I need hot stuff (or how I catered a 1970s Disco Party)

The 70s was not exactly known for it’s good taste and food was no exception – how else can you explain the put everything on toothpicks fad or the craze for fondue?  So when I was asked to cater for a birthday party that instructed the 60 odd guests to follow a dress code of Pure Disco, I knew I was going to have some fun.  For inspiration I turned to a few sources: my Mum (who has an amazing collection of cookbooks and, better still, newspaper and magazine clippings from the decade in question), Margaret Fulton – Australia’s first “celebrity” cook and writer,  and the Twitterverse.  After much deliberation I forced myself NOT to include coloured cocktail onions or stuffed celery or cocktail sausages in the menu (yes, it was a real struggle!).  Here is what did make the cut.

Catering in a domestic kitchen is not always easy.  My fridge and freezer rarely have much space, so juggling things around whenever I do catering can become a test of logistics as well as culinary skill.  I want to say that this time everything went to plan but I did need to make a few trips for lost/forgotten ingredients and had to use (yulp) bought vol au vent cases instead of making them because other events during the week conspired against me and there is only so much you can put in one lttle oven at once!   Nonetheless I got there and I will post all the recipes on the Recipes page in the coming days.  For now, here is a snapshot of how the food turned out.  Apologies for the photos – I had planned to keep extra aside at home to shoot everything properly, but time got away from me.  The hostess of the party and all of the guests seemed to really enjoy the food.  There was barely a mouthful left at the end of the night, which for my way of thinking is a good sign.

Angels and Devils on Horseback

Smoked salmon & dill mousse on cucumber rounds

Devilled Eggs

Avocado prawn bites

Mini quiche Lorraine

Chicken & Mushroom Vol au Vents

Swedish meatballs (no, they are not from IKEA!)