Happy New Year, time travellers!  Welcome to January 2025 and January 2005!  Today we will enjoy a quintessential Australian beachside dinner. Unlike many parts of the globe, the start of the year here is hot, making dining on or near the beach a beloved tradition.  Also very Australian is to magpie food and flavours from other cultures so today our “Aussie” meal has roots in the tropics, China, Mexico and Italy!. 

I was particularly excited for this month, as seafood and ice cream are among my favourite treats. We’ll soon see how my culinary hopes fared. Today’s menu is inspired by the January 2005 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller.  

But first, let’s ease ourselves into 2005, not with Pop Culture as per our norm but a look at the news events that defined the year:

• YouTube’s first video: “Me at the zoo” was the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube.   Can you believe YouTube is only 20 years old?  I feel like I’ve been watching it all my life!

• Hurricane Katrina: A devastating tropical cyclone that killed 1,392 people and caused $125 billion in damages, particularly in New Orleans 
   
• London bombings: 52 people were killed and about 700 were wounded in a terrorist attack on the London Underground 
   
• Angela Merkel’s election: Angela Merkel became the first woman chancellor of Germany 

   
• Kyoto Protocol: The Kyoto Protocol, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, began to take effect 
   
• Same-sex marriage legalization: Spain and Canada legalized same-sex marriage 
   

So a mixed bag news wise!  Let’s see if the menu was also a blend of good and bad!

   The Menu

Blue Hawaiian

I’ve always harboured a certain prejudice against blue drinks. They somehow screamed “college party” to me, a garish, overly sweet concoction best left to the youthful and the reckless. And creamy cocktails? Don’t even get me started. I’ve always considered them rather…gloopy.

But the Blue Hawaiian was an entirely different beast. The colour, was a glorious, cerulean blue, like a summer sky. But the flavour!  It was a symphony of the tropics, a vibrant burst of sunshine in a glass.  Honestly, I can’t imagine a more perfect aperitif for a beachside dinner. The mere thought of it now transports me – I can almost taste the salt spray on my lips, hear the gentle rustle of palm fronds overhead… pure joy!

Salt and Pepper Squid

Salt and Pepper Squid is a  firm favourite of mine when dining out. But I had never tried to cook it at home before.   And the result? A perfect prelude to a seaside feast, I served mine not with rice as per the recipe but with a vibrant fennel salad (though you wouldn’t know this from this photograph). You can find the recipe here.  I also had some  mayonnaise in which I swirled some chilli crisp just in case the pepperiness of the squid needed a bit more oomph!    

Salt and Pepper Squid is as ubiquitous in Australian pubs as… well, as a pot of beer. So you can imagine my surprise to discover while poring over the recipe that it has Cantonese roots. This version, however, pays homage to those origins with the addition of Szechuan peppercorns, a delightful touch of unexpected heat that sets it apart from the standard pub fare.  

Snapper Veracruzana

For the main course,  we transported ourselves away from the vibrant shores of China to the sun-drenched beaches of Mexico with a delectable Snapper Veracruzana. This dish was simply exquisite! The snapper, cooked to perfection, flaked effortlessly at the touch of a fork, while the Veracruz sauce… well, words can hardly do it justice. A symphony of flavours – ripe tomatoes, briny capers, plump olives, and a tantalising hint of chilli – it was utterly irresistible.  Frankly, I could imagine this sauce gracing almost any plate. Chicken, prawns, even grilled halloumi or roasted vegetables – the possibilities are endless. It’s a testament to the magic of great ingredients, a celebration of the vibrant flavours of Mexico.

Blueberry Gelato

Gelato has a certain nostalgia for me.  Travelling around Italy with some girlfriends back in the day, “gelati” was our code word for a handsome young man.  “Shall we go for gelati at 3 o’clock?” would indicate both the presence of one of them and the direction the others should look to see him!  I wanted this blueberry gelato to transport me to the beaches of Amalfi. and the heady summer days we spent there.  Sadly, this was not to be.  I would have preferred this to be more blueberry-forward, like a sorbet.  I feel the milk dulled the blueberry flavour.  Pretty colour but for me, this was a fail.  

My Nigella Moment – BLT Salad

For first-time readers, this refers to the moment at the end of Nigella Lawson’s cooking shows when she sneaks back to the fridge to have another bite of something delicious.  In the context of these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that may not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in because it is too good not to share. 

BLT is a classic for a reason and this salad combines those familiar flavours into something new.  This was delicious and definitely something to sneak back to for a little bit more after everyone else has gone to bed!

I hope you’ve enjoyed being beside the seaside with me!  I also wish you all the very best for 2025!  Let’s hope it’s a wonderful year for all of us!