It sounds like you have some great suggestion already but here's a blog that's pretty fun to go through:

http://www.midcenturymenu.com/

She tests all kinds of retro recipes and then reports on her results. There are even ideas for cocktails!

Pugga, that blog is a great blast from the past. I didnt grow up eating many of the dishes but I admit to having a secret love of canned pears in green jello!

I do hope you'll give us a debrief of the party, Mtn.. I love the idea and will likely give it a try myself this summer. IF I can give our how to get my hair to flip up ala mary tyler moore!

justerrilynn: Mom always had it in our fridge, too. I still try to keep a 1 lb. box and a can of Rotel for that wonderful dip.

Oh yeah, RoTel does make diced tomatoes. I use the canned sauce which I pour over a chile relleno casserole.

Nothing retro about cheese straws......my BIL makes them himself every year for all his family, friends and clients and everyone eagerly anticipates their delivery. If you get a tin of his homemade cheese straws you have arrived! (In certain small towns in GA and NC, lol)

When I make stuffed cabbage, I usually use a mix of beef and pork and the rice is cooked before it's mixed in. (I also add bacon and onion and garlic). Porcupine meatballs are made with uncooked rice, so as the rice cooks, it sticks out looking like a porcupine, thus the name.

My grandmother used to make City 'Chicken' (really pork and/or veal), threaded on wooden skewers. Faux fried chicken drumsticks, lol! Totally retro.

I haven't seen Ro-Tel tomato sauce. Interesting. I've seen the new variations, but will have to see if they stock the sauce here.

Sheila, I'm sure you grew up with things in Brooklyn I never heard of or at least never had.

I have never seen RoTel tomato sauce either. Just the RoTel which are diced tomatoes with green chilies; the can that notes "Original" on the label. That is the one used for the Velveeta and RoTel dip.

Annie, ohh, i see. Hmm. I should make those for my elderly MIL. I know she loves them but she doesn't cook much anymore. Do you have the recipe handy?

for the stuffed cabbage?

3 slices bacon, diced

1 med onion, chopped

1 scant c. rice, cooked

about 3/4 lb ground beef

about 3/4 lb ground pork butts

1 1/2t salt

1/2 t pepper

dash garlic powder

1 large or 2 small heads of cabbage

Some kind of tomato stuff

dill (fresh stems or however you can get it)

Cut out the core of cabbage and steam covered 10-15 min. Peel leaves as they become soft enough to be flexible and put head back to keep steaming. Save smallest and largest leaves to line pan if baking so cabbages don't burn. Take a paring knife and slice off the back of the thickest part of the leaf so it is more bendable.

Meanwhile, saute onion in bacon until tender and bacon is cooked. Put in a large mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Place some inside a leaf by the stem. Roll a little, fold in sides and continue to roll. Place in roasting pan. Continue until ingredients used up, placing rolls next to each other in single layer.

Cover with some kind of tomato...can be canned pureed tomatoes, tomato sauce, pureed fresh tomatoes, tomato juice or whatever. Then place whole fresh dill branches on top or whatever way you can get the dill. It is essential to the flavor. Roast, covered at 350 for 2-3 hours. Alternative: put in a large dutch oven and cook on stove top, covered, for about 3 hours. Mom also used to do it in a crock pot.

The best stuffed cabbage recipe I've ever had had crushed ginger snaps in the sauce. I just checked and there's several on the internet.

You can kill two birds with this beauty.......stroll down memory lane while serving your guests.......Salisbury Steak anyone?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/38676811?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=53&adid=22222222227026712084&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=t&wl3=55350291369&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=52224688449&veh=sem

Would black and white cookies be considered retro on the east coast? I used to get them at the bakery where I grew up in the Hudson Valley. I've never seen them since, but I haven't been in a NY bakery in a few decades.

I've also been wanting to ask you NY area people if you can still get Stella D'oro.

I love good Salisbury Steak, joaniepoanie.

I am late to this gw party but I d like to add anything Wellington. I also loved salmon mousse, especially made in those copper fish molds. My recipe used canned salmon and today I would be tarred and feathered for using anything in a can. Full disclosure is I like canned salmon. It is just a different thing from fresh salmon. Imo, not better, just different.

Stuffed green peppers. (Just kidding.....my mother used to make them and let's just say it wasn't my favorite meal!)

I love the idea of a retro party! What fun. Are you doing anything else theme-wise?

DSG, When I was growing up we had to eat whatever mom made for dinner. There was one exception; we could each pick one thing we did not have to eat. My choice was stuffed peppers. I like them a little better today now that I know about sour cream!

Everyone is dressing up. I can't bear to decorate my table retro, not to mention al i have are some paisley orange salad plates. They are these. I have tumblers to match. IDK, maybe with some Gerber daisies on the table?

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wta0ZkiQj-Q/T2fCl7vmzwI/AAAAAAAAAnw/TFAySCs5FtU/s1600/DSC_0748.JPG

Joaniie, those are so funny!

Westsider, I feel the same way about canned asparagus (cringe). I like it, but it is nothing like asparagus. It's more like a tubular caper!

Oh you need a relish tray. My Mother had a shallow rectangular cut glass dish and she would arrange celery stuffed with cream cheese, sweet gherkins and olives with pimento. She gave me her relish tray before moving into an apartment and just thinking of her fussing over the diner table at holiday times brings back many memories.

We had a retro dinner last week. We spent the afternoon making several different meals in bulk and freezing portions. DH decided to make Salisbury Steak with mushroom gravy and when I mentioned that I'd never had it he served it for dinner. It was very tasty and much better than the version that his Mother made with cream of mushroom soup gravy.

Too funny, my Mom had a relish tray too!

I'd forgotten about canned vegetables...asparagus, beans, corn, peas. Euwah!!

And don't forget the cake that you poked holes in and poured jello in before it was iced--can't remember what it was called.

Poke cake! & there are a number of contemporary takes on it going around the web nowadays.

poke cake search results

Stuffed peppers was my dad's absolute favorite meal. Mom always made it for him for his birthday and probably at least every other month. It wasn't my favorite but I didn't hate it. No question we had to eat whatever mom made. I remember being at a friend's house once and her mother not only asked what she wanted but brought it to her bedroom on a tray...I was dumbfounded!

Joanie, we never had to eat anything we didn't like, but no one got an alternate meal---you just didn't eat. My friends were all shocked that my mother actually didn't care whether we ate or not. And there was no creeping down to the kitchen at night because we never, ever had junk food or desserts in the house. There was usually at least one thing everyone liked at meals, we always had salads at dinner, at least!

Lisa, every couple of years I'll make a jello salad similar to the Watergate salad, sans nuts, for a big family meal. DH would never eat it because he said it's a dessert and not a salad. He never tasted it.

Last Christmas I made it again, and for whatever reason he put some on his plate. He said at the table he couldn't believe he never ate it and the salad went perfectly with dinner! lol.

I'm a sucker for a good jello salad. One of my favorite summer desserts is a grape jello thing made in a 9x13 pan.

I've not met a jello salad I didn't like, Oakley, that's for sure.

I don't make them at home because they are a special treat at holidays when MIL makes them. My kids are older now and have a good sense of balance in their diets. But when they were younger, you should have seen their plates after going through the buffet line... You can guess the ratio of "salad" to other food.

I need to give you my grape jello recipe. It's one of those where you take one bite, walk away, turn around and run to get more. lol.

I can't get my grandkids to eat regular jello, even with fruit. They like the green jello with cool whip and pineapples. Have you made that?

Oh, yes, Oakley, please post your recipe for the grape Jell-O salad.

And, I must say I am one of those people who likes canned salmon (we make salmon patties with it) and I do like canned asparagus (Green Giant brand). I also like fresh salmon and fresh asparagus. As others said the canned and the fresh both taste good, they are just different.

I love salmon patties and canned asparagus too.

I think this recipe should be served as a dessert, and it's great in the summer.

Grape Jello Salad/Dessert

2 3oz. packages Grape or Dark Berry Jello

2 c. Boiling Water

1 20oz. can Crushed Pineapple, undrained

1 can Blueberry Pie Filling

8oz. Cream Cheese, softened

1 c. Sour Cream

1/2 c. Sugar

1 t. Vanilla

Dissolve Jello in Boiling Water. Add Pineapple and Blueberry Pie Filling. Put in 9 x 13 pan. Put in fridge until congealed.

Cream together Cream Cheese, Sour Cream, Sugar, and Vanilla. Spread on top of salad. Chill before serving.

This serves quite a lot of people.

I can't remember if the topping gets firm or not. Guess I better make it again to find out!

Oakley that sounds yum!

So I was trying to set a retro, I guess 60s/70s table. I used dishes from our lake house and did some mix and match, bought placemats and napkins.

dont think I can do it

its so ugly

That is pretty awful, mtnrd. I am not sure I could use that placesetting for the sake of (fake) authenticity. If only you could find a cool Pucci print fabric ---like that dress---for placemats!

I don't care for it-- and it doesn't really remind me of the 70s. When I think of 70s dinner tables, I think of Pfaltsgraff or those horrible brown flower designs.. or correll (is that how you spell it?)! Maybe I am being too literal but I just don't remember the paisleys and wild designs on table settings.

You could always do fiestaware and hang some planters in macramé plant hangers. :) Maybe have some sand art in terrariums.

If you go back to the 60s, I think of more elaborate tablescapes. Lots of white and and gold and etched wine glasses. I had 12 place settings and a million serving dishes and doodads in this design from the 50s.. i think that's the other thing I think of with retro tablescapes. Lots of matching pieces! candlesticks, bread plates, finger bowls, salt and pepper.. all in the same pattern.

I knwo, if I had more time.

I'm so glad people agree it's ugly.
I just can't do it.

I kinda like the placemats and the color scheme. I think it's the paisley plate throwing things off. I'd use another solid color plate.

I think I agree with Jlc. The placemats remind me of the 70s.. and the yellow plate works too!

It's so ugly it's cool!

Funny, the only thing I like is the paisley plate. It's enameled metal, pottery barn circa 2006

I was going to buy Mateus today ... My parent used to drink it back then! But I couldn't. I am going to look for some good music though.

Vermont Country Store sells all kinds of retro foodstuffs.

Of course, back then, we were young and the popular wines were Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill and Cold Duck if we were going fancy! More upscale, of course anything would've been more upscale from that, would've been Soave Bolla. Wiki says it was the best selling italian wine in the 70s.

The only Jell-o concoction from back in the day that I liked enough for seconds was a green lime Jell-o with shredded cucumber and cream cheese in it. I don't remember the ratios though.

Fondue I always liked -- whether cheese or meat. I still have the parental fondue set and it did get pulled out during an extended power outage.

Boone's Farm and Strawberry Hill and Mad Dog 50/50 -- thankfully THOSE days have passed! I did like Cold Duck however. Is that still around?

Lipton onion soup dip still shows up at parties, so I don't consider that one retro.

Ha.. I get that Mtn. Music is good.. and depending on the crowd, maybe a good old fashioned game of twister!

Does anyone play parcheesi anymore? Or how about password?

I wish I still had my mom's old dishes for you to borrow...they'd've been perfect. She had a McCoy brown knockoff set. She had another set that was in the bright blue and lime green pine trees...

Mtn, for DH and my first married New Year's Eve we had party / retro wine tasting, featuring Annie Green Springs, three kinds of "Ripple"---red, white and pink, MD 2020, Thunderbird, and a few other not-so-choice offerings. An artist friend made lovely illustrated cards on which our guests wrote down their impressions of each drink. The comments were hilarious, one I remember was something like peach, with an undertone of gasoline. It could easily have been gasoline, with an undertone of peach, lol!

We served ritz crackers and cans of cheeze whiz (a do it yourself canapé), little smokies sausages and other retro fare. I wore a ruffled apron and we played 60s music on our Pioneer stereo, and a good time was had by all. We were in our mid-twenties and all our grad student friends spent the night on floors and sofas, except the two grown-up guests we invited and who surprised us by coming---the dean of student life at Emory University!

Have fun at your party, I am sure it will be a blast!!

Can you still buy TV dinners that come in aluminum pans?

If you were my neighbor I would lend you my 1950's servers.

Gah - I Have been craving chicken ala king ( My moms version, no idea what recipe ) ever since I read this. She used to put it in those little frozen puffed pastry shells with the little lids. So yummy.

And that's exactly how I serve chicken a la king today :)