Whether it's a quiet dinner for two or a socially-distant dinner with friends, the 1940s and 1950s were some of the most iconic decades when it came to hosting dinner parties. While they existed long before that, the formality and swing vibes that came with spending a meal together was one of the trademarks of this era. The dining room table might remain the same but the dinner menus of the 1940s are practically foreign to what we're used to today. It's no secret that food evolves and changes almost every day, but 80s years ago, a dinner party was accompanied by quite a few unique meal options.

There were no fancy pasta dishes, no desserts that bordered on molecular gastronomy creations, and definitely no cocktails unless the party was seriously fancy, as alcohol was fairly hard to come by during wartime.

Guests Would Have Been Asked To BYOC

'Bring your own coffee!' Since coffee was one of the things that were rationed during the war, it was in short supply when it came to dinner parties. Coffee would have been a post-dinner, during-dessert drink, and while many hosts would have loved to have offered it, it simply wasn't readily available for groups. Rather, guests were asked to bring their own coffee if they had it and during that time, it wasn't considered to be rude in the slightest.

The Rest Of The Menu

According to the Saturday Evening Post, a buffet menu would not have been out of the question, especially during warm weather months. This was often easier to serve guests and was a bit more informal than a traditional dinner with served plates. It also allowed the hostess to take breaks and prepare everything prior to the guests arriving, as socializing was a large part of hosting a dinner party. On one such menu, the starting beverage would have been some type of juice cocktail. Since alcohol was also in short supply during the Second World War, it wasn't often that it was seen at dinner parties, as it wasn't cheap and it wasn't easy to find. Therefore, juice cocktails - basically mocktails - would be served in its place.

According to the Saturday Evening Post, Cornish pasties, a casserole, a fruit salad, and dessert would all be on the buffet menu. The menu was simple yet affordable and allowed for plenty of time for the hostess to get everything ready in advance. The Cornish pasties could be prepped ahead of time and had a mixture of veal, beef, and pork, along with ground kidney suet (fat). These would be served individually as each guest would have their own and one recipe would make up to 15 - which would have made enough for the entire party, or enough for leftovers the following day.

Related: 10 Vintage Airline Uniforms We Forgot About (10 Modern Uniforms We Love)

A casserole was a huge part of life during the 40s and 50s as recipes were being published in nearly every home magazine out there. There was seemingly no household that didn't own at least one casserole dish and it was even less likely that a week would go by without having one for dinner. They were filling, affordable, and came in helpful when it was time to use up leftover ingredients or stretch whatever was in the pantry. For a dinner party, a vegetable casserole was very affordable and would be seasoned with whichever spices a hostess had in her cupboard. It would also serve to feed a group, making it the obvious choice for any good-sized dinner party.

A fruit salad could also have been an option back then as a side dish of sorts. Canned peaches were commonly found and with a little bit of DIY spicing, they could easily be transformed into something elegant and sweet. These would traditionally be served on lettuce leaves (more for decorative purposes rather than eating purposes) after being mixed with mayo, nuts, or another type of fruit. Similar to ambrosia salad, but without the overly sweet fluff.

Related: The Evolution Of Airplane Food In Pictures (From The 90s To Today)

Since baking items could be pricey back in those days, dessert was often something very simple, such as a batch of homemade cookies. These would be served with coffee (the same coffee that each guest brought for themselves) as a simple way to end the meal and retire to the sitting room. During hotter months, a sherbert was often made as it was simple and usually required affordable ingredients (especially if grape juice was used as a base). Mulled grape juice was also an option for dessert on its own, as it resembled wine but was served hot, similar to a mulled cider would be today.

Next: Vintage Photos Of Theme Parks (From Around The World)