Reeses, hot cheetos, Slimjims, friut roll ups. Most any flavored potato chips are well liked. Ttalians have a limited selection on chips.

"Italians love BBQ. Whenever we cook hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill..." Don't you know that "BBQ" refers only to smoked pulled pork? Get with the program, y'all! Seriously, this thread reminds me of when a family I stayed with in South America asked me what were "typical North American dishes." I said, well, our country is so big we really only have regional dishes... and then I failed to name any real regional dishes.

When we had foreign exchange students, they all wanted to know what "Thanksgiving" was all about! So we did it -- in the summer. Don't know if it's even possible to find a turkey in Italy, and it is a LOT of work, but this is totally American, not Mexican :-) In reality the US is very multicultural in our eating habits these days with Italian food being the most popular, probably followed by Mexican food.

When Europeans think American food they usually think circa 1950. Hamburgers will probably be most appreciated if you can find a grill. If you can't, consider meatloaf. Ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, bread crumbs (even if you have to make them) tomato paste if you can't find ketchup, and mustard are all readily available. Another possibility is fried chicken. Shake and bake is not available, but eggs, bread crumbs, paprika, pepper and salt are. Pan fry in olive oil. Or grill or bake pork ribs with barbeque sauce. Serve either with mashed potatoes. Bring a box of jello if you really want to do it up mid western. Add fruit and whipping cream. Can you make an apple pie?

Pancakes! My parents spend summers in their old family home in Italy. When we make pancakes in the morning the neighbor kids would come and eat. She uses Bisquick pancake mix or makes them from scratch.
With real maple syrup.!

I talked with my son, via Skype, he said that you can find syrup but it is very expensive, so I will bring some with me. I was thinking bacon, eggs, and pancakes. Will a butcher cut bacon since they don't normally eat it? There is a family member who has a grill so we will try to find some ribs or something locally. I thought of Thanksgiving also. Their family has never had pumpkin pie so I think I will bring some pumpkin along. Are food items ok in checked luggage? Do I need to put it in a carry on? Do I declare it at customs? I don't have a clue how that works. Your expertise would be appreciated. Thank you to all who have taken the time to reply, you have been a big help!

Regarding the bacon, you can just get pancetta. This is the closest Italian equivalent to bacon. It is also a pork belly cut, but it is cured with herbs and spices. American bacon is usually smoked. Bring American measuring cups and spoons if you need them.

Marie,
You should look at the TSA site for info on bringing food. No fresh food or meat, as I recall, but I could be wrong. Haven;t tried to export any food products. But all must be checked baggage if over 3 ounces of liquid. I am not sure what Italy might allow/disallow, so check that too. Start at the Italian Embassy site. If you get Italian "bacon" it will not be the same, smoky flavor you expect. You can get pancetta that is cured and can be sliced thin by the butcher in a good salumeria. If your son can hunt around a bit, he might find someone who carries American-style bacon. We found American-style bacon in Rome last Christmas at a tiny grocery near Campo dei Fiori. I haven't looked for it sinece we moved here, though.

"Will a butcher cut bacon since they don't normally eat it?" Bacon just doesn't appear. It has to be cut from the belly, brined and smoked, and you end up with a slab of bacon that's about 6 pounds. Then it gets sliced. So if they don't eat bacon, they don't produce it. What you could do is make your own bulk sausage. I'm sure you could find plain ground pork there. Find a good American breakfast sausage recipe and have the spices ready. Salt, pepper, sage, some crushed red pepper.