American Pasta Dishes

New York

Chicken Riggies is an Italian-American pasta dish that comes from the Utica area in New York State. The dish is a delectable combination of rigatoni pasta, hot or sweet peppers, chicken, and a spicy, flavorable cream and tomato sauce. If you are travelling here you'll find almost every restaurant in Utica serves this dish.

In the late 1970s at the Clinton House Restaurant in Clinton, NY the lawyers, doctors, and union workers came together to play cards and eat the "riggie dish" with chicken, tomatoes, and cherry peppers but no sauce.

Pasta Primavera is a delectable pasta dish that consists of pasta and lightly cooked vegetables along with fresh herbs and spices. The dish was invented by Ed Giobbi during his hunting trip to Nova Scotia. He brought the recipe to New York City and gave it to friends who owned the restaurant Le Cirque.

The original Pasta Primavera recipe included ingredients like ripe tomatoes, chopped basil,. parsley, garlic, olive oil and spaghetti. In 1976 this delicious pasta dish was the most talked-about dish in Manhattan and remains popular even today.

Another delicious pasta dish coming from New York City is Penne Alla Vodka. This is a combination of penne pasta, heavy cream, tomato sauce, and vodka giving the dish a unique taste. The dish is served hot and garnished with a few basil leaves and grated parmesan.

Spaghetti and meatballs was the innovation of Italian immigrants settling in New York City in the 19th century. The dish satisfied appetites and could have many variations. Basically, the dish consisted of spaghetti and ground meatballs in tomato sauce. Since canned tomatoes were available in stores cooks at home used them to make a rich marinara sauce with garlic, oil, and tomatoes. The only Italian ingredients found in stores were thin, long pasta and so the delectable dish spaghetti and meatballs was born.

Ohio

The city of Cincinnati in the state of Ohio is popular for its own kind of chilli. Cincinnati chilli is prepared with ground meat, stock, and spices like cinnamon, allspice, Worcestershire sauce and chocolate or cocoa, This chilli is usually served over pasta like spaghetti and topped with a flavorable combination of shredded Cheddar cheese, fried beans, onions, and crushed oyster crackers.

There are over 180 places in Cincinnati that serve this chilli. It was invented in 1922 by a Macedonian immigrant who opened a Greek restaurant The Empress. The restaurant was not successful until he began preparing and serving chilli made with Middle Eastern spices.

New England

Originating in the New England area of the US is American Chop Suey is an interesting combination of baked pasta, ground beef and tomato sauce. It is looked upon as comfort food and there are other states that have had similar recipes before the 1950s.

It is a great dish on cold winter days and people like to add shredded cheese to it. There are variations all over the country but the most popular choice of pasta is elbow macaroni. Other ingredients that might be added are Worchesshire sauce, onions, and garlic.

Missouri

From the city of St. Louis, Missouri comes Toasted Ravioli. The crunchy breaded pasta is topped with grated Parmesan and served with marinara sauce on the side, The dish is served as a hot appetizer. Despite its name, the ravioli is not toasted but deep-fried. The ravioli can be filled with such ingredients as eggs, cheese, spinach, and beef.

The dish first made an appearance in the 1950s at the restaurant Angelo Oldani's.

Colorado

Spaghetti Pie is a traditional American pie that originated in the state of Colorado. It is often referred to as the most iconic pie of the state. Spaghetti Pie is prepared with spaghetti, ground beef, onions, tomatoes, bell, peppers, butter, beaten eggs, and cheese like mozzarella, ricotta or parmesan. To enhance the flavors parsley, basil, and oregano are added. Once the pie is put together it is topped with cheese and baked in the oven until the cheese melts and the pasta is golden brown.

Virginia

One of the most popular pasta dishes in the US is Macaroni and Cheese which is a combination of firm pasta and melted cheese. The dish is made with curved macaroni and Cheddar cheese but can include ingredients like truffles, crab, or lobster.

This dish was inspired by pasta and cheese dishes that came from Italy, France, and the UK. The popularization of macaroni and cheese came from Thomas Jefferson when he had a pasta machine shipped back home to Virginia and he served the dish at lavish banquets. In 1824 his distant cousin Mary Randolph published the first macaroni and cheese recipe.