Swellegant

A Little Mid-Century Cocktail Party Cheer

A small, Mid-Century cocktail party. The tablecloth was my grandmother’s from the 1950. Photo: Jolene

If I had a Time Machine I’d be headed to a penthouse overlooking The Rockefeller Center Skating Rink to attend a fabulous holiday cocktail party thrown sometime during the late 1950’s.

Sipping a Manhattan and wearing a cocktail hat, I’d listen in on sparkling conversations and then report back here, gushing about everything I’d seen and heard.

What a Swell Party. Illustration via: Getty Images

But since I don’t have one, except in my imagination, I’ll tell you about neighborhood cocktail parties on Long Island in the 1960’s I do remember. Children roamed freely, surrounded by hors d’oeuvres and Canadian Club.

These were small events — just the neighbors next door and across the street— but they were plenty loud and fun. The 30-something-year-old parents of Franklin Street and their young children could have an early ‘night out’ right in their living rooms — or, in summer, the backyard. Most of the parties were held next door, so my parents would bring food and drink with them for the hosts and my mother always looked very pretty going to these things.

The Menu

There are three cocktail-food tidbits I remember my mom making for the parties and also for New Year’s Eve for our family.

1. The Grapefruit Skewered with Cheese, Fruit and Tomatoes

The Sputnik. Photo: Jolene

I think these are actually called hedgehogs, but we lived not far from Grumman (where the Aerospace Engineers and team designed and built the Lunar Module, ‘Eagle’) so this was ‘Space Race’ Long Island and these grapefruits with skewers were referred to —in my neighborhood, anyway— as ‘Sputniks’, a nod to the successfully launched Soviet Satellite that set off the space race in 1957.

My favorite skewer: Cheddar and Pineapple. Also shown: Tomato (red and green) Mozzarella Pearls and Basil.

2. Pigs in a Blanket

Always the crowd favorite. Photo: Jolene

I have never been to a cocktail party where pigs in a blanket aren’t the first things to go, even at the swankiest events. They are currently on the appetizer menu at the posh RL Chicago, made with Wagyu Beef and Puff Pastry. For my tiny party I made Li’l Smokies and wrapped them up in Pillsbury Crescent dough , BUT WAIT!

Liz Cook, who writes the terrific and funny Haterade posted this week all about cocktail franks and enlisted the brilliant ‘unrepentant bread head’ (as Liz calls him) Andrew Janjigian of Wordloaf to create a proper bun for the li’l smokies. Here’s the link, I love it!

Tiny Hot Dogs for the Modern Man. Introducing: Smoke Sheaths

3. The Relish Tray

The Relish Tray. Colorful and Delicious. Photo: Jolene

I could run through a whole can of black olives by myself, but I exercised restraint in order to complete this throwback relish tray.

A thankful shoutout to emily nunn who reminded me of just how great relish trays are when she wrote about them in a recent post in her delicious and witty The Department of Salad newsletter.

Here’s the link to Emily’s post : A Bagna Cauda Salad (includes the relish tray stuff)

There was a restaurant we went to when I was a kid that had a great relish tray. That’s the one I modeled mine after, but there are so many things you can add.

I included: cornichons, black olives, pimento-stuffed green olives, Kalamata olives, hearts of palm, radishes, and pickled beets. Relish trays require no dip and they are perfect with drinks.

At the restaurant, we would also always have Shirley Temples, which brings me to a cocktail that was apparently the drink of Summer 2022, according to The New York Times. I wanted to try it as a possible cocktail party go-to; however, for me, it was more of a no-go.

From the NYT: Is the Dirty Shirley the Drink of the Summer?

The Shirley Temple, with Vodka

My first, and possibly last, Dirty Shirley. Photo: Jolene

The Dirty Shirley is simply a classic Shirley Temple with Vodka added.

I grew up in the East so we always had Shirley Temples with ginger ale, but I learned this week that here in the Midwest they are made with 7-Up or Sprite. The other ingredients: Grenadine and a Maraschino cherry.

I made a Dirty Shirley with Grey Goose and it was ok-ish, but I’d much rather have had an Old Fashioned, a Manhattan or a Negroni.

It’s light and looks pretty and is refreshing (if sweet) so maybe I’ll try one next summer and see how I feel then.

Here’s the recipe from the NYT if you’d like to try it:

The Dirty Shirley

The Tablecloth

Detail from my grandmother’s tablecloth. Photo: Jolene

My grandmother bought this tablecloth in the 1950’s and embroidered the names of family, friends and pets on it. She would add names as her grandchildren were born, so my name and my four younger brothers names are there. I love using it at holiday time, a very sweet reminder of loved ones, past and present, and I think the Mid-Century design is very beautiful.

Coming up this week

My friend Samantha Childress (who writes the wonderful newsletter The Cairo Dispatch ) was in Vienna last week and visited the Christmas market there. She has written about it and will be guest posting here at Time Travel Kitchen this week so watch for it in your inbox. Thank you, Sam!

Finally

The 89th Anniversary of Prohibition Repeal Day is December 5th, so I’ll end with a picture of Don Draper’s Mid-Century Office Bar Cart, because, Why Not?

Don Draper’s Bar Cart from Mad Men. Canadian Club, Smirnoff and Beefeater. Photo credit: Getty Images.

Have a great weekend. If you think any of your friends and family would enjoy Time Travel Kitchen, please share the newsletter with them and if you’re looking for a unique gift for the time- traveling foodies in your life, I hope you’ll consider surprising them with a gift subscription - or, one for yourself!

Cheers!

Jolene