Eighties Food

[livingdeb]

We've been invited to an eighties-themed party and are encouraged to dress from the eighties and bring food from the eighties.

I don't really have a picture of these things, other than shoulder pads for women.

Eighties foods? Well, I actually lived through the eighties, so all I have to do is search through my memories and see what I find. Right?

In 1980, I went off to college in Boston. They did not have much Mexican food, but fajitas were making their way through the country and even Boston had them. It was fun listening to Jewish folks from New York trying to pronounce those. Of course we still have fajitas today, so it's not quite an eighties food. I don't think breakfast tacos were around then.

Another thing I noticed was ice cream. I went to one place that had an ice cream bar. You get some ice cream and then can add as many toppings as you like from this big thing in the shape of a salad bar but full of mix-ins. And then there was Steve's ice cream which had mix-ins. When I moved to Austin I found a Steve's, and there was also an Amy's with mix-ins. Steve's is now gone, but Amy's has expanded. Are ice cream mix-ins an eighties food?

I also noticed red wine, but that was because I (and my friends) crossed into drinking age (twice--when I turned 18 and again when I turned 21) and because of the song "Red, Red Wine." Which I remember listening to in a dorm with mood lighting created by throwing a shirt or towel over the lampshade. But none of that's about the eighties, it's about college.

How about lots of interesting fillings in omelets? Or was that just my college? Which made up weird names for them and forced you to order them by name. I usually had to order a "Plop-plop" (multiple drippy cheeses) or ask for a "Smack" (just cheddar). Fortunately a cream cheese and raspberry jam omelet never sounded good to me, so I never had to request "Toe Jam."

I googled eighties food and found mostly crappy store-bought snack foods listed. I was hoping for some home-made ideas, like jello salads from the fifties and tuna casserole from the seventies. One idea was quiche and other California hippie food (I'm thinking stuff with avocado and/or wheat germ added to it). That sounds about right. Also wine coolers sound right. Hmm, stuff in bread bowls--that could be right.

Someone said onion dip. Someone said carrot cake. Do those seem right? Several people say nouveau cuisine/small servings on large plates (with, I assume, swirls of sauce on the plate as well as artful arrangements of tiny amounts of decorative foods). Does that sound right? If so, big plates of tiny servings of quiche with a decorative guacamole sauce might be fun to bring. Or perhaps big plates of mini-muffin carrot cakes with swirls of raspberry sauce.

Comments

[pamwheatfree.livejournal.com]

I believe that granola is an eighties food. I, like you, cannot remember many things that weren't just college food. I do remember apple chips and banana chips. This would be when they started selling them in the US, since banana chips have been around in Asia for a lot longer.

I associate chicken pot pies with the eighties because you could buy two frozen ones for a dollar, or some cheap price like that. Also ramen noodles where definitely college food as well.

[fraeuleinchen.livejournal.com]

I think of that Jell-O product which stratified itself into three layers (regular gelatin, a creamy/custardy layer, and a sort of solid whipped cream layer) while chilling in the fridge. Don't know if it's even made anymore.

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

Yummy. I remember our camp director made that for us counselors at the end of the summer in 1980 and 1981. It didn't actually stratify itself, at least not the way she made it. She called it rainbow jello, with purple, red, orange, yellow, and green layers, and between them the creamy purple, red, orange, yellow, and green layers. That's ten layers. Each layer had to be added separately and chilled before adding the next layer. Crazy.

[fraeuleinchen.livejournal.com]

This product was like magic, and *did* sort itself out, from a seemingly homogenous mixture after adding the water (and sugar, no doubt) to the layered stuff.

Maybe it was my childish imagination, however, that made it so magical. Maybe it really *did* require mixing three packets separately. Hmmmm.

[(Anonymous)]

My grandmother's version was strawberries, strawberry jello, and dream whip, and it did sort itself into the 3 layers. But this definitely pre-dates the 80s by a significant amount.

sally

Your costume choice

[(Anonymous)]

If you don't want to go the power suit route (and that would be understandable), perhaps something along the lines of Desperately Seeking Susan?

sally

[fraeuleinchen.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I didn't find any matches for self-separating pre-packaged Jell-O product, but I did find this interesting recipe which sounds similar to what your grandmother made : http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1713,157173-242206,00.html