Booze booze and more booze! Food?
July 25, 2010 12:54 PM Subscribe
Need food ideas for a very last minute Mad Men party.
So my husband and I both work until 7. People are probably going to start showing up around 9. We need to go grocery shopping and tidy the house in that window of time. What pre-made foods can we get that would fit in to the era? We're by a Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and general grocery stores. I would like to just stop by one location.
A couple more caveats: my husband is vegetarian and one of the couples are dieting. I'd like to provide a couple of small plates of something to soak up the alcohol. I'd really not like to cook, but some assembling is ok. My husband and I both work in the alcohol biz, so we're set on our classic cocktails (though we're always open to some awesome suggestions)
I could have sworn there was a post similar to this, but I couldn't find it (then again I have little patience for searching on my phone, at work)
So my husband and I both work until 7. People are probably going to start showing up around 9. We need to go grocery shopping and tidy the house in that window of time. What pre-made foods can we get that would fit in to the era? We're by a Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and general grocery stores. I would like to just stop by one location.
A couple more caveats: my husband is vegetarian and one of the couples are dieting. I'd like to provide a couple of small plates of something to soak up the alcohol. I'd really not like to cook, but some assembling is ok. My husband and I both work in the alcohol biz, so we're set on our classic cocktails (though we're always open to some awesome suggestions)
I could have sworn there was a post similar to this, but I couldn't find it (then again I have little patience for searching on my phone, at work)
I remember Betty ordering the crabmeat salad in an avocado when she and Don had that impotent Valentine's Day night together. I know that's shellfish, so it would leave vegetarians out, but it's from the show.
A Sarah Lee cake from the freezer? Put some sad birthday candles in it.
posted by xingcat at 1:03 PM on July 25, 2010
A Sarah Lee cake from the freezer? Put some sad birthday candles in it.
posted by xingcat at 1:03 PM on July 25, 2010
I hosted an alumni event for people who worked all through the 1960s in New York City and Washington, DC. The event committee wanted 'food from the time' and so we had hot dog bites and jello salad and weird other canapes. The guests said 'we meant sirloin steaks and whiskey. Remember, NO ONE DRANK WINE in the in 1960s in America.
posted by parmanparman at 1:04 PM on July 25, 2010
posted by parmanparman at 1:04 PM on July 25, 2010
Popsicles!
posted by kbar1 at 1:06 PM on July 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by kbar1 at 1:06 PM on July 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
Oysters Rockefeller, Beef Wellington, and Napoleons. You leave that dinner party alone, it'll take over Europe.
posted by EmGeeJay at 1:24 PM on July 25, 2010 [5 favorites]
posted by EmGeeJay at 1:24 PM on July 25, 2010 [5 favorites]
NO ONE DRANK WINE in the in 1960s in America.
Really? I've seen pre-1970 pictures of my parents with glasses of wine. This was in NYC, but they weren't exactly the bohemian sort. And I'm pretty sure the Drapers and Sterlings have been seen drinking wine (only with dinner) on the show.
posted by AkzidenzGrotesk at 1:46 PM on July 25, 2010
Really? I've seen pre-1970 pictures of my parents with glasses of wine. This was in NYC, but they weren't exactly the bohemian sort. And I'm pretty sure the Drapers and Sterlings have been seen drinking wine (only with dinner) on the show.
posted by AkzidenzGrotesk at 1:46 PM on July 25, 2010
Betty has a glass of wine with dinner throughout the 3rd season!
posted by Hop123 at 1:55 PM on July 25, 2010
posted by Hop123 at 1:55 PM on July 25, 2010
Celery stuffed with cream cheese.
(I still love that as a snack)
posted by dbmcd at 2:39 PM on July 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
(I still love that as a snack)
posted by dbmcd at 2:39 PM on July 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
You could pick up an assortment of sandwiches on classic brown or white sliced bread, trim the crusts, and arrange the triangles neatly on a platter. Don't get squares or rectangles -- what is this, a lunchbox? Pah!
You could fix up a tray of deviled eggs, a bowl of olives, and a horrible smelly little dish of smoked oysters (this was always how my mom and her friends envisioned the classy end of the buffet table). You can pick up frozen pigs in a blanket, or make your own super-fast with a can of Pillsbury crescent dough, a stripe of yellow mustard, and cut-up vegetarian hot dogs.
Any dip must be onion dip, and any chips must be ripply. Melt some Cheez-Whiz and dribble it over celery sticks. Absolutely anything can be garnished with a radish sliced into a flower or a ring of green pepper.
posted by Sallyfur at 3:01 PM on July 25, 2010 [2 favorites]
You could fix up a tray of deviled eggs, a bowl of olives, and a horrible smelly little dish of smoked oysters (this was always how my mom and her friends envisioned the classy end of the buffet table). You can pick up frozen pigs in a blanket, or make your own super-fast with a can of Pillsbury crescent dough, a stripe of yellow mustard, and cut-up vegetarian hot dogs.
Any dip must be onion dip, and any chips must be ripply. Melt some Cheez-Whiz and dribble it over celery sticks. Absolutely anything can be garnished with a radish sliced into a flower or a ring of green pepper.
posted by Sallyfur at 3:01 PM on July 25, 2010 [2 favorites]
:) I was just looking at a 1965 Betty Crocker book on entertaining! People ate guacamole! with chips! I always thought it was popular much later. Also, there are directions for wine parties, so wine was popular.
some of the easier and quicker ideas from the book:
melba toast pizza: top melba toast with pizza sauce, topped with mozzarella and pepperoni, broil until bubbly
rumaki: chicken livers and water chestnut slices wrapped with bacon, sounds awful, but it is pretty good
sesame cheese cubes: cut a package of cream cheese in to 12 cubes, cover in toasted sesame seeds, put each one on a toothpick, dip in soy sauce
Pineapple & shrimp skewers: put pineapple chunks on toothpick with a shrimp and a black olive, serve with a dip of sour cream curry dip (1 c sour cream with 1/4 t curry powder & 1/4 t salt)
Toasted cereal mix
Pigs in blankets
boiled shrimp with cocktail sauce
My parents had cocktail parties in the 1960s, I remember the drinks were: wine, daiquiris, martinis, margaritas; the food was: tempura shrimp, shrimp cocktail, onion dip with potato chips (not classy, but my mother's favorite), smoked oysters, lots of "exotic" cheese (brie, silton, you know, anything other than mild cheddar or American), good Italian bread, mixed nuts (no peanuts), and fancy olives. Sometimes there were mini meatballs, like koenisgsberger klopse.
My father is an artist and these were "bohemian" parties. My mother was like the mother in "Diary of a Mad Housewife." Typical 60s all the way. Most of their friends were in advertising or art. I didn't get to go to the parties, but they made a big impression on me. The preparation was a whirlwind of activity.
posted by fifilaru at 4:00 PM on July 25, 2010 [2 favorites]
some of the easier and quicker ideas from the book:
melba toast pizza: top melba toast with pizza sauce, topped with mozzarella and pepperoni, broil until bubbly
rumaki: chicken livers and water chestnut slices wrapped with bacon, sounds awful, but it is pretty good
sesame cheese cubes: cut a package of cream cheese in to 12 cubes, cover in toasted sesame seeds, put each one on a toothpick, dip in soy sauce
Pineapple & shrimp skewers: put pineapple chunks on toothpick with a shrimp and a black olive, serve with a dip of sour cream curry dip (1 c sour cream with 1/4 t curry powder & 1/4 t salt)
Toasted cereal mix
Pigs in blankets
boiled shrimp with cocktail sauce
My parents had cocktail parties in the 1960s, I remember the drinks were: wine, daiquiris, martinis, margaritas; the food was: tempura shrimp, shrimp cocktail, onion dip with potato chips (not classy, but my mother's favorite), smoked oysters, lots of "exotic" cheese (brie, silton, you know, anything other than mild cheddar or American), good Italian bread, mixed nuts (no peanuts), and fancy olives. Sometimes there were mini meatballs, like koenisgsberger klopse.
My father is an artist and these were "bohemian" parties. My mother was like the mother in "Diary of a Mad Housewife." Typical 60s all the way. Most of their friends were in advertising or art. I didn't get to go to the parties, but they made a big impression on me. The preparation was a whirlwind of activity.
posted by fifilaru at 4:00 PM on July 25, 2010 [2 favorites]
Hors d'oeuvres: A 1" cube of cheese and a Spanish green olive (or a red grape) skewered onto a frilly toothpick and placed on a cracker. Bonus style points if you use Velveeta and Ritz.
posted by Sys Rq at 4:31 PM on July 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Sys Rq at 4:31 PM on July 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: We settled on chips-n-dip, crudite, shrimp cocktail, weenies in bbq and grape jelly (not sure how authentic, but it fits our midwestern sensibilities), olives, pigs-in-a-blanket and ham salad sandwiches with no crusts, and frill plates. To drink, we have an assortment of vermouths, bitters, gins and whiskeys. I'm going to start with a tom collins. Yea!
posted by lizjohn at 9:05 PM on July 25, 2010
posted by lizjohn at 9:05 PM on July 25, 2010
Sounds like you had fun! If you had had more time to prep, I was going to suggest:
Sandwich loaf! It's striped, horrible, easy, and impressive! You can substitute all kinds of vegetarian fillings, like pimiento cheese, banana and peanut butter, egg salad, bean dip/hummus, or similar. The desserty-looking ones are frosted with tinted cream cheese, but if this terrifies you (and it really should) I think it would look nice plain or with some pepper rings on top.
Also, the Crown Roast of Frankfurters. These are both from Retro Food Fiasco by Kathy Casey. You can also make Pigs in a Blanket with Pillsbury crescent dough from a can, a stripe of yellow mustard, and cut up vegetarian hotdogs.
There are also treasures in Jane Stern and Michael Stern's Square Meals. I like (the idea of) Flaming Cabbage Head Weenies with Pu-Pu Sauce. It's so pretty and horrible! They reprint this recipe for a simple, hilarious, and phallic fruit salad plating. (Uh, I'm noticing this seems to be a weeniecentric comment. Sorry.)
posted by Sallyfur at 4:39 PM on July 26, 2010 [2 favorites]
Sandwich loaf! It's striped, horrible, easy, and impressive! You can substitute all kinds of vegetarian fillings, like pimiento cheese, banana and peanut butter, egg salad, bean dip/hummus, or similar. The desserty-looking ones are frosted with tinted cream cheese, but if this terrifies you (and it really should) I think it would look nice plain or with some pepper rings on top.
Also, the Crown Roast of Frankfurters. These are both from Retro Food Fiasco by Kathy Casey. You can also make Pigs in a Blanket with Pillsbury crescent dough from a can, a stripe of yellow mustard, and cut up vegetarian hotdogs.
There are also treasures in Jane Stern and Michael Stern's Square Meals. I like (the idea of) Flaming Cabbage Head Weenies with Pu-Pu Sauce. It's so pretty and horrible! They reprint this recipe for a simple, hilarious, and phallic fruit salad plating. (Uh, I'm noticing this seems to be a weeniecentric comment. Sorry.)
posted by Sallyfur at 4:39 PM on July 26, 2010 [2 favorites]
The desserty-looking ones are frosted with tinted cream cheese, but if this terrifies you (and it really should) I think it would look nice plain or with some pepper rings on top.
Cream cheese icing. Like you'd put on a carrot cake. It is not the least bit terrifying!
posted by Sys Rq at 4:49 PM on July 26, 2010
Cream cheese icing. Like you'd put on a carrot cake. It is not the least bit terrifying!
posted by Sys Rq at 4:49 PM on July 26, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 12:58 PM on July 25, 2010 [5 favorites]