Need some inspiration...

1940's is tough... the war and all kept people from partying too much. First thing I thought of was spam. Yuck. And rationing in England went on for years. One thing that happened is a lot of men came back from the South Sea islands with a taste for exotic luau fare. The biggest & best parties anyway that I heard of from my MiL after the war were luaus. The drinks were amazing, very frou-frou.

We've got cocktails covered....my problem as a chef is exactly what you mentioned....lots and lots of canned foods and what not. Tough for me to work with.

Have you considered looking in an old cookbook for menu ideas? I have three generations of cookbooks and can see if I have any from the 40's. A magazine from the late 40's might give you ideas for authentic ideas, too. I guess I'm assuming you want either USA or Canadian foods.

Do a pot roast, potatos cooked with the roast. Pot roast was a really big deal, but it did happen.

Okay. I looked in a cookbook my mom had when she first got married in 1946. It is so old that it is missing the covers so I can't tell you the name.

Here's a menu for a Men's Card Party:
Platter Cold Meats and Strong Cheese
Potato Salad Spaghetti Casserole
Rye Rolls Poppyseed Rolls Salt Rolls
Olives Dill Pickles Gherkins Radishes
Rum Cake or Beer without Dessert
Coffee

There are also 3 menus for Thanksgiving, 2 for Christmas, one for St. Patrick's Day, plus Chafing Dish Suppers and a whole discussion on meals without meat.

Here's a particularly fancy dinner:
Oysters on the Half SHell
Roast Guinea Fowl with Wild Rice and Mushroom Stuffing
Brandied Peaces
Broccoli
Avodado, Tangerine, Pecan Salad
English Plum Pudding with Foamy Sauce

Hmm....we're getting there now....keep 'em coming.

I found another book, first published in 1942, this edition is from 1958, THe Modern Family Cook Book by Meta Given. You'd be amazed... it has a series of menus based on using seasonal foods "for thrifty balanced meals" and there's a week's worth for February. Let's see...

Meat Souffle Buttered Carrots Green Pepper Sticks Radishes (radishes appear to be big in the 40's)
Creamed Potatoes
Bread & Butter
Grapefruit Fluff (recipe within)
Coffee for adults, milk for children

Braised Spareribs with Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Buttered Beets Celeruy
Bread & Butter
Dutch Apple Pie

Meat Balls, Saukraut
Potato Dumplings
Bread & Butter (also appears to be big in the 40's)
Shredded Lettuce with Mayonnaise
Molded Raspberry Cream

Pot Roast of Veal with gravy
Carrot Sticks
Baked potatoes
Buttered Spinach
Bread & Butter
Brown SUgar Custard

Lamb Patties
Quick Escalloped Potatoes
Buttered Peas
Bread and Butter
Baked Apples

Heart Chop Suey
Boled Rice
Lettuce, 1000 Island Dressing
Bread & Butter
Frozen Berries & Cookies

Braised pork Chops, Gravy
Mashed Potaotes
Buttered Broccoli
Head Lettuce, Russian Dressing
Bread & Butter
Cottage Pudding with Lemon Sauce


Hmmm. These ARE boring. Just thought of something. Maybe you should check out MFK Fisher's books... written in the 40's. How to Cook A Wolf, e.g..

Maybe Chicken Tetrazzini? It's named after opera singer Louisa Tetrazzini, who dies in 1940. It became popular in the 40s and 50s for those who could afford the ingredients.

How about using a movie as inspiration like,
Casablanca - Moroccan food, black and white/crome hollywood type decor,
Or see if you can find a menu from a famous 1940's eatery like the Brown Derby.

Although, the 40s were before my time, I found this link. Hope you find what your looking for.

http://www.dispatch.com/news/food/food99/food0922/rec40.html

I want to do some interesting offal thingies, but the folks will most likely not go for it. However, as an hors d'oeuvres, I was thinking about mini oxtail sloppy joes...

You want to eat something that sounds like a geometry problem, Sugar?

Have you thought about making some ration cards for the various components of the meal? Distribute the cards to the guests before the meal and have them use them to "purchase" the courses of their meal.

To get you started, ration cards for salt, sugar, butter, coffee, meatm etc., should be very popular.

Hmmm, speaking of offal... I ate haggis last week and it was not bad at all... it is sort of stuffing. Came with whisky & onion sauce under roasted chicken.

Having actually lived through that, I don't think that would go over too well with the folks. They also thought that my idea of seperating people along ethnic lines in barbed-wire 'party zones' was a tad distasteful. I was just kidding about that, but I did suggest it to my dad as a joke, and thankfully, we share a sick sense of humour.

Mutton was big in the 40's.

Seriously though, for themes how about....
Big band, sing sing sing, dance cards, the 'modern' cafeteria, art deco, silver and chrome everything, nuclear bombs, airplanes, Rosie the Riviter, anything Cuban, Citizen Kane, red lipstick and cocktails galore.
Food from the forties was wacky/cheezy, check out the library and see if they have any cookbooks around.

Well, I have plenty of time. Also, I'm forming some thoughts already just from these great suggestions! Mom is the sort who likes the theme idea, but still wants things modernized. I'll keep everyone informed as to what I come up with.

Was the Rat Pack later than the 40's? They were so smooth, everybody wanted to be like them. Seems like their taste ran to Delmonico's steaks.

I liked 'Heart Chop Suey' but the folks would never go for it. Sweetbreads are a stretch for them, although they do have good taste.