Retro Birthday Dinner

Last weekend we threw a retro theme birthday party for our friends Lisa and Rebecca. Since we're swing dancers, it wasn't too out of the ordinary for us to wear vintage attire. However, we haven't had an opportunity to cook a retro inspired meal. Instead of cooking "authentic" dishes from the 50's, I turned to my vintage cookbooks for inspiration.

Appetizers on picks were all the rage. I modernized a few ideas and stuck the picks into halved grapefruits: pecorino and pear cubes, cherry tomato and marinated sheep feta, and stacks of wine salami slices layered with spicy peach cream cheese.

For our meal we had meatloaf with tomato relish, macaroni and cheese (with aged cheddar, asiago and blue cheeses!), and green salad (arugula and shaved fennel) with green goddess dressing. For dessert we had lemon buttermilk cupcakes and chocolate pudding.