How different from the home life...

[f4f3]

It's only Wednesday, and I'm stressing about my dinner party on Saturday.

I'm trying to do "80's Dinner Party With A Twist" (since I advertised "80's dinner party" when I was talking about this with Kay and James). So far my ideas are Inside Out Prawn and Avocado for starter (guacamole inside a bowl of tail on king prawns, or maybe langoustines arranged around a bowl of gaucamole) but no ideas for the main course. I did think of doing Beef Wellingtons, with chilli served in white china boots, but for that I'd need to find six white china boots).
I’m also thinking of cheating for the sweet, and finding a big, frozen black forest gateaux.
Any ideas?

Comments

[helenex.livejournal.com]

Main courses I remember that might be ripe for a punning reinvention:
Coq au Vin
Stroganoff
"Blackened" (cajun) chicken or fish?

I think a bought dessert would be fine (and sensible) - cheesecake or tiramisu would also be an option. Banoffee Pie? Or Viennetta - the height of fancy to my (admittedly childish) memories.

You should fit in some sundried tomatoes somewhere, perhaps you could do some canapes. And finish with Ferrero Rocher?

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

Viennetta! Genius!

[radialcell.livejournal.com]

I was thinking Chicken Cordon Bleu for an 80s-appropriate entree, and it's easy too. Not healthy for sure, but it would fit your theme.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of Chicken Kiev - Cordon Bleu involves blue cheese, doesn't it?

[radialcell.livejournal.com]

I think the chicken could be stuffed with ham and a mellow white cheese. The first two I searched used Swiss.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

OK, I think that's official. Chicken Cordon Bleu FTW.

[parthenia14.livejournal.com]

Nigella Lawson has a great-sounding menu (perhaps more 70s than 80s) called 'Camp, But Only Slightly, Dinner for 6' which includes Pheasant with Gin and It, sweet-and-sour cabbage, and Pavlova for dessert. (Warning, cook ahead).

This strange-sounding American girl made it: http://sarah-discovers-how-to-eat.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pheasant-fun-3-eating.html

And here's another, complete ith strawberry cheesecake.:
http://www.sarahcooks.com.au/2007/07/pheasant-and-rant-about-dinner-party.html

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

Pheasant? How pleasant...

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine who is a ceramic artist might be able to help out with boots.

When I say help out I probably mean sell you some.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I'm trending towards the chicken cordon bleu at the moment, possibly to be renamed Poulet Blue Fence.

[anthrokeight.livejournal.com]

I always associate 80's Fancy Party with brie cheese heated so melty with cranberry chutney, sometimes wrapped in phyllo. Or spinach dip in a bread bowl. Or, as someone said below, "blackened" anything. Also stuffed mushrooms.

The heydey of my mom's entertaining was the 80's. I washed so much lettuce in those days.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

Individual baked camembert for a starter... It's a thought.

[radialcell.livejournal.com]

My brain zoomed to spinach dip in a bread bowl too....and to my Dad's Israeli bread salad, which along with spinach dip he always made for parties when I was small. But that's probably not A Thing outside of secular Jewish households.

[anthrokeight.livejournal.com]

I ate Lebanese bread salad just now for dinner. Are we talking the same thing? Parsley, mint, feta, tomato, olive, cucumber, garlic, green onion, bell pepper, stale pita, and sumac? With a lemon/olive oil/garlic dressing?

Oh, man. I love fatoush/Israeli bread salad so much.

[radialcell.livejournal.com]

No mint and no sumac, and toasted sourdough or French instead of pita, but otherwise yes. Yum.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

Not hugely :) unblinkered makes a fabulous bread salad with watermelon...