Seventies dinner suggestions needed!

Cafe Society
41

Yup, that’s it! I remember this was always ‘my job’ when I was a kid and my parents were having dinner parties. :slight_smile:

There’s a piccie on this page

I might take some photos of the meal on the night and report back the morning after (presuming I haven’t had a heart attack)!

42

Aaah. Thanks for the clarification. My ignorance has been fought for today. :slight_smile:

43

Someone may have said it already, but NOOOO, Fondue was definitely in the 70’s (of course here in the midwest it could have been an artifact of a craze that hit the coasts in the 60’s (Like Alice B. Toklas Brownies – which is a great 70’s food).

44

I’ve been wanting to throw a dinner party like this too, except with '50s food. Whenever anybody does a '50s-themed party it’s always a sock hop or something teenagerly, but I want to do one like the adults had, with everyone wearing coats and ties or cocktail dresses, liking Ike, and eating lots of meat and Jello without a fresh veggie in sight, unless it’s as garnish. :slight_smile:

45

cbawlmer, I’ve got a cocktail manual from the late 1950s, early 1960s (multiple editions were published), with a chapter on food by James Beard. Let me retrieve it, and I’ll relay the suggestions.

46

That would be great, Walloon. I have a couple of retro cookbooks (as in recent compilations of old recipes) that have some suggestions and a lot of fairly hilarious pictures, but I don’t have anything that’s actually from the '50s.

47

More along the same lines…

48

I remember a lot of people drinking Mateus and Cold Duck.

49

OK, cbawlmer, I finally have in hand the 1955 edition of The Standard Bartender’s Guide, by Patrick Gavin Duffy, revised and enlarged by James A. Beard. I’ll summarize this chapter:

Food to Go With Drinks

  1. Nuts
    • Macadamia nuts
    • Fava beans, roasted (not really a nut)
    • Chick peas, toasted and salted
    • Pistachio nuts
    • Walnuts
    • Mexican sunflower seeds
    • Giant pecans, garlic or curry pecans
    • Salted almonds in their coats, blanched almonds, garlic almonds, curried almonds, chili almonds
    • Salted filberts, garlic or curry filberts
    • Salted peanuts

  2. Dunks and Dips
    “A bowl of one or two different mixtures with raw vegetables, potato chips or tiny codfish balls enhances almost any sort of gathering.”
    • Herb dunk for raw vegatables; variations: mustard, pungent, anchovy, tart
    • Vegetables for dunking: carrots, green onions, cauliflower florets, turnips, radishes (including the Japanese radish), zucchini, cucumber fingers, cherry or plum tomatoes, celery, anise, fennels, endive stalks, asparagus tipes, finger or seedless avacado, Chinese water chestnuts

  3. Dips for Shrimp and Other Shellfish or Chicken or Turkey Fingers
    • Shrimp dip
    • Plain dip
    • Oriental dip

  4. Spreads
    “Arrange a big bowl of spread surrounded by thinly sliced and buttered . . . rye bread, pumpernickel, lavash in pieces, cracked bread, fine protein bread — any selection of good breads and crackers.”
    • Liederkranz spread (a type of cheese)
    • Crabmeat spread
    • Avocado spread
    • Raw meat spread (w/ground round)
    • Roquefort cheese spread
    • Langlois blue vein cheese spread
    • Helen Brown’s In-a-Minute cheese spread (based on Cheez Whiz )
    • Cheese balls
    • Hot parmesan delights

  5. Patés to be used with cocktails
    • Home-style paté
    • Quick paté

  6. Bread and sandwiches
    • Hot bread spread
    • Sesame seed bread
    • Cheese and herb sandwich
    • Hot and pungent cheese sandwhich
    • Individual hero sandwiches
    • Thin sandwiches
    “A well-made sandwich, of thin bread with plenty of butter and filling, is just about the most satisfying cocktail accompaniment.” Fillings: Virginia ham, smoked ham with mustard, rare roast beef with horseradish butter, turkey or whitemeat of chicken with mayonnaise, etc.

  7. Smoked fish
    “[S]erve a platter of various kinds with bread and butter, crackers, a little oil and vinegar, capers, a pepper mill and a pile of thinly sliced onions.”

  8. Herring with sour cream

  9. Canned fish

  10. Food for a large party
    • Baked ham
    • Roast turkey
    • Roast beef
    • The Thing (basically, Chex Party Mix )

50

Here are some Weight Watchers Recipe Cards, circa 1974. Even after discovering the site 2 years ago, it STILL cracks me up.

Enjoy.

(Apologies if the site has been posted before)

51

Thanks, Walloon! I never would’ve thought to make codfish balls for dipping! It makes so much sense: veggies, potato chops, and fish!

52

I have a set of these!