I need some food ideas for a Beatles themed party. I'd like to have dishes inspired by songs- Strawberry Fields Forever is the easiest. Yellow Submarine, not so much. Any creative foodpicklers have ideas?

Hilarybee
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29 Comments

Eliz. April 9, 2018
I wanna mold your haaaam, I wanna mold your ham!
 
Smaug April 9, 2018
It's clear from all this that the Beatles' extensive catalogue is pretty weak in food songs, but something could be made of a general food theme. Carmen McRae tells us it's "Suppertime", but Junior Wells announces "I got a Stomachache", meanwhile, Aurora Nealand warns "Nous les Cuisiniere". The Jolly Boys head down to "Solas Market" ("fe to buy bananas"), but request that you "Don't Squeeze my Tomatoes". Cleanhead Vinson tells us "Kidney Stew's Fine", but "Meat's Too High' and Albert Collins insists that you don't reach across his plate. Bob Marley is scarfing "Guava Jelly", but Junior Brown simply can't get off of "Coconut Island"- meanwhile, Lord Bryner "gave his woman a coconut", but- well, that one gets a bit racy. The Corn Sisters' immortal "Corn on the Cob" could be backed by Greg Brown's "King Corn" or, in a pinch, Charlie Hunter's "Funky Niblets". Professor Longhair is throwing an entire "Crawfish Fiesta", while Wes Montgomery subsists on "Fried Pies". Meanwhile, Joni Mitchell's over at the bar downing "A Case of You" (but still on her feet), and.. well, you get the idea.
 
Nancy April 9, 2018
Great memory or a lot of work! Thanks, Smaug :)
 
Smaug April 9, 2018
Neither, actually, just a lot of music for a lot of years, this doesn't even scratch the surface- didn't even get around to Kaki King's "Steamed Little Juicy Bun", or...
 
Nikki C. April 8, 2018
Would love to see your final menu!!! Doing a Beatles themed party for a fundraiser dinner. Would love some additional ideas! Thanks!!!
 
Hilarybee February 10, 2011
Or how about Lucy in the Pie with Almonds?!
 
Liz D. February 10, 2011
How could we forget "Beer, There and Everywhere"?
 
BronaCos February 9, 2011
You can't have a Beatles themed party without serving Jam Butties - butter and jam (raspberry or strawberry) spread on white bread (no peanut butter allowed that's strictly American!)
 
Liz D. February 9, 2011
Oh this is such a great idea! Friends of mine host an oscar party where the food is themed (one year I did Shepard's Pie when Sweeney Todd was in). Can't wait to see the menu!

Savoy Truffle alone yields much: you could do the whole candy box that's referenced.
Cream tangerine and montelimar,
A ginger sling with a pineapple heart,
A coffee dessert, yes you know it's good news,
But you'll have to have them all pulled out after the savoy truffle.
Cool cherry cream and nice apple tart,
I feel your taste all the time we're apart,
Coconut fudge really blows down those blues,
But you'll have to have them all pulled out after the savoy truffle.

(is my beatle's geekiness showing?)
 
susan G. February 9, 2011
for a heavy dessert, Black Bean Brownies? recipes abound...
 
Hilarybee February 9, 2011
I am planning to make Deb's cake- I've made it to great success several times before. Always a hit. In fact, I'm shipping it to my grandfather for his birthday in a few weeks.

I was thinking about Lucy in the Sky high pie- using thirschfield's recently posted banana cream pie, with the toffee bits being diamonds.

She's So Heavy- chocolate pudding? Or some dessert that takes itself too seriously... must contemplate.
 
betteirene February 9, 2011
This recipe is near the top of my "must try" pile:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/

I love the marshmallow cloud idea from luvcookbooks. You could make Deb's cake, then put some Marshmallow Fluff in a plastic bag with a hole cut in the corner and pipe some blobs to suggest billowy clouds.

I'm still working on "She's So Heavy."
 
Hilarybee February 9, 2011
@betteirene Your birthday cake idea sounds awesome. Mine will probably be less elegant- some kind of chocolate, peanut butter creation.
John Paul George Wingo would have been the coolest kid on the block. Especially when the other kids were old enough to know about the Beatles. My in-laws are huge Beatles fans, and my FIL was even in a Beatles tribute band called Normandy and the Beach Heads. They did not go for Ringo either.

 
Hilarybee February 9, 2011
Wow!! Thanks everyone. Very pleasant to wake up to a plethora of ideas.
@Peter, the #eatthebeatles link was amazing.

I am the Walnut being my favorite.
 
luvcookbooks February 9, 2011
Marshmallow Cloud Frosting/Sundae Topping from Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
 
betteirene February 9, 2011
You guys crack me up! Eat the Beatles. . .teehee! Rocky Ragu. . .chuckle chuckle. Nowhere Flan. . .ROFL!

So 43 years ago, for a high school art project, my sister took the label off an Ovaltine jar and designed, drew and inked her own label. Her product was called "Instant Karma" and underneath the logo she wrote, "It's gonna get ya!" You could do the same--use Word to design a label with rainbows and stars and such, then add the text, and slap it onto a bottle of something. Like absinthe.

In one of the Sesame Street counting books, a bunch of monsters are noshing on the tables and chairs of a restaurant. One monster says, "Isn't it good?" and another replies, "Norwegian wood." You could do a buche de noel.

(A couple weeks ago, I made a cake for someone with two friends from high school whose birthdays were the same day and who had the same initials. At her request, I wrote "Happy 64th Birthday J.T and J.T.," but--and I just have to pat myself on the back for this--I used food coloring and a stencil to paint "Will you still need me, will you still feed me. . ." in tiny letters and music notes all over the strip of fondant that I placed around the sides of the cake. From a distance, it looked like black lace. It was pretty neat, if I say so myself, and the customer gushed about it, and that was neat, too.)

(One of my daughters-in-law's maiden name is Wingo. Her brother had a son and they joked about naming him John Paul George. I thought they should, but no, they didn't. How cool would that have been?!)

But I digress.

A Taste of Honey/Kansas City (BBQ sauce)
Please Peas Me (oh, yeah. . .maybe a pea salad?)
She's So Heavy (give me a minute--I'll think of something eventually)
Something with Apple

This is more fun than I had deciding the menu for a Mad Men party.
 
beyondcelery February 8, 2011
I love this! Such great ideas, but I have to add...
Orange Fool (Fool on the Hill): http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Orange-Fools-14991

Clementine Cake (Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds): http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/clementine-cake/
(Maybe add a marmalade sauce to the top?)

I can't wait to see your final menu.
 
AntoniaJames February 8, 2011
This is why I (and we, I suspect) love, love, love foodpickle!! ;o)
 
Kristen M. February 8, 2011
Yes! Rocky Ragu? Jello Goodbye?? Amazing stuff. Thanks for the great detective work, Peter.
 

Voted the Best Reply!

Peter February 8, 2011
#eatthebeatles -- brilliant! A little sluething turned up all the tweets:

http://www.google.com/m/search?oe=UTF-8&client=safari&hl=en&aq=f&oq=&aqi=-k0d0t0&fkt=2195&fsdt=12575&htf=&his=&q=site%3Atwitter.com+%23eatthebeatles

Enjoy!
 
Kristen M. February 8, 2011
The Amateur Gourmet (I think) started an amazing #eatthebeatles hashtag on Twitter last fall but tragically it seems to have evaporated. The only one I remember (probably because it was the best): Nowhere Flan http://bit.ly/fRg3Qm
 
Hilarybee February 8, 2011
I'll post the final menu, for sure. I'll have it up on my blog too. The party is for my husband's 30th birthday. He was named after John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Seriously.

I was thinking about "Baby, You're a Rich Man" millionaire bars, short ribs with "Hey Bulldog" sauce, "Long, Tall Sally" Iced Tea, "Lovely Rita" margarita, "Moonlight Bay" oysters, "Strawberry Fields" salad (strawberry, basil, balsamic), "Piggies" pigs in a blanket...

and more. There are going to be about 65 guests to this party, so it will have lots of food...
 
Sadassa_Ulna February 8, 2011
Savoy Truffle! Great party, please post your final menu?
 
Peter February 8, 2011
Fun! In addition to some of those named above, how about:

-- Back in the U.S.S.R. Borscht (The White Album)
-- Devil(ed) in Her Heart Eggs (Devil in her Heart from With the Beatles)
-- Glass Onion Soup (Glass Onion from The Beatles)
-- Honey Pie! (Honey Pie on The White Album. There's also a song called Wild Honey Pie.)
-- Kansas City Ribs (Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey from Beatles for Sale)
-- Something with mustard (Mean Mr. Mustard on Abbey Road)
-- Pigs in a Blanket (Piggies on The White Album)
-- Something with truffles (Savoy Truffle on The White Album)


I'd skip anything involving "Blue Jay Way" from Magical Mystery Tour or "Dig a Pony" from Let It Be or "Rocky Raccoon" or "I Am The Walrus". ;-)
 
Nancy April 8, 2018
For Blue Jay Way:
Poutine
Maple cookies, maple butter or maple souffle

For Rocky Racoon:
Rocky Road ice cream or brittle
 
AntoniaJames February 8, 2011
Deviled eggs for "Devil in her Heart" and of course, anything with Cayenne . . . . and what about Savoy Truffle . . . gotta be able to do something with that!! ;o) Oh, and let's not forget "Piggies," so perhaps some pigs in blankets?!!
 
Chef M. February 8, 2011
This sounds like a great party idea... here are my suggestions:

1. Blackbird - Do chicken wings, or grilled chicken with any type of dark BBQ sauce, if you wish to truly go black, add a teaspoon of squid ink to add the color without the fishy taste.

2. Octopus's Garden - Octopus ceviche with fresh garden vegetable. Dice octopus with onion, pepper, cilantro, perhaps potato now that is it in season and marinate in red wine vinegar, lemon, and garlic!

3. Yellow Submarine - Do a simple Banana's Foster, to make it seem like little banana submarines!

Let me know what you end up cooking!
 
amysarah February 8, 2011
A souffle for If I Fell ;)

A Russian dish (borscht or blini?) for Back in the USSR; an onion tart for Glass Onion - maybe a pissaladiere http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pissaladiere-provencal-onion-tart; Honey Pie - any pie sweetened with honey; for Mean Mr. Mustard...something in a mustard sauce...this is fun!
 
hardlikearmour February 8, 2011
Something with cctopus - perhaps a salad from the Octopus Garden.
I'd probably do something like PaulJoseph's Honey Black Pepper Chicken Wings and call them Sgt. Pepper's Chicken Wings. http://www.food52.com/recipes/6814_honey_black_pepper_chicken_wings
 
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