60's Potluck Ideas

[few]

OK - so I am desperate here... CH's help me out !!!

What are ideas for food drinks to bring to a 60's Potluck themed house party???

Don't let me down...I have been googling with little success

[few]

OK so this is what ended up on the buffet table: asparagus w/ham rolled in wonder bread and toasted; onion dip& chips; devilled eggs, smokies in chili/grape sauce kept in small crock pot; 7 layer salad; pasta bolognese (fr 1962 Joy of Cooking), for dessert; Twinkies, refrigerator cake, Mallomars, and Irish coffees......it was all potluck..so was fun to see what rolled in! Oh yeah : chianti in straw bottles, heinis, Whisky sours, manhattans, Harvey Wallbangers, screwdrivers...

THANKS TO ALL !

[alkapal]

ahh, good ol' harvey wallbangers! they're pretty potent!

[hill food]

sounds very authentic, love that someone hit the '62 edition of JofC, and the addition of grape to the sauce for the smokies earns bonus points

and re the name Harvey Wallbanger I can't read that without hearing Geoffrey Rush saying it in "Mystery Men" (hey he was up for an oscar the other day right?)

[alkapal]

years ago, my sister and i wandered around the isle of capri, mind you, looking for the best galliano deal! LOL.

[HDinCentralME]

For the (former) hippies among us...soybean casserole.

[mamachef]

Mmmm.....not to mention a great big heapin' helpin' of some delightful lentil-carrot loaf. : )

[Tripeler]

Sure, if the meaning of "delightful" includes the urge to hork all over the place.

[KaimukiMan]

if mamachef makes it im sure its surprisingly edible... potentially even tasty.... uh, what is it?

[mamachef]

So far, no mention of pigs in blankets with ballpark mustard, or clam dip (with Ruffles what have Ridges!), or little cocktail meatballs in a chafing dish, or for the more rareified 60's mavens, blini with sour cream and smoked salmon; the very height of sophistication back in the day.
Oh, and my mom the uncook was very long on bowls of marinated artichoke hearts and jarred marinated mushrooms, to go along with those huge canned black olives. Sort of an American-suburban Zakuski selection.
Mini Beef Wellingtons might be fun, if a little OCD.

[few]

cocktail meatballs...have no chafing dish...crockpot will have to do.....and love the clam dip!

almost there!!!

good work CH's

[wincountrygirl]

Brownies......................

[Gail]

Beef Stroganoff and Grasshopper Pie

[few]

HA>...Grasshopper Pie.....yes yes

[chickenbruiser]

Being from Montreal Expo 67 has always represented the sixties to me although I don't really remember the 60s (I was too young). The article is probably not what you're looking for but could be a source of inspiration.

http://expo67.ncf.ca/expo67_food_p2.html

[marthasway]

Great read! I love that kind of armchair travel in a historical context.

[chickenbruiser]

I like that they include prices!!!

Actually, Expo 67, according to some food historians, totally changed the food and restaurant landscape in Montreal... opening us up to the world. I was 3 so I probably had a hot dog. :P

[KaimukiMan]

you need a big bowl of 'homemade' chex mix. not this stuff they sell in a bag now (it only took them 40 years to figure that out)

[few]

HA!!! Chex Mix!!!! an excellent one!

[few]

wow
all ideas coming along nicely
my notes to friends will be full of ideas thanks to you all!!!
Once again CH;s ...you come through.....yee haaaa

[FoodFuser]

One can always depend that though we might be crude
we will always share comments on questions of food.

Here's to hopes you find joy in your feast from the Sixties.

[pine time]

Ohhhh, shades of "Mad Men!" Definitely fondue--I remember it being soooo exotic.

[Tripeler]

Fish sticks and fondue.
For appetizers, a plate of sugar cubes each with a tiny dot of food coloring.

[mamachef]

Tripeler, that last was absolutely brilliant. And if it was a costume party, somebody could dress up as a smallpox vaccination scar!

[Tripeler]

Actually, my mother actually did that in the 60s when she ran an art gallery, and me and my sister were charged with putting the dots on the sugar cubes. We had no idea what it symbolized until years later.

[mamachef]

Good thing your screen name's not "Tripper". ; )

[alkapal]

http://www.foodtimeline.org/fooddecades.html#1960s

>>>""""
1960s foods
In the United States, the 1960s was a stormy decade shaped by the clash of conforming tradition and radical change. Culinary wise? WWII rationing was a distant memory, 50s casseroles were old & boring. The 60s encouraged showy, complicated food with French influence (Julia Child, Jacqueline Kennedy), suburban devotion (backyard barbecues), vegetarian curiosity (Frieda Caplan) and ethnic cuisine (soul food, Japanese Steak houses). This was also the decade of flaming things (fondue & Steak Diane) and lots and lots of junk food (aimed at the baby boom children).""""<<<<

~~~~~~~~
the link has much more information. what a great thing to read -- and waste time! ;-). the "food time line" is a great resource for so many food-related questions.

e.g., here is the intro on '60s buffet dishes: http://www.foodtimeline.org/fooddecad...
"""BUFFET, 1960S STYLE
Casual entertaining in the 1960s favored theme buffets and barbecue. International themes were very popular. The foods served were generally not authentic fare but "Americanized" renditions. Think lasagne with American cheese; Chinese ribs with ketchup."""""

[eclecticsynergy]

Lipton Onion Soup dip, hooray!

wedges of baloney layered with cream cheese & chives (and don't forget the green food coloring...)

Spam & green olives on toothpicks
Ham & Swiss cubes on toothpicks

Prunes stuffed with cream cheese & pecan halves

Spirals of dried beef with processed cheddar spread
Spirals of roast beef with processed horseradish cheese spread

Lime Jello molded with fruit salad, definitely. Ring mold with the center filled with mayo, perhaps...

The chocolate wafer/whipped cream log that ratbin suggested is both period-appropriate
and unbelievably good! For the full effect, you have to mix some almond extract into the sweetened cream before whipping, and cover the outside with a mosaic of maraschino cherry bits. Those (Famous brand) chocolate wafers are still available.

[FoodFuser]

There is deeply ingrained historical connection
'Tween the sixties and also that canned up concoction
that is still sold as Campbell's
Creamed Mushroom Soup.

Now with a zip top, so no need for a sharpener
to apply to that ancient can opener.

I would think that a case of a dozen at least
would afford to the theme of a good Sixties feast.

Baking in those days referred not to bread
but to casserole concoctions that these days we dread.

But heck who doesn't love a speared liver and bacon.
Best thing from the Sixties was skewered Rumaki.

[Sue in Mt P]

Pimento cheese in celery or fondue!

[ratbin]

Anchovy canapes - anchovy paste on toast rounds, garnished with a slice of pimento stuffed olive.
Pigs in a blanket
Jello mold, sweet or savory. Savory ones have things like chopped onion, celery, tuna, mayonnaise. The Joy of Jello cookbook has pages of stuff.
Impossible Cheeseburger Pie made with Bisquick
5 Cup Salad
7 Can Casserole
Banana Pudding with vanilla wafers
Chocolate wafer and whipped cream cake
Get a copy of Square Meals or any of those "Back of the Box" books, you''ll be fine!

[mamachef]

Plebeian, but:
Tuna potato-chip casserole
Chicken Divan
Chicken/Turkey Tetrazzini
Chow Mein and Fried Rice (Chinese-style food was a popular dinner party item, as was:)
Sukiyaki
Green bean casserole w/ mushroom soup and French's onion rings topper
Chicken Rice Roger
Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs
Caesar Salad (appeared earlier, but VERY vogue in the sixties)
Deviled eggs
Rumaki (bacon wrapped around chicken liver, pineapple chunk and/or water chestnut, teriyaki-marinated, skewered and broiled)
Anything "Polynesian" - Pu Pu platters, etc.

Caviar Pie

[monavano]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/434257
Loved reading this old thread. We always had salami rolled around cream cheese, celery stuffed with cream cheese and OMG, canned black olives. I never knew what real olives tasted like until my 20's !
Sweedish meatballs are still beloved, or the grape jelly/chili sauce combo is a classic.
Fondue is great, too.

[hill food]

I didn't bother looking at that thread, but I think I posted Rumaki there and can't emphasize it enough (I'd skip the pineapple option and save that for the Hawai'an pupu platter stuff, d'ja notice the glottal stop? very pre-1975 when 50 was still exotic!)

for me this is so the SoCal version of Ice Storm. pineapple sherbet rum drinks, moms running around the pool in muumuus, dads with leis wrapped around their heads, flaming platters of shrimp and pork nibbles.

good thing CPS wasn't as informed in those days.