American

So-called wild rice is actually a grain that grows in the Great Lakes region and has been harvested by the Ojibway and Cree Indians for centuries. Because of how long it takes to cook, wild rice is perfect for the slow cooker. Black walnuts, native to the central and eastern United States, have a very different flavor than English walnuts, though the garden variety English walnut can be used in a pinch.

Caramelized winter fruits atop these beans make for a wonderful variation of this traditional New England side dish.

Steaming bread in the slow cooker is a terrific, hassle-free way to bake bread of all kinds. Traditionally, the batter for this brown bread was poured into coffee cans and placed in deep kettles filled with water, then hung for hours over the fire to steam. Serve it with New England Baked Beans (opposite page) or toasted for breakfast with cream cheese.

Whidbey Island in Washington’s Puget Sound is one of the most beautiful places in the Pacific Northwest. At one time, the island was home to the world’s largest loganberry farm. Loganberries can now be purchased fresh or frozen in many markets, but boysenberries or blackberries would work as well. The sauce is particularly good with chicken, duck, or game hens.

Lima beans and ham hocks are true southern soul food. The beans supply protein and energy-rich carbohydrates, and the ham adds delicious flavor.

In the South, a Blue Plate Special was historically a quick and inexpensive meal for travelers served on popular Blue Willow china. The term came into common usage in the early 1900s at diners, where it was used to refer to the special of the day. Serve stewed tomatoes as a side to your own Blue Plate Special, such as fried chicken or chicken-fried steak.

Shredded meat is a staple in both Mexican and southwestern kitchens, and is a perfect side to make in a slow cooker. It can be used to fill tacos, burritos, and tostadas or can just be tossed with scrambled eggs for breakfast. The following simple recipe can be made with beef, pork, or even turkey. Cooking times may vary according to type and cut of meat, but in general, when your desired result is meat that can easily be shredded, anything cooked for 6 to 8 hours ought to work out fine.

This bread pudding is savory, not sweet. A melding of the delicious southwestern flavors of corn, chiles, coriander, cumin, and cheese, it makes a wonderful side dish to a roasted loin of pork or beef.

Cranberries are native to North America and were used by indigenous peoples long before the Pilgrims arrived. They were mashed with deer meat for pemmican because their natural benzoic acid helps slow spoilage. For a slightly untraditional cranberry sauce, the dried berries, citrus flavor, and port beautifully complement a juicy turkey. Serve with wild rice pilaf or mashed potatoes.

Nothing can compare to a Virginia baked ham, but any good-quality ham used in this recipe will yield surprisingly delicious results. This is truly one of those foolproof throw-everything-in-the-cooker-and-walk-away kind of dishes. Mashed potatoes and green beans make a great accompaniment.

This recipe departs from the traditional pastry crust potpie, using instead a layer of herb and garlic mashed potatoes. The topping is so delicious it can just as easily be served alone as a side dish. If you want to be true to your slow cooker and use it for both steps, the potatoes need to be made first and set aside, or, if you’re lucky enough to have two slow cookers, at the same time as the filling. They can, however, be made just as easily on a stovetop.

Sensible and practical—the quintessential qualities of a colonial American dish. Pot roasts hold up extraordinarily well to a long cooking period—perfect for preparing during long days of hard work.

This dish pays homage to the many German immigrants that have made their homes in the Midwest and the northern states over the last two hundred years. While fine German bratwurst is to die for, any high-quality sausage will taste wonderful in this hearty dish.

Every family in America probably has a favorite recipe for meatloaf. It’s one of those dishes that make us think of home. Always spice a meatloaf generously, as the spices dissipate during cooking. Add plenty of moist ingredients such as tomato sauce or ketchup, eggs, and if need be, stock.

Pulled pork with barbecue sauce is a southern classic—true comfort food. It’s delicious in Sloppy Joe sandwiches or all by itself over rice. This recipe couldn’t be easier to make: just let it cook until the meat falls apart. For a lighter version, use half a turkey breast instead of pork.

At certain times of the year, parts of Northern California’s Sonoma County sprout masses of wild mushrooms, and at one time apple orchards covered many of the hills now blanketed with vineyards. Gone today are many of those venerable old trees, but remnants of some orchards remain, as does the heritage that inspired this savory slow-cooked meal.

Iowa is the country’s largest producer of corn, with more than 12,000 acres planted to the crop and nearly 2 million bushels harvested annually. Sadly, much of it is now genetically modified, so if you want to avoid genetically modified foods, buy organic.

The earliest American recipes for chowder called for fish rather than clams or shellfish and were prepared by layering the fish, salt pork, and biscuits (all shipboard staples) in a pot and cooking them for hours over a fire. This recipe calls for canned clams simply because those are the most easily accessible, but you can cook and use fresh clams as well.

Apples were one of the first tree crops to be planted in America and were originally used to make hard cider. The flavor of this soup is predominantly of squash with just a hint of apple for extra sweetness and a touch of acidity.

The word cioppino means “fish stew” in the Ligurian dialect. Like all classic fishermen stews, the recipe isn’t written in stone. Traditionally, the contents of the dish depend on the catch of the day. At Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, you can count on crab being the main attraction; crab cioppino has been a favorite in the Bay Area for many years. The soup can cook all day if you so desire, but for best results the seafood should really be tossed in at the last minute. Serve it with crusty sourdough bread to sop up the juices.