Hello Friends! This week we are stepping back in time to February 2003 via Delicious magazine. It just so happened that the topic that came up in my random generator was Girl’s Night.  So it seemed like a perfect opportunity to tie this into Galantine’s Day.

Before we get into that, let’s set the scene for February 2003.  The month started with “Beautiful” by  Christina Aguilera topping the charts.  This was replaced by Avril Lavigne with “Im with you” for the remainder of the month.  Number one in the box office was “How to Lose A Guy in Ten Days” and the best-selling book this week was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

My menu has somewhat of a pink theme which seems fitting for a Girl’s night but the content is definitely adult, starting with a watermelon vodka cocktail!

Watermelon Vodka Cocktail

This was so simple!  I added a little squeeze of lime into the watermelon and vodka mix as I felt it was a bit too sweet / one note without it.  It was super refreshing and made the most of our lovely summer produce!  Be careful though…too many of these and you’ll be slurring

I am beautiful no matter what they say
Words can’t bring me down
I am beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can’t bring me down, oh no
So don’t you bring me down today

into a pretend mic and telling all your gal pals how much you love them before dessert!

Watermelon Vodka Recipe:

Beetroot Confit and Marinated Goat’s FetaTarts

I didn’t make these because I pretty much hate beetroot.  To me, except for one Beetroot Tzatziki which I love, it tastes like dirt.  The funny thing is though, it is something I really want to like.  So I keep trying to make things with it in the hope that I will find the magic recipe that turns that switch in me from off to on.  In this instance, I love the look of the pastry dotted with poppy seeds, the shape of the tiny little black dots echoed in the round of the goat’s cheese, and the gorgeous crimson of the beetroot in between.

Confit Beetroot and Goat’s Cheese Tarts Recipe:

Tuna Carpaccio

I loved this!!! It was so good!  (one thing, I completely forgot to add the cucumber to this!). Also, I had no mixed baby cress so I subbed in watercress.  When I was in Darwin recently, we went to a restaurant called Pee Wee’s at the Point for the Fussiest Eater in the World’s birthday.  There, I had a buffalo carpaccio which was one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life!  That dish came with a Hot English Mustard Mayo which inspired me to add my own mayo to this carpaccio.  I made a Wasabi Mayonnaise (you can see a little dab of it front and centre in the above photo).

Here is a pic of that buffalo carpaccio.  Just looking at it makes we want to go all the way back to Darwin so I can eat it again!

Tuna Carpaccio Recipe:

Baby Tiramisu

These look adorable!  And despite not being pink, they are the perfect way to end the evening…or to snack on as you are settling on the couch to watch a dvd or two!  And because they are tiny, you can eat one and still fit into a dress just like Kate Hudson’s in “How To Lose A Guy in Ten Days”! 

Baby Tiramisu Recipe:

My Nigella Moment – Duck with Berries

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 does not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in either because I made it and it was really good, or I just didn’t have time to make it! 

This month, my Nigella dish is Duck with Berries which came from an article on romantic food to cook for Valentine’s day.  It was so good! Timing is so important when cooking duck and this recipe nailed it!

Duck with Berries Recipe:

Delicious Magazine certainly delivered on the Girl’s Night Menu!

Please let me know if you make the Beetroot Tarts. I am so intrigued by them! And also, if you are old enough to have had a girl’s night in 2003, would this have been the menu you would have chosen?

If you would like to contribute a theme, please let me know,  I’m up for any challenge you can throw at me!

And happy Valentines, Galentines or however you want to spend the coming Tuesday!