The Retro Cooking Guy

Sir Cheeseburger

In my late teens I had many jobs but always went back to cooking, or printing. While working in the printing department of a large insurance company running an offset press, we would frequently visit a bar at lunch time because it was close to work and they cashed our paychecks at the end of the week. Their specialty was a oval hamburger served on Italian bread, smothered in melted cheese slices, and your choice of trimmings.  It was called "The Sir Cheeseburger." What made this cheeseburger was the seasonings.

Last year I drove past this bar and found it still open for business, less crowded, but still open. It was a mom and pop bar back then (over forty years ago) and still is today. I just had to stop. I made a U-Turn and walked into the bar. The place was less crowded, mom and pop were still there, and their daughter was running the bar. I ordered the "Sir Cheeseburger" and was not disappointed. It tasted just like I remembered it!  Sometimes you can go back.

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Spending some time in the construction business I came in contact with some aluminum siding and gutter crews that would come up from the south during the summer to work. We frequently met at a small restaurant for breakfast. This is where I was first exposed to "sausage gravy and biscuits." This was comfort food from the south and something that they just couldn't get enough of. It was very filling and cheap. While not what you would consider a healthy breakfast choice, it just had to go onto my list of "comfort foods." I also didn't rest until I learned to make, what I consider the best Sausage Gravy and Biscuits in the land. This is another dish that I will only prepare during the winter months and for special occasions, and as often as I did in the past.

Barbecued Baby Back Ribs

Over the years while traveling across the country I was able to enjoy some really unfamiliar regional foods. Some I enjoyed and some I did not. When I found something that I liked, I would come home and try to recreate it at home. I had an already established set of personal comfort foods from my early days. The more I traveled the  more my comfort food list grew.

If you asked me what I liked to cook, before I began putting my Mom's cookbook together, the answer would have been "Breakfast and Barbecue. My Dad barbecued and I barbecue. Tradition! I am trying to get my son's, or my daughters to learn my barbecue secrets. How many times have you had grilled chicken that was black on the outside and raw on the inside. The barbecue makes me humble. If what I am considering making is expensive, I do a lot of research before attempting to make it. My cousin makes Prime Rib on the grill all of the time. I cooked my first and second prime rib over the last two years. 

Three Bone  Prime Rib

When cooking in the kitchen, or out on the barbeque, fear is not an option.
Make Cooking Fun - Add a Theme

Pick a year... Any year... Let's say a birthday for example. So let's say your loved one, or significant other was born in 1972. To find out what songs were on top in 1972, or any year for that matter, go to http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100#/charts/hot-100

and search out the top 100 hits for that year. Pick out about 15 songs from that years, download them and create your own 1972 compilation. This is the very special music you will play while you are cooking your very special birthday dinner. Cooking and music go hand and hand. Tango on or Rock on! 

THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION - Stay tuned for the further adventures of the "Retro Cooking Guy."

© TMelle 1998-2011