Roman Theme Party Food
From LoveToKnow Party
With HBO’s Rome becoming more popular more people are thinking about hosting a Roman themed party and if so, you will certainly need some Roman theme party food.
Ad Gustum
You will have to decorate your house a bit. When we think of the Romans, ancient Romans, we think of marble pillars and luxurious anti chambers. It may not be reasonable to completely redesign your house or apartment in marble but a few touches here and there can do wonders.
A costume store will be able to fit you for a toga or tunic. The tunic would have been a more common every day outfit. Togas were more for formal occasions and what the senators wore. The same costume store should have some plastic shields and short swords. These can be used as wall decorations to lend an authentic air to your party. Another authentic touch would be a bust. A quick search of the Internet or a visit to a local plaster casting shop will usually turn up a cheap (between $35-$75 Dollars) plaster cast bust of a roman (or Greek) god, goddess or famous mortal. I have an affinity for Aphrodite (Venus) but Athena (Minerva) or Artemis (Diana) are fun as well. For a party setting if you can find a good Bacchus he would not be out of place at all for a Roman themed party. To decorate the table a setting of fruit and flowers would be very traditional. To be as authentic as possible you might want to include grapes, pomegranates, and oranges but avoid things like, say pineapples which would not fit in with Roman theme party food.
Fabas Indulcet Fames
The food can include anything Mediterranean. Bear in mind that the Romans brought home interesting food from wherever they conquered and the elite loved to have the richest of foods they could manage. So anything short of a barbecue would be ok. Speaking of your grill, fire that baby up a lot of the ancient foods were cooked over open flames so think grilled lamb (herb crusted), steaks, pork, chicken (marinated in olive oil, garlic, rosemary and oregano) and even Mastodon. Ok so maybe mastodon isn’t readily available now but legend has it that when mastodons were discovered frozen into glaciers the Romans had the meat brought to Rome for their feasts. As far as pizza goes there were pizzas just not the kind we would recognize. The idea of putting garnishes and cheeses on a bread and cooking it has been around for a long time. It is thought that the first pizza’s came from the Babylonians who then passed them along to the Greeks. These pizzas would not have had tomato sauce because the tomato wasn’t discovered until the new world was discovered. So to be as authentic as possible I would suggest you offer your guests pesto pizzas. But I’m sure if you wanted to grill up some regular old style tomato sauce and Mozzarella pizzas as part of your Roman theme party food none of your guests would protest.
Nunc Est Bibendum
Wine! Lots of it. The Romans loved their wine so much they brought the vines with them as they conquered the world cultivating the vine and giving the wine growing regions their start. Your local wine shop should be able to get you some Barolo, Barbaresco or Chianti. First decide what you will be serving and then tell your wine seller your menu they should be able to suggest which wines to serve with your Roman themed party food. If you like you can get some grappa to offer your guests at the end of the night.
Roman Themed Party Food
In order to make your Roman themed party fun and interesting ask your guests to dress as roman soldiers or in the colorful tunics of the time. Toga parties are probably best left to frat boys and teen movies. Your local party decoration store can probably help you with some general Romanesque decorations. If you are serving Barolo, the king of wines and the wine of kings, invite me! Until then di te incolumem custodiant.
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