Alright, so I had this 70s themed bash coming up. You know the drill – everyone digging out their flares, the music’s gotta be spot on. And I thought, what screams 70s more than the food? Specifically, those little finger foods everyone used to make. Decided I was gonna do it proper.
So, I sat down and really thought about it. What were the big hitters? The stuff you always saw at parties back then? Didn’t want to get too fancy, just good ol’ fashioned crowd-pleasers. My mission was clear: recreate that vibe, one tiny snack at a time.
First up, had to be Deviled Eggs. Seriously, can you even call it a 70s party without them? So I got to boiling a whole bunch of eggs. Let me tell you, peeling eggs is still a lottery. Some slide right off, others, they fight you every step of the way. Ended up with a few casualties, but mostly okay. Scooped out those yolks, mashed ’em up with a good dollop of mayonnaise, a squirt of yellow mustard, tiny bit of vinegar, and of course, a sprinkle of paprika on top. Piped ’em back in. They looked the part, for sure.
Then, the absolute classic: Cheese and Pineapple on sticks. The hedgehog thing! Remember those? Grabbed a grapefruit – some people use a melon, but I reckon grapefruit is more old-school. Cut up a decent block of sharp cheddar into cubes. Got a can of pineapple chunks, drained ’em well. Then it was just sticking a cheese cube and a pineapple chunk on a cocktail stick. Over and over. And then poking them all into the grapefruit. My fingers were a bit raw by the end, no kidding. But it looked brilliant. So retro.
Couldn’t stop there. Had to have Pigs in a Blanket. Little sausages wrapped in pastry. Went for those mini cocktail wieners. For the pastry, yeah, I used the ready-rolled stuff. Sue me. Life’s too short to be making puff pastry from scratch when you’ve got a dozen other things to do. Cut it into strips, wrapped each little sausage up nice and snug. Brushed them with a bit of beaten egg so they’d go all golden and shiny. Popped them in the oven. The smell, oh, that smell. That’s when the kitchen really started feeling like a party zone.
I also decided to do some Mini Quiches. Found some small, pre-made pastry shells. Again, a lifesaver. Made a simple filling – eggs, cream, some bacon bits I fried up, and a bit of grated cheese. Poured the mixture into each little shell. Baked them until they were just set and a bit puffy. These always disappear fast, so I made a decent batch.
By the end of it, my kitchen looked like a food bomb had gone off. Bits of pastry, eggshells, sticky countertops. You know how it is. Took a solid few hours of chopping, mixing, baking, and arranging. But then, I stepped back and looked at the spread. All those little treats lined up. The deviled eggs looking all innocent, the spiky cheese hedgehog, the golden-brown pigs, and those cute little quiches. It was a proper throwback.
Honestly, it was a bit of work. More than I probably remembered. But seeing it all laid out, ready for folks to dig in? Yeah, that felt pretty good. That’s the stuff that makes the party, right? The effort you put in. And everyone loved it, which is the main thing. Total 70s food victory, I’d say.