Clam chowder, lobster bisque, some French fish dishes such as quenelles and fish with various sauces have cream. And then there’s Coquilles St. Jacques with both cheese and cream.
I love the T-L Food of the World series and have all of them. Wonderful gems in each volume, even though they were published when “exotic” ingredients were difficult if not impossible to find in some/many areas of the US.
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I used to sell that Time Life series by phone. One of my first jobs. Too bad I didn’t keep any.
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I’ve had some lobster melts in the Boston area that were fantastic.
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Oh jeez, I thought I was on the authentic thread. 
My father’s recipe has beans and tomatoes and he was a native west Texan from San Angelo and environs.
Maybe he wasn’t southwest enough to hit the no tomato and beans region.
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Funny I was going to suggest this thread Another nail in the coffin of food authenticity (which I’m not actually reading\following) but then saw it was begun by @BKeats 
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(authentic) chili causes many endless arguments, none ever solved.
You should check out that thread. ,
No thanks–I’m good. I’m only aware of it because . . . well, whatever.
On the topic of chili, I have a book Marlboro sent me with 50 chili recipes–all different types of meats, beans, veggies, seasonings, etc. Some were quite good. Some had tomatoes. I used to share the recipes with mamachef from CH 
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Since we’re drifting, I too love the old Time-Life Series and have them all. As well as the complete TL How to Cook series. Excellent.
FWIW, I also feel there are almost more differences within the US culture than there are between some parts of the US and some other countries. The US is as far from heterogeneous, in almost every aspect, as a single country could be.
Oh yes, sounds just wonderful! Now I want one for dinner, but not going to happen. Waaa…
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Thank you. This might be a sensitive subject. FWIW, I never lump European countries together. I never lump “America” together. I don’t lump the United States together. I probably never lump things together. I probably avoid lumping at all costs. I might be “counter -phobic” that way, not referring to counter depth refrigerators .
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I agree with this 1000%. (I grew up in Pittsburgh.)
I found the ones I didn’t have from used book sellers on Amazon. Reasonably priced.
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American cheese - grew up on the white Land o’ Lakes. Got back into the habit of buying the white Kraft Deluxe during the pandemic. I don’t find a particular difference from the yellow? 
Cheese and fish/seafood - it has its place. My belly. That is its place. If it’s not your thing, then you do you.
Most unexpected place to encounter cheese and fish - O Ya in Boston. A sashimi dish of ocean trout, torched Gruyere, and grapefruit. It was good.
Tomatoes in chili - not in mine. My red ones are red from dried chiles. However, diced tomatoes and grated cheese on top if I am in the mood.
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The first French dips I ever had, years ago, did not include cheese. Or anything else, like sautéed onions. They were just beef and a toasted baguette, and the bowl of jus. And that’s how I like them.
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Obviously there are exceptions to the rule (as I mentioned). Clam chowder (and other soups) are good, but Coquilles St. Jacques and creamed shellfish pastas are something I would never make/order… oh wait - Paul Prudhomme’s tasso/oyster pasta has cream and is amazing.
But for the most part… seafood as a main is something I’d rarely do with cheese and cream.
I suppose “coquilles st jacques” can be a recipe from anywhere in the world, but I’d like to add a couple of things so as to make it clear:
In France, cocquilles st jacques is simply the name for scallops, not a recipe. Since the name is French, people might assume it’s some kind of French recipe. To be a French recipe or menu item in a restaurant, it would usually be indicated as “st jacques a la…” or “st jacques gratinee.”
Cheese is not a requirement. There are some French recipes with cheese and others without.
It does seem like the gratin recipe is simply called Coquilles St. Jacques, too, which might explain the confusion.
You’re right, it is confusing.
Just to note that, in France, coquilles is the word for shells and St Jacques (St James) denotes what kind of shell, scallops. The word petoncles is sometimes used for scallops, and at one point petoncles were seen as being a subset, but now they too can officially be called coquilles st jacques.
On most French menus, there will be a clue added as to how they are prepared.
How other places around the world do it can be an entirely different matter.
