# 1970s Dance/Party



## BandCollector (Feb 22, 2019)

My wife and I are attending a 70s dance party and were asked to either bring a dish that was popular that decade or to dress in a 1970s outfit.

Since I no longer fit in my plaid bell bottoms, I have decided to bring a dish from those days.

Thinking back, I really cannot remember anything that stood out, so I will yield to my fellow SMF brethren for help.  If those of you who lived through the 1970s can remember what dishes were popular, can you please send me some ideas.   

Thanks,

John


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## hb99 (Feb 22, 2019)

Check out this site:  https://www.kidspot.com.au/kitchen/...ecipes-the-good-the-bad-the-nostalgic?image=1

Be sure to flip through the pictures...meatball cupcakes....LOL!  Among them, mini-meatloaves in a muffin tin would work.


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## xray (Feb 22, 2019)

70s were before my time. I was born in 1980.

Although probably impractical to bring to a party, but wasn’t cheese fondue big at that time?


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## KrisUpInSmoke (Feb 22, 2019)

hb99 said:


> Check out this site:  https://www.kidspot.com.au/kitchen/...ecipes-the-good-the-bad-the-nostalgic?image=1
> 
> Be sure to flip through the pictures...meatball cupcakes....LOL!  Among them, mini-meatloaves in a muffin tin would work.


 I checked the site and (even though I wasn't around in the 70's) didn't recognize many of the dishes, then I realized it's an Australian site...lol. They probably ate some different things from our 70s food, but was interesting to see.

How about
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/ham-salad-in-endive-cups-3541007
Or (and I'm not sure how you even eat this),
https://www.copymethat.com/r/Hn67TLq/retro-spaghetti-o-jello-might-actually-b/

Any jello mold. Maybe some kind of casserole. Are broccoli or hash brown casserole from the 70's?


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## hb99 (Feb 22, 2019)

KrisUpInSmoke said:


> I checked the site and (even though I wasn't around in the 70's) didn't recognize many of the dishes, then I realized it's an Australian site...lol. They probably ate some different things from our 70s food, but was interesting to see.
> 
> How about
> https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/ham-salad-in-endive-cups-3541007
> ...



I looked at it from the perspective that all "decade-long fads" are usually worldwide.


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## motocrash (Feb 22, 2019)

Ahh,the 70's BBQ.
Kris is on to something with the molded Jello/Jello molds I remember as a kid,almost always funky texture/taste.There was a jiggly sea of them,normally all on one table.I do remember one of the few I liked had mandarin oranges and the small marshmallows in it...coconut too...maybe.
One of our neighbors always cooked hamburger steaks,coated in mustard and rock salt.


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## motocrash (Feb 22, 2019)

xray said:


> Although probably impractical to bring to a party, but wasn’t cheese fondue big at that time?


Why yes,it was.
Corduroy bell bottoms,big belt buckles,polyester everything and lots of Weber kettles.I'd say waaay more households had a kettle than today.
Maybe I'm stuck in the 70's?


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## chef jimmyj (Feb 22, 2019)

Every week in the 70's, Mom made some type of Casserole that had Campbells Soup as a component. American Chop Suey, ground beef, green peppers, onions, tomato sauce and Elbow Macaroni, is another dish that was frequently served. It can be made and server from the stove-top or covered in cheese and baked. Manwich Sloppy Joes, introduced in '69, are a 70's classic. Other 70's classics. Watergate Salad, Deviled Eggs, Hawaiian Meatballs, Garlic Bread, Carrot Cake and the Coolest Dessert, EVER...JELLO POKE CAKE!!!...JJ


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## pops6927 (Feb 22, 2019)

Raised our kids since birth on this (both born in the 70's) and they still hate it to this day!  Now, trying to get the grandkids turned onto it!

http://smokingmeatforums.com/index.php?threads/lemon-carrot-pineapple-gelatin-salad.173100/

Make it in a Jell-o mold, or bundt cake pan.


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## SonnyE (Feb 23, 2019)

The '70's!  Lee Leasure Suits, Disco, Light Shows....
Saturday Night Fever
All I can remember was a lot of game meat, and Surf and Turf to eat.
And being stoned.... 
I use to dance like that. Hurts too much today.


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## gmc2003 (Feb 23, 2019)

Flank-steak, round-steak, chuck-steak all the cheaper cuts of meat, and always cooked to a perfect shoe leathery consistency. Cheese fondue was a fad back then also, and as Chef JJ mentioned casseroles, and Italian pasty dishes were a weekly menu item. I also remember special brownies that made people feel better were a staple at most youth parties. Don't forget your KISS alive album.

Chris


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## BandCollector (Feb 23, 2019)

This is great guys! 

Saturday Night Fever, Special Brownies, Casseroles, Cheese Fondue,  and "There's always room for Jello."

I have a feeling the party will be inundated with Jello molds, so I believe I will need to start thinking outside the proverbial Jello box.  

Hmmmm . . . special brownies sounds great, but that "special" ingredient is not yet legal here in Pennsylvania.


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## Braz (Feb 23, 2019)

Swiss Steak. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/swiss-steak-recipe-1917184


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## motocrash (Feb 23, 2019)

BandCollector said:


> Hmmmm . . . special brownies sounds great, but that "special" ingredient is not yet legal here in Pennsylvania.


If you can obtain the special ingredient,read up on "edibles" and the THC content reccomendations.OD-ing is quite common from overzealous cookery.Oils are the best way to go here as they are usually labeled with a percentage.This is of course from what I've read,not practiced.



Braz said:


> Swiss Steak. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/swiss-steak-recipe-1917184


Yeah! I remember cube steak in the pressure cooker,pst-pst-pst....Though Altons recipe is not done that way.


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## chopsaw (Feb 23, 2019)

Spam . Sliced up , grilled and basted with Maulls BBQ sauce and Falstaff .  You could do sliders ,,,


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## SonnyE (Feb 23, 2019)

BandCollector said:


> Hmmmm . . . special brownies sounds great, but that "special" ingredient is not yet legal here in Pennsylvania.



Psst.... use oregano. Looks authentic, no effect, and it's Legal.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 24, 2019)

Dress in a 1970s Outfit???
Hmmm, How about a set of Jungle Fatigues?

You could also take some C-Rations along. That was a popular Dish in the late 60s & early 70s.

Bear


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## BandCollector (Feb 24, 2019)

And let me tell you Bear. . . My prayers were always with you guys fighting in that awful war.  I lost a lot of good friends due to that political mess.

God Bless you and thanks for your service,

John


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## Bearcarver (Feb 24, 2019)

BandCollector said:


> And let me tell you Bear. . . My prayers were always with you guys fighting in that awful war.  I lost a lot of good friends due to that political mess.
> 
> God Bless you and thanks for your service,
> 
> John




Thank You John!!
I lost a lot of friends too---Some old friends and some I met there.
However, The Prayers Did Help a lot!!

Bear


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## johnmeyer (Feb 24, 2019)

"I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Are you listening?"*

*Fondue.
*
It was a fad that was most definitely in the 1970s, and actually somewhat defines the decade. I still have my electric fondue pot, if you'd like to come over and borrow it. You can either make cheese fondue, or you can heat oil in a pot and dip meat. Cheese is easier.

I have quite a few 1970s cookbooks. I just brought out the one which came with my Rival Crockpot (avocado green which, along with harvest gold, were the colors of a 1970s kitchen). A quick scan turned up recipes with names I don't remember hearing for the past thirty years. One example is Beef Stroganoff. I don't think I've seen that on a menu for a long, long time.

Another fad food from the 1970s are crêpes. These used to appear on menus almost everywhere, and the fad was so big that an entire chain sprang up that served nothing but crêpes: _The Magic Pan. _Click on that link to get a brief summary. They featured a crêpe-making machine right in the middle of the restaurant, a real Rube Goldberg that plopped some dough onto a plate, followed by a gadget that flattened the ball into a flat pancake which was then deposited on the outside bottom of a frying pan. That pan then got heated, and the crêpe dropped off into a holder where someone from the kitchen would collect them and build your dinner from them.

You could get not only dessert crêpes, but main meals served on a pancake. Strange, but true, and once again, most definitely a 70s-only food.

---------
*Line from "The Graduate"


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## GATOR240 (Feb 24, 2019)

gmc2003 said:


> Flank-steak, round-steak, chuck-steak all the cheaper cuts of meat, and always cooked to a perfect shoe leathery consistency. Cheese fondue was a fad back then also, and as Chef JJ mentioned casseroles, and Italian pasty dishes were a weekly menu item. I also remember special brownies that made people feel better were a staple at most youth parties. Don't forget your KISS alive album.
> 
> Chris


Don't forget the gristly (I thought) cube steaks!


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## gmc2003 (Feb 24, 2019)

BandCollector said:


> This is great guys!
> 
> Saturday Night Fever, Special Brownies, Casseroles, Cheese Fondue,  and "There's always room for Jello."
> 
> ...





motocrash said:


> If you can obtain the special ingredient,read up on "edibles" and the THC content reccomendations.OD-ing is quite common from overzealous cookery.Oils are the best way to go here as they are usually labeled with a percentage.This is of course from what I've read,not practiced.
> 
> 
> Yeah! I remember cube steak in the pressure cooker,pst-pst-pst....Though Altons recipe is not done that way.





SonnyE said:


> Psst.... use oregano. Looks authentic, no effect, and it's Legal.



Wait a minute - what are you guys talking about legal, oregano, and THC. I was talking about fudge or chocolate chip  brownies. Golly Gee Whiz. 

Chris


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## motocrash (Feb 24, 2019)

gmc2003 said:


> Wait a minute - what are you guys talking about legal, oregano, and THC. I was talking about fudge or chocolate chip brownies. Golly Gee Whiz.


Says the guy from Vermont.HAH!


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## chef jimmyj (Feb 24, 2019)

Ground beef and Rice stuffed Pepper is another 70's classic. Crepes have made a huge come back, the last 10 years. Fondue to some extent as well. The restaurant chain Melt is popular with College kids and Hipsters. The place is expensive for what you get. Fondue is Intimate. 4 to 6 people sipping wine, and eating stuff dipped in cheese. Would be hard to do, properly, for 25+. I guess you could have a Crock Pot of melted cheese and ladle it over cut up items, but that's Nachos, not fondue....JJ


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## chopsaw (Feb 24, 2019)

chef jimmyj said:


> American Chop Suey, ground beef, green peppers, onions, tomato sauce


We call it ground meat and noodles  in the mid west ,  I still make it today .


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## johnmeyer (Feb 24, 2019)

American chop suey. Brrr.... I remember that from my childhood outside of Chicago. Oh was it awful.


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## chef jimmyj (Feb 25, 2019)

johnmeyer said:


> American chop suey. Brrr.... I remember that from my childhood outside of Chicago. Oh was it awful.



LOL...My MIL was from Boston so my wife grew up on the original, my kids too. My Mom made what she called Loose Chop Meat over Noodles. Ground Beef sauteed in Butter with lots of Onion mixed with Elbow Macaroni. I did not really care for American Chop Suey but my Wife requested it. I started making one batch of meat with the sauteed Onion and Peppers, splitting it, adding the tomato sauce to half and melted American Cheese in the other. Bev got hers the original way. Mine tasted like Beefy Mac 'N Cheese! I do it that way to this day. Some of my kids like one or the other and some MIX the two styles together...JJ


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## fivetricks (Feb 25, 2019)

Man, you guys are bringing up a bunch of stuff from my childhood that makes me shiver in disgust to this day.

How about sweet and sour pork/beef over white rice?

It's a MUST that that they're be entirely too big hunks of green pepper and that the meat be way, way overcooked and that the white rice be served with margerine.


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## chef jimmyj (Feb 25, 2019)

One dish I hated was a version of Sweet and Sour Chicken or Ribs, covered in a sauce of Apricot Preserves and that nasty red Kraft French Dressing. She added pineapple chunks and thick strips of green peppers as well. The meat was baked, actually boiled in the sauce. The chicken was dry with floppy skin. The ribs, falling off the bone, greasy grey meat. All served with tasteless Minute Rice...JJ


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## texomakid (Feb 25, 2019)

Hamburger Helper is all I can think of from the 70's (yep, I was there! Teenager no doubt.) Yes I owned more than one leisure suit with a fake silk flowerdy shirt with a big collar, platform shoes and many pair of bell bottoms (and the long hair to match!) Lord we looked like dorks back then :) At least we were in Levi's 501's by the time I graduated in 1980 - just say no to bell bottoms!


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## Braz (Feb 25, 2019)

Side comment: The Magic Pan was one of my favs back in the day. Beef bourguignon crepe...


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## johnmeyer (Feb 25, 2019)

The original bell bottom craze was introduced by Sonny & Cher in 1965 with their hit, "I've Got You, Babe."


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## kawboy (Feb 25, 2019)

fivetricks said:


> Man, you guys are bringing up a bunch of stuff from my childhood


I agree! I was born in 68, so this was my formative decade. Lots of memories!


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## fivetricks (Feb 25, 2019)

chef jimmyj said:


> One dish I hated was a version of Sweet and Sour Chicken or Ribs, covered in a sauce of Apricot Preserves and that nasty red Kraft French Dressing. She added pineapple chunks and thick strips of green peppers as well. The meat was baked, actually boiled in the sauce. The chicken was dry with floppy skin. The ribs, falling off the bone, greasy grey meat. All served with tasteless Minute Rice...JJ



Hahahaha. OMG, how could I have forgot about the pineapple?! I think our mothers learned from the same cook. Down to the minute rice even. 

I thought of two more:

City chicken and chicken ala king!


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## bbqbrett (Feb 25, 2019)

Don't forget the tuna\cheese casserole with peas and potato chips crushed\baked on the top.


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## fivetricks (Feb 25, 2019)

My mom saved bread heels in the freezer and used those instead of chips on the casseroles if which there were plenty


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## SunnyDC (Feb 25, 2019)

I do a number of small, in-home catering gigs a year, and one of my most popular "themes" is 60's/70's or "Mad Men" themed cocktail parties.  Here are a few of the things I've made over the past couple of years that might give you some ideas, if you want to take appetizers:  Swedish Meatballs, BBQ Meatballs (the kind made with grape jelly - eek!), 5 Cup Salad (mandarin oranges, fruit cocktail, marshmallows, coconut, whipped cream), Cheese Log (rolled in pecans, of course), Shrimp Cocktail, Rumaki (glazed chicken livers & water chestnuts wrapped in bacon), Pistachio-Lime Jello Mold Salad, Pigs in Blankets (lil smokies wrapped in puff pastry), Deviled Eggs, Clams Casino (broiled with bacon, parm & bread crumbs), Tea Sandwiches, Garden Tomato Aspic, Crab Dip, Mini Quiches, Creamy Chicken Vol-au-Vents (pastry puffs), Cheese Straws, Oysters Rockefeller, Wedge Salads, Chicken Kiev Bites, French Onion dip, Smoked Salmon Mousse


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## BandCollector (Feb 25, 2019)

Plenty of choices still coming in. . . I didn't think this would create quite the buzz that it has.

I am still intrigued by the "Special Brownies" though.

John


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## chef jimmyj (Feb 25, 2019)

It is interesting that so many 70's classics were hated. But some are now Nostalgic. 
City Chicken we really liked. I make it, now, with Pork Tenderloin chunks, cooked to 145 and it's delicious. Clams Casino and Shrimp Cocktail are still favorites of mine. And it ain't a New Year's Eve or Super Bowl Party without Pigs in a Blanket, made with Cresent Roll Dough and French Onion Dip!...JJ


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## chopsaw (Feb 25, 2019)

chef jimmyj said:


> It is interesting that so many 70's classics were hated.


I was thinkin the same thing . I was hungry , and that was what there was to eat . Didn't know any difference .


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## motocrash (Feb 25, 2019)

See below.
Editing acting funny...


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## motocrash (Feb 25, 2019)

chef jimmyj said:


> And it ain't a New Year's Eve or Super Bowl Party without Pigs in a Blanket, made with Cresent Roll Dough and French Onion Dip!...JJ


 BAM! Hammered it.


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## fivetricks (Feb 25, 2019)

Maybe I should've stuck with those foods i suppose. As a kid I didn't really care too much for those foods, therefore I didn't eat too much.

Now as an adult I make much nicer meals and my waistline and scale readings testify to that


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## gmc2003 (Feb 26, 2019)

You could also play a game of Pong.

Chris

Pong and special brownies, after hockey practice. Ahhhhhhh


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## BandCollector (Mar 2, 2019)

After much deliberation and appreciation to those who responded and contributed suggestions we have decided on a dish that was actually introduced in the early 70s. . . Hamburger Helper.  Easy to prepare and delicious!

Disco on my friends,

John


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## gmc2003 (Mar 2, 2019)

BandCollector said:


> Disco on my friends,



Glam rock is more interesting, have fun.

Chris


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## BandCollector (Mar 2, 2019)

gmc2003 said:


> Glam rock is more interesting, have fun.
> 
> Chris



More popular in the UK if I'm not mistaken. . . I think I'll stick with the Bee Gees.  LOL!

John


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## forktender (Mar 11, 2019)

A 1/2 oz. of Cocaine and some sticky purple tie stick and a Ten Years After album and you're set.


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## gary s (Mar 11, 2019)

What a selection .............

Gary


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## forktender (Mar 12, 2019)

I remember the 70's, a little bit of them at least.
Actually the only thing I was into that I posted was Alvin Lee and Ten Years After.


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