« Reddy Kilowatt! | How to do things with tomatoes, and other thoughts »
My dear friend Graduate Student Girl (not to be confused with me; I am Graduate Student Girl's [Graduate Student] Friend) has a food-related dilemma, and has asked me for my help in coming up with clever solutions. As it turns out, I am, as is so often the case, a brainless lump of cheese, so I open the question to you, dear readers. She writes:
"I have something I need your help with. Next week is the first [department] tea of the quarter, and, as a CLS officer, I am partly responsible for this event. As it is the 40th anniversary of CLS, we thought a forty-themed something would be nice. My idea of wearing turbans and serving mediterranean food (as an Ali Baba and the forty thieves kind of thing --there are four officers) was found to be culturally insensitive. Can you help me come up with something? You are clever and know a lot about food! You could even post this request on the tiger, now that you have comments set up. Help a friend in need!"
Surely you cannot resist her plea. Help a friend of a brainless lump of cheese!
Comments
I guess the food timeline might be more helpful. I especially enjoy 99 Ways to Share the Meat.
Sorry. I'll quit being irrelevant now.
Posted by claxton6 at September 24, 2003 11:43 PMoh dear...all i can think of is that Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic recipe.
Perhaps what people were eating 40 years ago? ummm 1963...perhaps follow all the suggestions in "In the Kennedy Style: Magical Evenings in the Kennedy White House"
nahhhh....must find something more fun!
Posted by Lilly at September 25, 2003 02:52 AMHmmm...
If it's the 40th anniversary, it was started in the early 60's. Were I in this organization, I'd serve foods popular in American cooking in then -- it would be hilarious but edible. Mostly.
For instance:
It was the heyday of Classic California Dip, made with sour cream and Lipton's soup mix.
Popular also were exotic foreign foods, made palatable by being created with recognizeably "American" ingredients -- stroganoff made with canned mushroom soup comes to mind. Curry made with canned tuna fish. Tomato bisque made out of -- surprise -- canned ingredients.
One of the most useful cookbooks from the era was _The Spice Islands Cookbook_, put together for the Spice Islands spice company -- it's full of great stuff, but if you find it, do NOT make the Roquefort Jello -- except as an hilarious joke.
Posted by Anne at September 25, 2003 08:40 AM40 days and 40 nights - the flood, the ark, the animals, the dove with olive branch. Good prop materials, if not food ideas.
Posted by Lisa Ailshie at September 25, 2003 11:10 AM40 oz malt liquor!
Posted by judith at September 25, 2003 01:05 PMSorry, Judith --the Ghetto Theme (wit' da 40s) was also rejected as culturally insensitive.
Posted by GSG at September 25, 2003 02:33 PMThe fortieth anniversary *consults internet* is the ruby anniversary, so you could have all the food be reddish. Ooh, ooh, is the event on a Tuesday?
Posted by Mark at September 25, 2003 03:27 PMHow exciting it is to have so many comments.
How about a "forty winks" theme with soporific foods and drinks? The hosts could wear pyjamas.
Posted by redfox at September 25, 2003 07:47 PMWhat about 1940s style food? Surely there's a website out there somewhere that specialises in food from the post-war period?
Posted by Kate at September 26, 2003 12:21 AMAm I to late to comment? How about food that would be served in forts! Only infused with French food, so that it would be twisted and best described as "Forty"
"That Forty food is so rich" they would say.
Posted by Johnny13 at September 30, 2003 03:18 PMThank you all! We went with the easy-to-implement ruby anniversary. Roasted red peppers! Red potato salad! Everything with tomatoes! We offered a prize for anyone who could guess, and several people did, and we were thought very clever.
Posted by GSG at October 3, 2003 12:10 AMYou can also check the sites dedicated to...
Posted by at March 31, 2005 11:19 PMall breads | breakfast | dinner reports | drink | eating out | essays | etcetera | lunch | news | recipes | salads | snacks | soups | sweets | tips | travel | vegetables | weekly meals |
Rationing!
Posted by claxton6 at September 24, 2003 11:35 PM