Italian, Mexican, Japanese, Indian and other cuisines distinguish themselves by their preferences for certain ingredients, herbs, spices, accents, and cooking methods.  Barbecue (and we’ve competed in KCBS barbecue championships, those are the big contests that you see on TV) is famous for its use of piquant, aromatic rubs, difficult meats, and lots of slow, slow smoking.

Traditional American home cooking, particularly mom’s old fashioned cooking from your childhood, is just… cooking.  Unremarkable.  Nothing really distinguished it.  Right?

Not so fast!  Take a closer look at those recipes of yore, and a distinctive art form begins to reveal itself.

The ingredients used in 1950s home cooking are usually common, readily available staples such as flour, sugar, milk, fat, cheese, lower-priced meats, and everyday vegetables like potatoes, corn, onions, and peas.  Herbs and spices are generally ordinary rather than exotic; pepper, cinnamon, paprika and sage impart their distinctive yet familiar flavors.  Be sure that you have measuring cups, measuring spoons, and a kitchen scale; you’ll be needing them.

How can something that is so ordinary on its face be considered a cuisine in its own right?

It is as true now as it was then:  Preparing a delicious, appetizing meal from expensive ingredients and prepared foods is comparatively easy.  A costly T-bone or rib-eye steak served with salt, pepper, or a quality bottled sauce makes a praiseworthy main course with little advanced skill other than knowing when it is properly cooked.  On the other hand, it is the mark of an accomplished chef or homemaker to be able to prepare delicious meals from mundane, less expensive ingredients.

Fifties recipes have another admirable feature; they let little go to waste.  Recipes abound for what were euphemistically called “variety meats” — liver, kidney, brains, hearts, and the like.  Even bones were used in the preparation of stocks and broths.

While stove-top stewing, braising, and Dutch Oven cooking are also classical Fifties cooking techniques, the workhorse of retro cooking is the equally prosaic conventional oven.  Perhaps that’s one aspect of the art that captured the fancies and hearts of us barbecue chefs; the closest household approximation of barbecue’s roasting by indirect heat is the ordinary oven.

Undoubtedly, modern kitchen appliances and specialized gadgets can sizzle up a delicious, hearty meal. However, in my own sentimental opinion, there is nothing quite like the anticipation that builds as an old-fashioned, oven-baked dinner slowly fills your kitchen and home with the appetizing aroma that can turn any dinner into a special occasion.