cross-posted from: https://fedia.io/m/[email protected]/t/1322982

My kids haven’t seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind yet and I thought it would be a fun surprise to recreate the meal eaten in the mashed potato scene and watch the movie with the movie dinner. (I can’t wait to see if they put two and two together when that scene comes up lol.)

Obviously there’s mashed potato. And I can see sweet corn. Kids are drinking milk. But I can’t tell what the little meat things are. I assumed they were crumbed rissoles but having not been raised or lived in the US, I’m unsure if I’m missing a common protein that was eaten at dinner around the late 1970s. Meatloaf has also been suggested but in my country we never have mini meatloaves that I’ve seen so I’m unsure how accurate that is.

I also can’t tell what is in the bowls beside Roy and his sons - to the top left of Roy’s plate, right hand side of Toby and top right of Brad’s plate. Maybe Ronnie and Silvia have one of these bowls too but I can’t tell. You can see Brad eat out of his bowl at one point and it looks like something pale (I wondered coleslaw or macaroni).

Anyway, anyone know or have an idea of what the little meat things are and what are in the side bowls?

    • @[email protected]English
      3•1 month ago

      Yeah my bet’s Campbell’s back of the can cordon blue recipe.

      Edit: forgot how to spell soup brand

    • Clay_pidginEnglish
      1•1 month ago

      That’s what I mentioned in the other thread, but they do look a little burnt.

  • @[email protected]English
    6•1 month ago

    Very likely to be “chicken croquets.” They were all the rage in the late 80s and early 90s. The were also likely be paired with mashed potatoes and corn.

    I remember them being great as a kid but I really have no interest in trying them again.

  • @LedivinEnglish
    3•1 month ago

    I’m like 70% sure those are fish cakes. They’re a little thick, but nothing too crazy

    • DominusOfMegadeusOPMEnglish
      1•1 month ago

      This was what I posted in the original thread. I’m 100% sure they are fish cakes

  • BoxscapeEnglish
    2•1 month ago

    I last saw that movie a long time ago so I don’t remember the scene.

    But, from that screengrab alone, could they be dinner rolls? Maybe pumpernickel ones?

  • @[email protected]English
    1•1 month ago

    The “little meat things” look like mini corndogs, without sticks. Definitely not mini meatloafs, not like any fishstick I’ve encountered. Could be a hushpuppy I guess, but would be surprised if a dinner table in america in the 70s lacked some sort of animal based protein.