Heres my own project regarding the history of Italian cuisine in the U.S. and around the world and btw, this info is taken from one of my old mob articles. Enjoy.

The Italian cuisine is one of the oldest in the world, with roots which are stretching to antiquity, and through those many centuries of social and political changes, it has developed into something so simple, but yet quite so magnificent. According to some history books, the Italian food which we know of today, allegedly started to form after the fall of the Roman Empire, when different cities began to separate and form their own traditional meals, which in fact were quite similar. Quite different types of styles and variations in cooking techniques and preparations were used like for example, the north of Italy is known for its “risottos”, or the central part of the country is known for its “tortellini” and the southern part is famous for its “pizzas” and “spaghettis”, but generally all over the territory you can find good sea food. The whole thing even became more popular when many Italians began migrating to the so-called “New World” during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s and managed to heavily influence many of the local cuisines.

For example, in Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico we can easily spot the Italian influence in their traditional meals and according to many historical reports, these were the main places where this cuisine was and still is mostly appreciated. But the interesting thing is that in the U.S.A., much of the Italian cuisine is based on that which can be found around the southern part of Italy, including Sicily. Obviously by now the original Italian cuisine is heavily "Americanized", mainly because of the local ingredients and different styles of preparing the meals around the U.S.

Many historians say that the trend toward Italian food actually started at the beginning of the 20th century as the Italian immigrants settled themselves in the U.S. and began offering their main specialities. For example, one of the earliest Italian dishes, allegedly created in the U.S., is Chicken Tetrazzini, which in fact was made in honour of Luisa Tetrazzini, the operatic soprano known as The Florentine Nightingale. Or the famous Muffuletta Sandwich, named after the Sicilian muffuliette baked rolls, and Chicago’s Italian Beef Sandwich which was invented by Italian immigrants who worked at Chicago's old Union Stock Yards during the early 1900’s.

Legend goes that the workers would often bring home some of the tougher, less desirable cuts of beef sold by the company. To make the meat more palatable, it was slow-roasted to make it more tender, and then slow-simmered in a spicy broth for flavour. The meat was then thinly sliced across the grain and stuffed into fresh Italian bread and there it was. The thing is that most of these were cheap meals made for the everyday people, who did not have the money to sit in a restaurant on daily basis. But for the people with deep pockets, there were the finest Italian cooks, in the finest Italian restaurants.

Back home, or should I say in Italy the milk production mainly consists of sheep, goats and cows, but in reality most of the cheese is produced from cow's milk rather than from goat's milk, even though there are more goats than cows in the country. Certain Italian cheese products which were made in ancient times were still made during the 20th century and even today. Story goes that some of the better-known ones are made from cow's milk, including Ragusano, which is a product with mild flavour and the recipe comes from the province of Ragusa located in southeastern Sicily, or Provola, which comes from various Sicilian regions such as Nebrodi or Madonie, and is usually served in tasty smoked form, or even Caciocavallo which is also made from cow's milk but it has quite funny, confusing and at the same time cryptic name that literally means "horse cheese".

Many of the more successful Italians began opening their own grocery shops, bars and restaurants, with food, ingredients and all types of products imported from back home, which were able to endure the long transportation. You see, some of the more thoughtful Italians also quickly realized or they already knew that with the help of their tasty cuisine, they can easily attract individuals from the highest levels of America’s society and make their own dreams come true.

Salut'