1980s retro dinner party - recipes wanted!

[flamingnora]

I rarely ate out in the 1980s and suspect the fare I was served by mum at home thoughout the decade was more representative of the '70s! I'm having a retro 1980s dinner party & would love some inspriration. Another snag is - 2 of my guests don't eat meat - so fish main courses/starters would be fab please!

Bisto Instant Gravy Granules. Now they were definitely eighties

but iotascat, i think that normal folk ate them in the 80s, iykwim?

Spaghetti bolognaise with mounds of dried parmasan shaken onto. Real thick spaghetti.

ah yes, the stuff that smells of vomit...

Lots of this stuff is 70s. 80s was much fussier - odd combinations of ingredients, garnishes, 'exotic' ingredients.

kiwi fruit is definitely 80s

there was a lot of physalis, i think.

tiramisu? tuna pasta bake?

Well I remember making chilli, risotto and spag bol when I was a student in the early eighties.

And I remember things like angel delight and arctic roll from when I was a child in the seventies.

i deffo think spag and chili are 70s, or they were in our house.

Do you know how to make roses out of tomatoes?

Yes, physalis - adorning a cheesecake perhaps LOL
Lots of dramatic desserts like layered meringues and bombes

lol at bombes. my mum was the queen of the hazlenut nutella pavlova.

My mother certainly used to make spag bol and lasagne in the seventies. Along with traditional favourites of steak and kidney pie, shepherds pie, gammon with broad beans and parsley sauce ( no pineapple) liver and bacon, chops, beef stew and mash and so on.

i do think you should try to fool them with a nouvelle cuisine course, they'll be GUTTED. and then bring out a beef wellington and bowls of mangetout etc.

I can remember my mum making Baked Alaska when I was about 8 or 9 so that would be early 80s. I also recall the time she dropped the perfect and painstakingly decorated Pavlova in the pot drawer while taking it out of the fridge.

DB did his O level cookery at the end of the 80s. He cooked Spag Bol and Choc Mousse.

what about this from my DH's 80s microwave cookbook:
Sauteed Turkey and Banana with Lemon Sauce
Kidney and Celery Saute
Savoury Haddock Crumble

Fruited Butterscotch Ring
Creamy Chocolate Banana Pie

here

agree with prawn cocktail with home made marie rose (kethup and salad cream)

80s foods

or melon and port

and you gotta have chicken chassure

and egg custard, baked alaska or merange nests

lol

jesus, chippy - that is one hell of a cookbook you your DH has got...

I love old cookbooks, especially really old ones written by WI members and featuring loads of vomtastic salads made of corned beef, lime jelly and whipped cream.

"Recipes supplied and tested by the Good Housekeeping Institute" no less! Really must have a clear out, although in my his defence it was hidden behind a row of nigella and jamies

I think it deserves pride of place, chippy! have you ever tried the kidney/celery or turkey/banana/lemon combo???

What about Vol-au-vonts? Surely they deserve a mention?

Filled with tuna/salad cream or prawn cocktail or even chicken supreme.

How about credit crunching nouveau cuisine?? Just serve them a baby carrot on a plate with artistically styled garnish?

My mum's dinner parties in the 80s were a half avocado filled with prawn marie rose, sprinkled with cayenne pepper

main was something delia ish with "crusty bread" (very Jen Teale)

pud was homemade choux pastry profiteroles with chocolate sauce