Hello friends and welcome to today’s Twenty Years Ago Today Post where I am creating a meal from the pages of Delicious magazine from July 2004. But, as usual,  the menu comes with a challenge – this month the challenge was to create a meal where none of the recipes contained the letter A. In the event that you ever have an Alphaphobic over to dinner, I have you covered with this one.

And, even if I do say so myself, July 2004 did not disappoint in the taste department. Last week I mentioned that the Grapefruit Oat Brulee was Top Ten in the things I have cooked this year. And this week we have another, not one but two contenders for that list! Life is good – at least in the eating department!

Pop Culture – July 2004

We’ll get along to the deliciousness soon but here’s a little reminder of what was big in July 2004 to help set the scene. Looking first at films, Spiderman, I Robot and The Bourne Supremacy where respectively 1-3 at the box office. Personally, I would have been more interested in Anchorman, Fahrenheit 9/11 and The Notebook at 4, 5 and 7.

In books, the Da Vinci code was yep, you guessed it still number 1! Will the reign of this book never end? Angels and Demons also by Dan Brown was sitting at #7 this month so we might be looking at a Dan Brown double next month! And speaking of doubles, Usher had the number 1 and 2 songs on the Billboard charts with Burn and Confessions Part II.

And now we’ve set the scene, let’s take a look at our menu!

The No A Menu – July 2004

Minestrone

This was, without a doubt the best Minestrone I have ever eaten.  I made a huge pot of it and ate it everyday for my lunch for the entire week.  Now usually when this happens by Thursday I am starting to get a bit bored and by Friday I am dreading the meal,  Not so this time, I would have eaten this for another 5 days if I had more! 

This Bill Granger recipe is a little different from most other minestrones for two reasons.  First, it has meatballs made from Italian sausages and second it has no pasta.  It is also LOADED with veg so, outside of those little meatballs, it is also very healthy.  This minestrone was definitely worthy of being on my Top Ten for the Year!

Minestrone Recipe

Smoked Fish Pie

The Smoked Fish Pie was also delicious! I used smoked trout in my pie and it was really yummy!  This one is definitely something I will make again!  We ate our pies on a frosty cold winter’s night and it was perfect comfort food!

Smoked Fish Pie Recipe

Lemon Meringue Muffins

Now…I could have sworn I took photos of these but no…not on my phone.  Not in the cloud….and not enough time to remake them!  Also, to be honest, these were probably the weakest part of the meal.  They were ok but a little dry.  This though, could have been my fault.  I cooked the muffins until they were nearly ready but then I had to go out.  I left them in the turned off oven to finish the cook and cool.  Maybe they were in there a bit too long.  I did  however love the little secret stash of lemon curd in the muffin and the meringue top was delightful.  

I thought for want of my own photo, I would include the photo from the magazine as inspiration.  However, there wasn’t one.  The recipe was included as a reader asked why there was a recipe for Lemon Meringue Muffins indexed in April 2004, however there was no such recipe in the magazine.  The editors explained that the recipe had been pulled for space at the last minute.  

There certainly seems oto be something slightly cursed about this recipe!  

Lemon Meringue Muffins Recipe

My Nigella Moment  – Baked Brie with  Braised Cabbage

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 these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that does not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in because it is too good not to share. 

Oh wow…this was sooo good!  This was the other recipe that is Top Ten so far this year.  There is so much to love in this – warm oozy cheese, salty crispy pancetta, the sweetness of the apple in the cabbage….this was luscious! 

Baked Brie with Braised Cabbage Recipe

Well, for me Delicious Magazine from June 2004 was great.  Shame about the muffins….but maybe they should have been left out of this issue too!  

Have a great week!