Many of you may know and love the show “Mad Men”. We, as a group, definitely love their style! The hair, the clothing, the scotch during business meetings… those were the days, weren’t they?

In our planning for this year’s get-togethers, we all agreed that this show – quite a phenomenon in current pop culture – was a perfect opportunity at a “period” dinner. We’ve done them before, of course. Our “Last Night on the Titanic” dinner turned out terrific! We had a “Back to the Roaring 20’s” night that was quite the party as well.

For this one we envisioned the classic 1960’s dinner among friends; an era where people actually invited one another over for sit down meals occasionally as opposed to our more hectic lifestyles today. In our “Mad Men vision” our shining hostess would greet guests in her apron and make sure everyone is settled with a cocktail immediately. For those of you who have seen the show, you know there is never a shortage of scotch, martinis, highballs and other drinks of the time. Men and women wound down after their respective days at the home or office with a drink and an appetizer before a fairly elaborate meal (on the nights when they were entertaining, at least).

Luckily for our hostess on this particular 60’s sit-down, it’s Dinner Club, so she doesn’t have to slave away in the kitchen, alone, during the bulk of her fancy-pantsy dinner party! She can actually mingle and enjoy herself because we all share the work of cooking by contributing a part of the meal!

I’ve posted this month’s menu below. We’re having all of the traditional foods of a dinner party of the time, including beginning with a classic shrimp cocktail (recipe is shown below) and ending with baked Alaska (which I have never had – can’t wait to give it a shot!) Watch for more this week on some popular cocktails of the 1960’s and I’ll be posting follow-up photos as well.

By the way, for this one, we’re dressing for the occasion yet keeping it simple. Our group prefers to include only one “full out” costume extravaganza each Dinner Club season. Since we planned for our “Night at the Disco” to be that evening (and it was “full out” and hilarious) for this get-together we’ve left it up to each couple to decide for themselves how far they want to go. If they’ve already got something they can make work in their closet (as I plan to do) – great! Some have picked up a thrift store item or two to present themselves at their 1960’s best! Either way, we haven’t made any significant effort or financial investment in our wardrobe for this one. We simply plan to enjoy a classy cocktail-ridden affair featuring some great food and fantastic friends!

Here’s our menu for the evening (for the shrimp cocktail recipe – see down the page further!):

The Shrimp Cocktail

Found on: www.foodnetwork.com
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

32 shell-on (21 to 25 count) tiger shrimp

For the brine:

1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 cups ice

For the cocktail sauce:

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup prepared chili sauce
4 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon sugar
Few grinds fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sprinkle Old Bay seasoning

Directions: Using a pair of scissors or a serrated knife, make an incision down the backside of the shrimp, following the intestinal track. Eviscerate shrimp and rinse under cool water leaving shells intact.

Place cleaned shrimp into a bowl with brine and refrigerate mixture for 20 to 25 minutes. While shrimp are brining, place tomatoes, chili sauce, horseradish, sugar, pepper, and salt in food processor and blend until smooth. Refrigerate cocktail sauce until ready to serve.
Place a baking sheet or broiler pan under oven broiler and preheat for 5 minutes. Remove shrimp from brine and drain thoroughly. Rinse the shrimp under cold water and dry on paper towels. In a large bowl, toss shrimp with olive oil and sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning, if desired.
Place shrimp onto a sizzling sheet pan and return to broiler immediately. After 2 minutes, turn the shrimp with a pair of tongs. Return the shrimp to broiler for 1 minute. Transfer to a cold cookie sheet. Refrigerate immediately.
Once shrimp have chilled, arrange with cocktail sauce in a martini glass or as desired.