Retro 50th

CAFCGirl

Hi All

My mum's 50th birthday is next January!
I know I'm a bit ahead of myself but wanted to get planning early because obv Christmas will happen!

We were having a cuppa and a chat earlier, watching Magic tv, and it was a Sensational 70's hour.

I said to my mum she should have a party for her 50th and as she was a child (well young adult) and kicking up her skirt as it were in the 70's it would be a fabulous theme!
She seems v.excited and even mentionned its her close work colleagues 50th round then too so a joint thing would be super.

We've already decided on the social club at the hospital where they work (discount!) and the theme.

What I'm thinking is that I'd volunteer for the food!

So after all the long winded blurb, I'm after some ideas for retro (ideally 70's) party food ideas.

Now so far we've got
cheese and pineapple on sticks
cheese and silverskin as above
black forest gateux
volovents (excuse my dreadful spelling!)
crisps

Anything else that anyone knows from that kind of era, even just retro food in general....

Would be a fabulous help!!

strawbsuk76

Heres a couple of suggestions
1.Boil any number of eggs until hard. When cool, peel, halve and scoop out the yolks. Mash them in a bowl with some spoonfuls of Branston Pickle, or prepared mayonnaise with a little curry powder, then stuff the mixture back into the hollows.
2.Take a boule of white bread (one of those round country loaves). Chop off a lid and carefully cut out the interior. Cube the interior and pile onto a plate with the emptied loaf in the centre and an eggcupful of cocktail sticks. Fill this bready bowl with warm cheese fondue.
3.Cut a cabbage in half across its middle and put it upside down on a platter. Thread a cube of cheese, a cube of Spam (use this sparingly if you prefer – just enough for people to get the joke) and a stuffed olive on a stick and plunge it into the cabbage. Mix with cubes of cheese and pineapple and you’ve created pure retro heaven in a psychedelic porcupine.

If you want to go a little extravagant you could always do the ferrero rocher pyramid......"Oh monsuer ambasador you are spoiling us"

Not really the food side of things but how about the retro sweets that people did in boxes for xmas......you could put them into dishes on the table.

this is the link (i hope)

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=296799

Strawbs x

ems2

Blue Nun was a big 70's drink wasn't it?

seashore321

I seem to remember that open topped sandwiches were all the rage. Cut in half a hot dog style bread roll and put on top egg mayonnaise covered in soggy cress. (Soggy is not obligatory you could have fresh!).
Tuna was a bit progressive then but you could use that instead of tinned salmon which was usually full of bones. Tomatoes and cucumber on top. Coronation chicken and poor mans salmon which was red cheese and onion mixed together, nothing like salmon but looked the same.

Vol au vents with condensed chicken or mushroom soup heated up in them. Quiche was a must.

Twiglets were the epitomy of style. as were orange and mint matchmakers if you could get them.

As said before hedgehogs made up of cheese and pineapple (I must admit spam was a bit advanced for us!)

Black forest gateau, and strawberry cheescake with real strawberries on top was a bit classy.

Good luck and if I find my party savouries cook book from the seventies I will bore you with more!! Quick thought anyone remember cheeslets???


:rotfl:

CAFCGirl

Excellent stuff so far everyone thanks for the contributions...

Its a bit difficult for me as I was a child of the 80's, but my Mum mentionned Blue Nun and Black Tower?!

Definitely gonna do all the bits mentionned so far!

seashore321

Your'e mum may have mentioned Black Tower and Blue Nun but what about Bacardi and coke and BABYCHAM especially if you had a rich boyfriend babycham and brandy. And SNOWBALLS Also do not forget the cocktail cherries. I remember a party I went to when they put cherries in the cider!!!!

piglet6

On the drinks side, along with Blue Nun and Black Tower, please remember Mateus Rosé... :rotfl:

I was a child of the 70s (and a bit too young to drink!) but Mr P's parents have reliably informed us that on special occasions, they always drank a nice bottle of Hock (may be worth trying a bottle first, though...I think its quite "medium/sweet" so not to everyone's taste!:o).

Food wise, prawn cocktail was pretty sophisticated in the 70s:p (I'm thinking you could update it by serving mini portions in little gem lettuce leaves...), and I also tried googling and it came up with the following:

http://www.retrofoodrecipes.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2003_33_tue_04.shtml
http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/healthydiet/seasonsandcelebrations/howweusedtoeat/1970s/

Hope something in one of these might be adaptable to a buffet style for you - I think its a great idea (I'd love to be a guest at a 70s food party!:D). Definitely agree with the Babycham and Snowball idea from seashore321, too - I can remember various aunties drinking this at Christmas from when I was little - also, Martini Bianco and Martini Rosso...:rolleyes:

Remember to get a few 70s mix music CDs to have playing in the background! :dance:

Piglet

dawn060861

Get some old LP's from a charity shop and melt them in hot water and shape them into bowls, very cool crisps server!

Dawn

CAFCGirl

Wow Dawn what a fab idea.
Local charity shop was giving them away for free the other day!

Might get some to use as centre pieces on the tables too!

Think my Mum might still have some snowballs from Christmas (my nan likes em!)

Anymore ideas would be fab, getting a really good collection so far!

Sallys_Savings

Love the idea of the record bowls..I've seen those done before and they look great.

How about having a few singles on tables etc for coasters or have records hanging from the walls on fishing wire as decoration?

shallowpockets

Wow! Just came across this and it's given me the inspiration to have a 70's theme party for myself. Anyone got any ideas on decorations? For the garden and inside as mine would be in the summer.

PS. Sorry to hijack the original post!!!