Recipe Request: Vintage cocktail party munchies
vegaslounge
Posts: 122 Member
Every year for roughly the last 10 years, my parents have thrown a Spring get-together at their house for friends and coworkers. With the recent passing of my mother (who organized it all), I didn't know if Dad was going to continue the tradition.
The other night while walking the dogs...
Dad: "So I'd like to have some people over in March, I was thinking maybe a 1950s cocktail party theme. Would you be interes–"
Me: "OH HELL YES I SO HAVE THIS. Also I ordered a new pair of shoes for the party while you were talking, mind letting me know when they arrive?"
There are two things you must know: I love mid-century Americana, and throwing dinner parties. To say this is right up my alley is putting it lightly.
Since there will probably be ~25 people over, the idea is to spread out food for guests to pick what they like, mill about the house and mingle. So, lots and lots of finger food. I'll probably spend $25 on toothpicks alone. I'm going to use truly vintage recipes where I can, but if there's a "modern interpretation" that (honestly) sounds like it will taste better, I'll use that.
SO, intrepid MFPals, does anyone have a recipe in this vein, or even just a suggestion, that I absolutely MUST have on my menu? I'm a vegetarian but don't mind making meat dishes (and since Swedish meatballs and bacon-wrapped everything was pretty ubiquitous, I have to include them). I'm a little leery about shellfish/fresh seafood as I never cooked or even ate it when I was a carnivore and have no idea how to safely prepare it.
My potential menu thus far:
MAINS:
Stuffed mushrooms
Individual cheese/nut balls
Deviled eggs
Cheese straws
Cream cheese wontons
Swedish meatballs
Bacon-wrapped dates/figs
Caesar salad skewers
DESSERTS:
Pineapple upside-down cake
Bourbon balls (Hey, I live in the South)
Some kind of cookie
Yeah, it already seems like a lot but I'm casting my net wide to winnow it down...and also, like I said, I love hosting dinner parties. I have been known to take two days off from work (the day of and the day prior) just so everything is perfect.
As a centerpiece I am making a truly vintage fish salad in aspic– I know I said I was leery about seafood, but no recipe for this calls for anything that isn't in a can. I don't expect anyone to actually eat it, but you see one in nearly every retro cookbook, we have a copper fish mold in the attic, and the opportunity is only going to present itself so often.
Thank you all so much!
~VL
The other night while walking the dogs...
Dad: "So I'd like to have some people over in March, I was thinking maybe a 1950s cocktail party theme. Would you be interes–"
Me: "OH HELL YES I SO HAVE THIS. Also I ordered a new pair of shoes for the party while you were talking, mind letting me know when they arrive?"
There are two things you must know: I love mid-century Americana, and throwing dinner parties. To say this is right up my alley is putting it lightly.
Since there will probably be ~25 people over, the idea is to spread out food for guests to pick what they like, mill about the house and mingle. So, lots and lots of finger food. I'll probably spend $25 on toothpicks alone. I'm going to use truly vintage recipes where I can, but if there's a "modern interpretation" that (honestly) sounds like it will taste better, I'll use that.
SO, intrepid MFPals, does anyone have a recipe in this vein, or even just a suggestion, that I absolutely MUST have on my menu? I'm a vegetarian but don't mind making meat dishes (and since Swedish meatballs and bacon-wrapped everything was pretty ubiquitous, I have to include them). I'm a little leery about shellfish/fresh seafood as I never cooked or even ate it when I was a carnivore and have no idea how to safely prepare it.
My potential menu thus far:
MAINS:
Stuffed mushrooms
Individual cheese/nut balls
Deviled eggs
Cheese straws
Cream cheese wontons
Swedish meatballs
Bacon-wrapped dates/figs
Caesar salad skewers
DESSERTS:
Pineapple upside-down cake
Bourbon balls (Hey, I live in the South)
Some kind of cookie
Yeah, it already seems like a lot but I'm casting my net wide to winnow it down...and also, like I said, I love hosting dinner parties. I have been known to take two days off from work (the day of and the day prior) just so everything is perfect.
As a centerpiece I am making a truly vintage fish salad in aspic– I know I said I was leery about seafood, but no recipe for this calls for anything that isn't in a can. I don't expect anyone to actually eat it, but you see one in nearly every retro cookbook, we have a copper fish mold in the attic, and the opportunity is only going to present itself so often.
Thank you all so much!
~VL
6
Replies
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My fav vintage finger food is thinly sliced salami layered with cream cheese (6-8 slices) and then cut into triangle wedges with toothpicks holding the stacks. So gross and retro and delicious.
Your menu looks awesome. I'm a dinner party thrower too3 -
Fondue! Totally 50’s retro1
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Also Ambrosia2
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You must order this cookbook right away. It's only $2.77 from Amazon and is an amazing read and really fun and full of 1950s era "company" food.
Twelve Company Dinners
It has no reviews, but here's one from a blogger:
http://cookbookoftheday.blogspot.com/2010/01/twelve-company-dinners.html
It has my mother's famous cheesecake recipe in addition to other gems, but I can not enough how much fun it is to read through if you're interested in the time period.1 -
pimento cheese? or a cheese ball (rolled in nuts)?
ETA:
Whoops - sorry, just reread the OP and saw you had cheese/nut balls.
Mini quiches?0 -
Don't forget the crackers for the mold!
Little shortbread cookies for one of the desserts. Another southern tradition!
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I don't know how simple you make your bacon wrapped dates, but I stuff mine w/ goat cheese & drizzle with a chocolate balsamic glaze when they come out of the oven.
Sounds like a blast!0 -
nickssweetheart wrote: »You must order this cookbook right away. It's only $2.77 from Amazon and is an amazing read and really fun and full of 1950s era "company" food.
Oh Hell yes. Done and done.JodehFoster wrote: »I don't know how simple you make your bacon wrapped dates, but I stuff mine w/ goat cheese & drizzle with a chocolate balsamic glaze when they come out of the oven.
That sounds great! I was also thinking of a vegetarian option of fig and goat cheese, with– I almost want to do a pineapple/brown sugar glaze. Like to get a little caramelized fruit-sugar crunch to the creamy tartness of the goat cheese.
Mini quiches are also going on the menu, and can go in little individual frozen phyllo cups. I think my theme is "misguided but well-meaning Eisenhower-era international".lynn_glenmont wrote: »pimento cheese? or a cheese ball (rolled in nuts)?
ETA:
Whoops - sorry, just reread the OP and saw you had cheese/nut balls.
Mini quiches?
I'll probably do a couple versions of cheese/nut balls, and pimento cheese will probably make the cut. Personally, I can't stand the stuff, but it is one of those Southern Traditions™...
Thank you guys so much. Again, can't tell you how excited I am over doing this. I basically do historical reenactments for a living, so when I want to host a "historical" party, I go ba– uh, kittens to the wall. No harm intended to any kittens who may be reading.
~VL
5 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »Mini quiches?
Working on my menu and mini-quiche is making the cut. I have a *killer* Bisquik quiche recipe from my grandmother's Eisenhower-era collection and it would be great in little pastry cups.
This menu is a modern dieter's nightmare, lol. I'm surprised the entire American adult population didn't drop dead of coronary heart failure by 1967. No wonder a hippie anthem was "don't trust anyone over 30", they were clearly reanimated corpses due to all the cream cheese-based hors d'oeuvres of the previous decade.
~VL
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volovants ...but I think they were 70s ?0
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Alatariel75 wrote: »My fav vintage finger food is thinly sliced salami layered with cream cheese (6-8 slices) and then cut into triangle wedges with toothpicks holding the stacks. So gross and retro and delicious.
Your menu looks awesome. I'm a dinner party thrower too
My grandmother would make a similar app with sliced dried beef; we called them "beef rollups". So good. Us grandkids would crowd around that dish like we were summoning a delicious salty demon.0 -
I doubt it's from the 50s but one of our favorite old school appetizers that my MIL used to make and my husband still requests are "party rye pizzas".
Basically it is pork sausage cooked and then mixed with velveeta, ketchup, garlic salt and fennel seed until its kind of a thick paste. You then spread that on the cocktail rye bread and bake for about 10 min till the bread is toasty. They are the first thing to go at the Super Bowl party!
Also another old school one would be the bisquick, sausage and cheese balls - can't remember the other ingredients but you mix bag all together and roll them in balls and bake - brings back tons of memories for me of childhood events where these were present.0 -
Oh and I'm sorry for the loss of your mom but so happy you and your dad are carrying on the traditions!1
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I was born in 1950 and one of the favorites at all of my parents' parties (and they threw a lot of them) was Rumaki. Chicken liver and water chestnut wrapped in Bacon and broiled. I can't tell you how many of those were absolutely devoured at our house. Might be too similar to your bacon wrapped dates though and I'm not sure anyone eats liver anymore...........never could get myself to eat one of these.1
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Definitely salami rolled with cream cheese (or stacked as mentioned above)! Celery-Lime Jello Salad. Actually, please put everything in gelatin and post pictures.1
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I'm a sucker for a good tuna noodle casserole too. Would mini chicken pot pies fit in well? Maybe indiviual pies in mini muffin tins (chicken pot tarts? lol).0
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So I think I’ve narrowed my menu down. Or at least, this would be the third draft the teacher checks before you turn in the actual report. It looks like a lot on first glance, but half of this could be made the day before and the other half is really more “assembling” than “cooking”. Also a lot of the ingredients are the same (like I said, I’m going for an Eisenhower/Kennedy era “international” menu…thanks, Mom’s Time-Life International cookbooks from 1965!)
Imagine the majority of these on toothpicks...
COLD MENU
Prosciutto-wrapped goat cheese stuffed dates
Goat cheese stuffed dates (or figs, haven’t decided) with grilled pineapple wedge and brown sugar/pineapple glaze
Mini Bisquik quiches (probably spinach/mushroom/Swiss) in phyllo cups
Caprese (skewered basil leaf, home-marinated mini mozzarella balls, half a grape tomato, balsamic drizzle)
Deviled eggs
HOT MENU
Vegetable or Shrimp grilled skewers (Dad bought a new grill, this will be its debutante coming-out). Various glazes/dipping sauces for them (I love making sauces)
Cream cheese wontons (basically Crab Rangoon without the crab)
Stuffed mushrooms
DESSERT
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake (NOT on skewers! I have a pan made specifically for this kind of cake, little dimples for the maraschino cherries and everything)
Fried date-filled wontons
Bourbon balls
Also Fish Aspic Mold Thing with plenty of Ritz/Club Crackers to go around.
And booze.
Lots and lots of booze.
I am so excited for this. And yes, there will be pictures.
~VL7 -
Definitely salami rolled with cream cheese (or stacked as mentioned above)! Celery-Lime Jello Salad. Actually, please put everything in gelatin and post pictures.
Popular jello molds included olives (actually a fave of mine)
midcenturymenu.com/category/cocktail-party/
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What, you're not inviting all of us over?1
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Also, my shoes for the event. Because you can't be a proper mid-century housewifey hostess without a pair of killer retro heels.
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Your mother would be so proud of you!
An easy dessert to add would be Rice Krispie Marshmallow treats. It has the wow factor of "I haven't eaten these since I was a kid!" Just slice them smaller.
Enjoy your party and let us know how it went.0 -
LOVE those shoes!2
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Shoez are killer!2
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Make sure you wear the proper apron!1
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yeah photo of apron please0
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absolutely love the shoes. I have this retro apron that I LOVE
https://www.flirtyaprons.com/womens-apron-marilyn-sugar-n-spice?utm_source=google_shopping
For a 1950s appetizer- my grandmother always made Rumaki
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I just love this. The theme, you and your dad, cocktail parties in general. Just wanted to wish you best of luck!1
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Bailey00030 wrote: »absolutely love the shoes. I have this retro apron that I LOVE
https://www.flirtyaprons.com/womens-apron-marilyn-sugar-n-spice?utm_source=google_shopping
For a 1950s appetizer- my grandmother always made Rumaki
that is a seriously cute pinny. This is mine. The photo doesn't do it justice. It is pink, lacy, and very very flouncy.
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