Reddit mentions of The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook: Inside the Kitchens, Bars, and Restaurants of Mad Men

First of all, Mad Men was set from mid-1960 to the end of 1970 and depicts lots of social mores and food trends for the 60s. I think for the 60s Utz in a chip 'n dip tray would be genius. There's a cookbook but since you're in a rush I'll just throw out some ideas: pineapple upside down cake, manhattans, patty melts (maybe as sliders?), meatloaf, casseroles, and chicken kiev.

For the 50s, you might consider ambrosia fruit salad. It's from the late 20th century, but the modern recipe with marshmallows only became common at home after WWII. It was very popular at parties, pot-lucks, and cookouts.

For the 70s: chicken wings were invented in the late 60s but really took hold across the nation in the mid-70s. The city of Buffalo officially declared July 29, 1977, to be Chicken Wing Day. Just putting that out there.

To fill in your gaps: the 80s brought slow cookers into the home. Sloppy Joes. Frozen pot pies. Spinach dip. Wine coolers.

The 2000s brought on the craze for expensive cupcakes. Imported coffee, well-made. Food trucks. Smoothies. Bacon. Cake pops. Locavores. Purple ketchup. Energy drinks.

In contrast, The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook: Inside the Kitchens, Bars, and Restaurants of Mad Men is a surprisingly good cookbook. Assuming that what you're looking for is a retro cookbook that has at least some plot tie-ins (such as Carla's potato salad or the Royal Hawaiian drink that Pete orders in LA)

They're all from here... http://www.amazon.com/Unofficial-Mad-Men-Cookbook-Restaurants/dp/1936661411

So far we've made Tom Collins, Whiskey Sours, Old Fashioned and this. This is my favorite so far, I definitely recommend getting the book.

Great episode. I have a Mad Men cookbook myself that goes over a lot of the food and drinks from the show. Did you by chance use this as a reference /u/OliverBabish ?