Vintage Summer Cookout Recipes

Oh, summer! The air is warm, the days are long, and there's nothing quite like the sizzle of the barbeque grill and the laughter of loved ones filling up the backyard. While modern cookouts often feature gourmet burgers and artisanal sides, sometimes our hearts (and our appetites!) yearn for the simple, comforting flavors of summers past. You know, the kind of dishes your grandma used to whip up that just felt like sunshine and good times.

This year, why not take a delicious trip down memory lane? Dust off those old recipe cards and cookbooks. Let's bring back some vintage summer cookout classics that are as easy to make as they are delightful to devour. Forget the fuss, embrace the flavor, and get ready to create new memories with a dash of old-fashioned charm!

Three Timeless Cookout Treasures

These recipes are cherished for several reasons: they're crowd-pleasers, they travel well, and they embody the spirit of carefree summer days.

1. A quintessential Potato Salad

No summer cookout is complete without a creamy, tangy potato salad. This isn't your fancy, herb-laden version—this is the comforting, classic kind that tastes like childhood.

Ingredients:

3 lbs russet or red potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

1 cup mayonnaise (full-fat for that authentic richness!)

1/4 cup yellow mustard

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Salt and black pepper to taste

Paprika for garnish (optional)

2. Old-Fashioned Baked Beans

Step aside, canned beans! These homemade baked beans are sweet, smoky, and simmered to perfection. They're the ultimate companion to grilled hot dogs and hamburgers.

Ingredients:

2 (15-ounce) cans great northern or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

4-5 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled (reserve a little of the drippings!)

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

3. Summertime Ambrosia Salad

For a touch of retro sweetness, ambrosia salad is a vibrant, fruity dessert that’s light and refreshing. It’s like a party in a bowl!

Ingredients:

1 (15-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained

1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, well-drained

1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened, to your preference)

1 cup mini marshmallows

1/2 cup maraschino cherries, halved

1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (for a tangier twist)

1/2 cup whipped topping (like Cool Whip) or freshly whipped cream

Optional: 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts for crunch

There you have it! Three simple yet sensational vintage recipes to get your summer cookout started. These dishes are more than just food; they're an invitation to slow down, savor the moment, and connect with the timeless joy of good company and great cooking.

What are your favorite vintage cookout memories? 

Share them in the comments below!

New Cookbook Day! Cutco Meat and Poultry Cookery

It's time for a new cookbook!

Declan found this little beauty for my birthday, and I can't begin to tell you how much joy it gave me.

Best $1.50 she ever spent.

It's a promotional piece produced for the cutlery division of Wear-Ever Aluminum, Inc. in 1961.

Here's what it looks like on the inside front cover:

All the meat you could ever hope for in one place!

The best thing about this book is the illustrations. Oh, the illustrations!

The drawings are done by one Frank Marcello. Unfortunately, I can't find much about him.

He's got quite a sense of humor. I'm surprised that Wear-Ever let him get away with half the stuff he put in. Here are a few classic examples:

You'll be hearing more about the illustrations in coming posts, so for now I'll just comment on this last one.

What the heck is going on in this kitchen? Look at the position of mom's feet. Is she pigeon toed, or is there more to the story? They both seem to be happy about it, though the girl's smile looks just the tiniest bit more genuine to me.

Hmmm.... Let me know what YOU think.

Stay tuned for more meat and illustrated hilarity, 1960s style!

Cheesy Tuna to Tame that Man-Child Brute

Here's the last entry I'll be posting from Who Says We Can't Cook!, this one filled with savvy advice for today's modern miss and would-be fascinator.

"It is wisdom as old as the hills that the way to get along with a man-child is to feed the brute," Mary Haworth advises readers of our WNPC cook book. "Lots of famous fascinators can't cook but I am convinced that nothing gives a woman greater self-confidence as a woman than the ability to cook well."

Analyzing females and foods, she believes "The womanly woman has a congenital urge to cook well. She cooks to please her man almost as instinctively as the vamp powders her nose."

And, as a final warning, Mary points out, "The lovable woman is a nurturing woman and men don't leave them because 'you can't hardly get them kind no more'."

Her preferred Lenten dish, good any Friday, and heavy enough to please the most masculine appetite is:

Tuna and Mushrooms with Cheese Sauce

Wash and slice 1 3/4 pounds fresh mushrooms and saute in butter or margarine 5 minutes. (Or use canned button mushrooms instead--4 or 5 small cans well drained.) Get approximately 3 pounds white canned tuna, drain off oil and break or cut into fairly large bite-size pieces.

To make the sauce, melt 1/4 pound butter or margarine, blend in 10 tablespoons flour and cook two minutes, stirring constantly. Add to 5 cups heated milk, tablespoon Ac'cent, 1/4 teaspoon saffron, and 2/3 pound very sharp cheese cut into small pieces. If you like, substitute 2/3 cup of sherry for 2/3 cup mil. Cook, stirring constantly, until cheese has melted and the sauce begins to bubble.

Add tuna and mushrooms to sauce. Now season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Serve in chafing dish or casserole. This serves 13, so reduce ingredients proportionately for smaller number. Incidentally, the saffron makes the dish.

Oh, butter...

"Butter rocks. It is the mayonnaise of the cow world."

1. 
   
2. “Bigger. Better. Butter.”

1. 
   
2. “We’re butter together!”

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2. “Spread love and butter.”

1. “With enough butter, everything gets better.”