8O'S Themed dinner

[Buzzybb]

Any ideas please My Mother has asked me to cook an 80's themed dinner party for her and her friends, I have done 60's and 70's for them before but I am struggling here,
Angel delight, pot noodles and canned mushroom soup are not doing anything for me, I also need to have a cocktail and wine list. This is a big deal for them as they dress up and make a night of it please help.

Was Baked Alaska 70s or 80s?

We had tuna mayo & egg mayo vol au vents.

Bottled lager, Special Brew

Baloon we still drink Lambrusco here
So working backwards we will have

Irish Coffee with chocolate [after 8's?]

Lemon and strawberry Cheesecakes
Vienetta
Sticky toffee pudding
Death by chocolate
Summer fruit pudding

Chicken Kiev
??????
Baby Veg
Twice baked cheese Potato

Vol au Vents ????
???????????
???????????

Cheese and fruit on sticks
stuff on crackers [any idea's]
Eggs with the yolk piped back in
??????????

Lots of Alcohol
Soda Stream

You're right Blue Nun was 70's
Definately Lambrusco in the 80's

I remember lots of pasta salads and savory rice at parties in the 80's.....and mung beans and bulgar wheat. Probably had garlic bread for the first time as well.

I recall drinking Mateus Rose in the eighties. Curry a la chip shop.flavour. Steak and chips with a blob of coleslaw.
Vol au Vonts were always prawn IIR or the mushroom /tinned soup mix. I think beef wellington has been around forever, I don't remember it specifically as eighties.

Oh yes beef wellington, I would say that was 80s.

I would be far too frightened to make baked alaska.

There is nothing you can put in a vol au vent to make it edible, imo

Drink - asti spumanti. Mateus Rose. Naffola Del Boy cocktails like Sex on the Beach, Pina Colada, Slippery Nipple.

I did baked Alaska for the 60's as it came up as a popular dessert for then because everything served then had to beburnt well done

lasagne

What about some kind of roulade for the second option?

I have a fab spinach roulade recipe which I'm pretty sure started life in a Delia 80s book.

Also CHRIST ALMIGHTY how many puddings are you doing woman?!!

What's wrong with a choice of chocolate mousse or cathedral city with dry celery?!!!!

Fool proof baked alaska

Slice of swiss roll
Put on a scoop of Ice cream
Cover with meringue put into freezer for 24 hrs
Straight to a very hot oven 220C for 5 min serve with melted strawberry jam.

OOh will have to try that.

I was inspired by the Nigella recipe with a little model of a skiier on top, tried to make it round a friend's house (pissed, admittedly) and ended up melting the ice cream and not cooking the egg for long enough.

So was a disaster and made a godawful drunken mess in my mate's kitchen to boot!

I need left overs for the starving hordes my family the next day and extra dessert for the poor children collecting their drunk legless merry mothers

Eggs with yolk piped back......They had something orange sprinkled on them!

Vol au Vents, That was DSis special dish! prawn, mushroom and chicken one. She made the cases....I'm sure you can still buy them.

Yes, egg mayo has to be sprinked with paprika for that authentic touch!

My sister got married for the first time in winter 1979 and I remember "vol au vents" being something she proudly made in her first few years of marriage.

And lots of quiche.

Theyoungvisitor I might try the roulade is it easy Can I put it together and freeze it to use later?

Scuse me, I have made vol au vents! And I'm in my (very) early 30s.

Very tasty, I'll have you know.

I think they are much wronged - the problem is that nasty ones are like nasty blinis - the papiermache of appetisers.

Lol I am 30 so really I should have better memories of the 80's then animal bars,orange split ice cream and drinking coke from a glass bottle with a straw

Filo pastry sort of outed vol au vents I thought. But I will make some for our next family do. Will also buy some Lambrusco.

oh sorry - crossposted with the roulade question.

I don't know about freezing to be honest. I should think you could freeze the sponge bit, but it might make it a bit soggy when you defrosted it. I've always made it the same day.

The filling would definitely have to be made fresh and assembled on the day.

Do you want me to post the recipe?

Yes please when you can or even a link that would be fab
It might work to get the dc to eat green veg

diet coke
perrier water

Sponge:
1 lb spinach
1/2 oz butter
4 eggs, separated
Parmesan

Pre-heat oven to 180 c. Take a swiss roll tin and line and butter very well.

Cook spinach and drain thoroughly (squeeze in a tea-towel). Then chop very fine (unless you've bought the ready chopped kind).

Put spinach into a large bowl and add the egg yolks one at a time.

Then whip the egg-whites to stiff peaks and fold in the spinach.

Spread evenly in the swiss roll tin and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Bake for 10 mins or until risen and firm to the touch.

When cool enough to handle, turn out onto a sheet of grease proof paper and peel off the backing.

You can do any kind of filling but I like to line it with slices of smoked salmon and then do a kind of creamy marscapone sauce. You can also do a mushroom cheese sauce. Anything that takes your fancy.

Whatever you choose, spread the filling over the underside of the swiss roll and roll up. If serving hot then return to the oven for 10 mins to warm.

Serves about 6 depending on how greedy they are.

Perfect that sounds delish I will try it for dinner over the week
You are a star

Starters... Pea and mint soup
classic hotel veg soup
pate and melba toast
sesame prawn toast
seafood chowder
Broccoli and stilton soup
Devilled kidneys
pears and stilton
stuffed mushrooms
Blinis topped with diff things
chicken and mushroom vol u vaunts (sp?)
dim sum
minted melon salad
stuffed peppers...

Mains... Steak chips mushrooms and onions all fryed and peppercorn sauce of course mmm
boiled salmon mashed potato mixed with chopped spring onions made into towers and selection of baby veg with marie rose sauce of course... Or watercress sauce...
Trout wrapped in a rasher blanket
Scewers
sticky chicken
golden parmesan chicken with garlic mayo
seafood pancakes
seafood paella
Tomato and basil or cheese and onion tart
Beef wellington crumbed turkey steaks with baby pots and broccoli and big wedges of lemon
Coronation chicken
any type of pie...
Herb rack of lamb roasted veg and big jugs of Bisto!
Scampi and chips...
Macaroni and cheese
Smoked haddock on top of mash with a poached egg on top
deep fryed battered cod home made not outa a packet obv with chips and pea puree
Lasagne and um chips...
Maryland salad

Some sides um lemony carrots, swiss souffle potatoes, parsnips with almonds, cauliflower with cheese sauce, rosemary roasties, vegetable ribbons, stuffed onions...

Deserts... Lemon and/or Baileys cheesecake,
banoffi pie,
poached pears with chocolate sauce,
queen of puddings,
baked stuffed apples
kentish cherry batter pudding,
baked rice pudding,
bakewell tart,
damask cream,
any type of Roulade,
creme caramel,
chocolate mouse,
strawberry gateau,
filo purses, black forest gateau, carrot cake, so many diff tarts treacle, keylime, lemon meringue etc...
Baked Alaskia
Crepe sauzette (sp?)
Knickerbocker glories!
Irish or french coffees after depending if you have whiskey or brandy in...

And thats my millions suggestions and im sooooo hungry now!