Dinner Party Recipes

London, England. Early 1980s.

Back in the early 1980s dinner parties were a thing. I moved to London from Oxford in 1979 and fell in with a sociable, fun-loving crowd. As well as going out eating and drinking, theatre and cinema, we also did a lot of dinner parties, taking it in turns to host on a regular basis.

I had a very specific regimen when it was my turn to host. I would leave the flat at 12 noon and walk down to Safeway in Wimbledon High Street, opposite the station, to buy all the ingredients. I would then return to do all the prep, as far as humanly possible, including chopping and slicing the vegetables and putting them in little plastic food bags in the fridge. 

By 5:30 I would be all done and could sit down with a gin and tonic to watch The A Team which was broadcast at that time. That meant by the time my guests arrived I was calm, relaxed and ready to host with minimal panic required in the kitchen and could enjoy more time chatting with my friends.

There was, of course, lots of “You must give me the recipe!” My inbound recipes were recorded on the flyleaf of a cookbook long since gone but I recently discovered in the attic a photocopy of that ancient, bygone flyleaf.

I originally thought of doing a separate post for each recipe with an introduction including a thumbnail biography of the recipe provider but then decided that, given the number of ex-girlfriends on this sheet, it would be ungallant of me. Instead I provide them here unannotated!

John's cheesecake

Base: 

• digestives
• muesli
• 1 oz butter
• brown sugar

Filling: 

• 1 carton hazel yoghurt
• Lg carton double cream
• Lg carton cream cheese
• 2 oz icing sugar

Method: 

• whip cream
• mix the rest
• add to cream

Top: 

• hazelnut 
• crushed flake

Jeffa's lemon pudding

• 2 oz butter
• 2 eggs
• 4 oz castor sugar.
• 2 large lemons
• 2 oz self-raising flour
• ½ pint milk

Pre-heat oven mark 4 / 350°F / 180°C.

• Beat sugar, butter & lemon 
• add egg yolk & beat in 
• fold in flour milk & lemon juice alternating until all gone 
• beat egg white to soft peaks then fold in mixture

Cook 40-45 minutes in centre of oven

Sheri's bread

• 1 pint warm water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 6 teaspoon dried yeast mix

Leave until frothy

• 1½ kilo wholewheat flour
• 4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 5 oz bran

Mix, add yeast, add 1¼ pint warm water
Knead, leave to double in size
Knock back, leave to rise in tins
Pre-heat oven to 450°C
Cook for approx 40 mins plus 5 mins with bums in the air.

Eve's rum butter

• ½ lb soft brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg/cinnamon
• Small glass rum

Mix

• 4oz butter

Melt (allow to get cooler) 
Beat well with sugar & rum
Chill

Andrea's honey curry chicken

• 3 oz butter
• 6 oz clear honey.
• 12 teaspoon mild curry powder
• 6 tablespoon german mustard
• Salt & pepper
• 8 chicken tits (Andrea says 4 is enough)

Melt everything (except chicken) together until well blended
Put chicken in roasting tin, cover with sauce. 
Cook for 1 hour at 375°f turning once.

Ms London's chocolate roulade

• 5 eggs
• 6 oz caster sugar
• 6 oz dark chocolate
• Shot of brandy/rum/grand mariner
• ½ pt double cream
• Icing sugar

Beat yolks and sugar
Add melted chocolate
Fold into whipped whites
Put in lined greased swiss roll tin
Bake 25 mins at Mark 5/375°F/190°C
Pour liqueur on cool sponge
Spread whipped cream & roll

Stuart’s honey cake

• 7oz self raising flour
• 5 oz butter
• 4 oz soft brown sugar
• 6 oz honey
• 1 tbs H₂O
• 2 eggs

Melt butter, sugar, honey, H₂O
Cool & beat in eggs
Stir in flour
Bake 45 mins at mark 4

Naomi's gougère

• ½ pt H₂O
• 4 oz butter
• 6 oz flour
• 4 eggs
• 2 oz gruyere

Melt butter in H₂O
Stir in flour
Cool & add eggs
Fold in cheese 
Bake 40 mins

Recipes very much of their time although I might be tempted to give one or two of them a try.