A few years ago I wanted to have an All American Fourth of July party for friends who left their homes in countries all over the world to settle in America.  Some of these friends were recent arrivals, and others had been in the United States long enough for their grandchildren to be second generation Americans.

Of course, the idea was just an excuse to have an All American Fourth of July party with good friends.  The challenge was to come up with Only American foods to serve instead of our usual international potluck. Following is the menu I created for the occasion:

MUNCHIES
Popcorn
Potato chips
Onion dip
Red Vines

MAINS
Spam & Velveeta Cheese Kebobs
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches (Goober Grape on Wonder Bread)
Cheeseburgers

DESSERTS
Apple Pie
Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies
Hershey Bars
Ice Cream Scoops on Cones
Birthday Cake (or Cupcakes) with Flag Decorations

DRINKS
Kool-Aid (red & blue)
Coke & Diet Coke

In conjunction with the American food for the All American Fourth of July party, I placed recipe cards imprinted with information about the specific food on the serving table. Not only did we all learn something about American ingenuity and American tastes, we had a great time. Click the link below to read some of the information I collected about the foods on the menu:

Origins of Classic American Food

Needless to say, the All American Fourth of July party was a big success. Feel free to include any of these ideas into your family cookbook!

Happy Cookbooking,

Matilda