Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking. One of the style bloggers I follow threw a Titanic Tea, a party where everyone dressed in the styles of the Edwardian period. The pictures are pretty. And it turns out, a friend of mine in Philadelphia attended a Titanic themed party last night. He spilled port on his tail coat.
These sound like they were very pretty events, and the costuming aspect is very appealing to me. But I'm a little sickened at the thought of throwing a happy, fun, and drunken bash to commemorate the terrifying and tragic deaths of 1500 or so people. It's too ugly for me. I'd far rather attend a general Edwardian tea in the late summer. Or maybe I'm too tenderhearted.
I have a themed party on my mind that's based much more on the ridiculous. Lately I've been on a Mad Men kick. The styles of the late 50s and early 60s can be very cool and it works with a vintage cookbook I bought a while ago. Check this out.
That, my friends, is a cookbook published in 1960 by Knox Gelatine, Inc. A Completely New Guide to Gel-Cookery. There are gel recipes for salads, main dishes, desserts, and drinks. It's amazing.
Imagine a (small) table with a glistening, jiggling, spread of gel-molds. Yes, it too is a little sickening, but it's in a fun and ridiculous way! Now, imagine dressing in your Mad Men, 1960s finest, listening to Miles Davis and sipping a bourbon cocktail. Bourbon makes everything happier, even gel-molds. Trust me.
Now if I can only work out how to make some of these gel recipes using agar agar. I have too many cool vegetarian guests to invite.
Oooo... gelatinous food is so not my friend. I like looking at it, I love all the floaty bits drifting around inside, but I do not eat it.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I would love to peruse this cookbook anyway just for the nostalgia factor and I think the idea of a Mad Men themed party is completely awesome. Martini, anyone?
I remember going to a Halloween party the year the movie Titanic actually came out and there were a lot of people dressed as "Titanic Victims". They had beautiful period clothing, dead white skin, and icicles hanging off everywhere. It was creepy, and not in a good Halloween creepy kind of way.