Theme: American foods

Banana split

The banana makes it good for you, right?

Cindy Ord/Getty Images North America
Like the banana makes it good for you. Still, kudos to whoever invented the variation of the sundae known as the banana split. There's the 1904 Latrobe, Pennsylvania, story, in which future optometrist David Strickler was experimenting with sundaes at a pharmacy soda fountain, split a banana lengthwise, and put it in a long boat dish.
And the 1907 Wilmington, Ohio, story, wherein restaurant owner Ernest Hazard came up with it to draw students from a nearby college. Fame spread after a Walgreens in Chicago made the split its signature dessert in the 1920s. Whatever the history, you'll find plenty food for thought at the annual Banana Split Festival, which takes place on the second weekend in June in Wilmington.
Cornbread

Cornbread is popular across the country, but it's a Southern classic.
Courtesy Alice Henneman/Creative Commons/Flickr
It's one of the pillars of Southern cooking, but cornbread is the soul food of many a culture -- black, white, and Native American -- and not just south of the Mason-Dixon. Grind corn coarsely and you've got grits; soak kernels in alkali, and you've got hominy (which we encourage you to cook up into posole). Leaven finely ground cornmeal with baking powder, and you've got cornbread.
Southern hushpuppies and corn pone, New England johnnycakes; cooked in a skillet or in muffin tins; flavored with cheese, herbs, or jalapenos -- cornbread in any incarnation remains the quick and easy go-to bread that historically made it a favorite of Native American and pioneer mothers and keeps it on tables across the country today.

GORP

Trail mix: fueling hikers across the United States.
Courtesy Helen Penjam/Creative Commons/Flickr
"Good Old Raisins and Peanuts," GORP is the energy salvation of backpackers everywhere.
Centuries before trail mix came by the bag and the bin, it was eaten in Europe, where hiking is practically a national pastime.
The thing to remember here is that the stuff is American food rocket fuel. Add all the granola, seeds, nuts, dried fruit, candied ginger, and M&Ms you want. Just be sure to store in a bear-proof canister because suspending from a branch in a nylon sack isn't going to do it.
Jambalaya

Whether you have it Creole style or Cajun, Jambalaya is a delicious dish.

Courtesy Gloria Cabada-Leman/Creative Commons/Flickr
Jambalaya, crawfish pie, file gumbo ... what dish could be so evocative that it inspired Hank Williams to write a party song for it in 1952 and dozens more to cover it (including everyone from Jo Stafford to Credence Clearwater Revival to Emmylou Harris)?
The sweep-up-the-kitchen cousin of Spanish paella, jambalaya comes in red (Creole, with tomatoes) and brown (Cajun, without). Made with meat, vegetables (a trinity of celery, peppers, and onions), and rice, Louisiana's signature dish might be most memorable when made with shrimp and andouille sausage.
Whatever the color and secret ingredients, you can be sure of one thing when you sit down with friends to a big bowlful: son of a gun, gonna have big fun on the bayou.