What is the ultimate White Suburban Dinner?

[Anonymous]

Hamburgers, hotdogs, ribs, pulled pork, tacos, salads with oodles of noodles, charcuterie, platters, that are actually cheese platters, sausage and onions, quiche, pork chops, kebabs, coleslaw, corn on the cob, barbecue, chicken, grilled salmon, potato salad, fried chicken, lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, takeout Chinese, cucumber salad,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our city friends are leaving DC to come have dinner with us. I promise not to serve anything you mention, but what is the ultimate 1970s/80s White Folks dinner?

Meatloaf and jello salad?

Why? It sounds like you don't like white people. Why pick the 70's and 80's. Why not the 60's 50's or 40's.

[Anonymous]

On regular rotation in my suburban MD home in the 1970s/80s — meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans; spaghetti with meatballs and jarred sauce, iceberg lettuce salad on the side with catalina salad dressing; dry pork chops with peas and rice a roni; tuna noodle casserole with crushed ritz on top; stuffed shells, meat and cheese; some kind of casserole with breaded chicken cutlets, rice, broccoli; and my personal favorite was taco night with ground beef, hard shells, iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes and cheese.

[Anonymous]

In our house when I was growing up, it was baked chicken, either broccoli or green beans, and baked potatoes.

We had that every Friday night, plus any time people came over (not very often).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hamburgers, hotdogs, ribs, pulled pork, tacos, salads with oodles of noodles, charcuterie, platters, that are actually cheese platters, sausage and onions, quiche, pork chops, kebabs, coleslaw, corn on the cob, barbecue, chicken, grilled salmon, potato salad, fried chicken, lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, takeout Chinese, cucumber salad,

Wow, we led very different lifestyles! We only had burgers and hot dogs a couple of times in the summer, corn on the cob maybe twice a year, we'd have some sort of baked pasta dish once a month, spaghetti and meat sauce (but not meat balls) pretty regularly, and yes, Chinese food once or twice a month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have a lot of options!

Hamburger Helper, served with some kind of vegetable like canned corn, those take-and-bake rolls, giant glasses of milk for the kids, jug of wine for adults.

If it's tuesday, you can do taco tuesday. Buy the taco shell kit from old el paso but don't add the spices to your ground beef. Put out some mild salsa, daisy sour cream, shredded lettuce, black olives, and chopped tomatoes for topping.

I also think a giant bucket of takeaway fried chicken along with the sides (mashed potatoes, red beans and rice, corn) might work, too.

Takeaway?

dying…. 😂

Shhh that poster needs to use the word 'takeaway" to emphasize that she's not like those people whose food she's talking about...

what other word would you use? or are you saying just use “fried chicken” without the qualifier? genuinely confused (and am a NP)

NP. Takeout.

[Anonymous]

Chicken tetrazzini

[Anonymous]

If it's a fancy dinner party night with cocktails early on, please please include the little meatballs in a grape jelly sauce and a cheese log rolled in nuts with Ritz crackers.

Damn, being a little tot and seeing all that fancy food ... Good memories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it's a fancy dinner party night with cocktails early on, please please include the little meatballs in a grape jelly sauce and a cheese log rolled in nuts with Ritz crackers.

Damn, being a little tot and seeing all that fancy food ... Good memories.

The cocktail hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meatloaf with ketchup on top, mashed potatoes, green beans. Dinner rolls.

This is basically what popped to my mind. Green beans should be canned. Mashed Potatoes should come from a box.

are we talking 1970's? Do white suburban people not make mashed potatoes not out of a box?

Earlier PP here. Back in the 80’s my hardworking parents didn’t get home until 6. We definitely had canned green beans, and probably boxed mashed potatoes. More often it was minute rice 👍

[Anonymous]

It's spring, grill meat of some sort. If you're a suburbanite, you should be decent with a grill

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's spring, grill meat of some sort. If you're a suburbanite, you should be decent with a grill

Yep, you should also be able to skewer your meat with cherry tomatoes and onion and bell pepper chunks if you want something colorful

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hamburgers, hotdogs, ribs, pulled pork, tacos, salads with oodles of noodles, charcuterie, platters, that are actually cheese platters, sausage and onions, quiche, pork chops, kebabs, coleslaw, corn on the cob, barbecue, chicken, grilled salmon, potato salad, fried chicken, lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, takeout Chinese, cucumber salad,

Wow, we led very different lifestyles! We only had burgers and hot dogs a couple of times in the summer, corn on the cob maybe twice a year, we'd have some sort of baked pasta dish once a month, spaghetti and meat sauce (but not meat balls) pretty regularly, and yes, Chinese food once or twice a month.

Vegetarianism really started to become trendy in the 1980s and my parents did many strictly vegetarian meals and nights. We lived in California in the 1980s though, so maybe we were ahead of the trend on Vegetarianism.

[Anonymous]

Food has changed a lot over the last few decades.

Growing up in the 80s, yes, a typical dinner would be meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas. Or, steak, baked potatoes and salad. Or roast chicken, rice and carrots.

Basically we had meat, starch, and a vegetable (which was sometimes microwaved!).

Now, suburban white dinner is much more global…I cook Mediterranean, Mexican, Indian, Italian, plus American classics. One pot meals are also popular now, or a protein & veg. I never cook three things. So much work!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have a lot of options!

Hamburger Helper, served with some kind of vegetable like canned corn, those take-and-bake rolls, giant glasses of milk for the kids, jug of wine for adults.

If it's tuesday, you can do taco tuesday. Buy the taco shell kit from old el paso but don't add the spices to your ground beef. Put out some mild salsa, daisy sour cream, shredded lettuce, black olives, and chopped tomatoes for topping.

I also think a giant bucket of takeaway fried chicken along with the sides (mashed potatoes, red beans and rice, corn) might work, too.

Takeaway?

dying…. 😂

Shhh that poster needs to use the word 'takeaway" to emphasize that she's not like those people whose food she's talking about...

what other word would you use? or are you saying just use “fried chicken” without the qualifier? genuinely confused (and am a NP)

Take out. I've heard british people say takeaway