John has a birthday this week, so we will be having a super family supper at home, with all the things he loves to eat. Hopefully this will include fresh artichokes, smoked salmon trout, duck in pomegranate, which will be served with potatoes roasted in duck fat and, of course, a very, very wicked chocolate pudding…

If you are a chocoholic too, try these dark chocolate truffles. They are extremely easy to make and will be a real after-dinner treat over the festive season.

We plan to enjoy Colmant MCC, Rudera Chenin Blanc, Cordoba Crescendo (probably the spectacular ’98, from our cellar) and Cathy Marshall’s lovely Myriad dessert wine with the meal. In sensibly moderate quantities, of course, with leftovers to enjoy on Friday!

Dark chocolate truffles
150m double thick cream
400g Callebaut 70% dark chocolate callets
4 T butter, softened
Nomu’s best quality unsweetened cocoa powder

Boil the cream in a small saucepan until it reduces to 2 tablespoons. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate callets till they are melted. Add the butter and stir, then pour into a large flat dish. Refrigerate for 45 minutes until chilled and set.

Use a teaspoon to scrape across the surface of the chocolate so it forms a rough truffle shape – curls not balls. Roll them in the cocoa powder and put into the fridge till you are ready to serve them. You can add a few drops of flavouring like one of the Nielsen Massey extracts – try orange, almond, coffee or vanilla.

Lynne is making a new chilli recipe tonight and she hopes it will work out as expected. If it does, you will see the recipe here next week. It contains chocolate too!

MERRY SHOPPING
Christmas is now on the way – we cannot be in denial any longer, but we promise we will not be playing any Christmas Muzak to irritate you, especially the dreaded Boney M. We cringe every time we hear them massacre the lovely West Indian carol, “Mary’s Boy Child”, which was so beautifully sung by Harry Belafonte.

We know everyone is feeling the credit pinch at the moment, but we also know how much people love to receive gifts of food and wine at Christmas. We have been buying in lots of wine and other wonderful things over the last weeks for you to give as presents. We even have special doggie biscuits and puppy treats, containing biltong, for those of you who have favoured furry family members! Do come and visit us and fill your stockings. We can order gingerbread house kits for you to put together with your children or grandchildren. Email us and we will order you one, or two or more …

We haven’t managed to find any geese this year – if you have, we would really appreciate your source, as it is our favourite bird for Christmas. We have found a source of free range turkeys and will be happy to pass on the contact to anyone who needs it as we are not going to be stocking poultry – we don’t have the correct fridges. Call us if you are interested.

We also have a shop full of Lynne’s Luxury Christmas Puddings, which were so popular last year, so come and get them soon. They can be cooked in the microwave and will therefore save you 3 hours of boiling.

We are pleasantly surprised at the reception of Bushman’s dynamite chocolate chilli sauce, honey mustard and tikka marinade have received. All sold out very quickly. Sadly, the tikka is on back order and will only be here in a week or two, but the others have been replenished and are waiting for you. We now have their killer garlic sauce.

After our very successful Sauvignon Blanc special tasting, we have a variety of top Sauvignons in the shop for you, like Ataraxia, Cederberg Ghost Corner and Elgin Valley.

A special surprise has been the early release of Cape Point Vineyards’ very Isliedh white blend (a Platter 5-star wine). We, like other wine merchants, have a small allocation, but our first delivery is in the shop waiting for customers with great taste and the ability to treat it well.

We have also been given an allocation of Rupert & Rothschild’s very special limited edition Baroness Nadine Chardonnay 2007. This is only available in 6 bottle case lots, so let us know if you would like some and we will order it for you.

We expect to have a limited quantity of the fabulous Axe Hill White port soon. We do have a couple of vintages of the wonderful Cape Vintage in stock, any of which will be a perfect end to your Christmas dinner.

Corporate Gifts
Every year, at this time, we start putting in lots of new items and restocking old favourites that we know work very, very well as corporate gifts. We can help with the smallest budget – or the largest! One or two gifts or hundreds.

And we have access to some really good packaging, or we can suggest solutions, and we are sure we can find something suitable for you and your business. We find clients and staff absolutely love to receive something in the food and/or wine line at the end of what has been a rather tough year, when they need spoiling or thanking. Do contact us for suggestions.

Recommended Events
Jordan wine estate will hold their Open Day on Saturday, 29th November between 10h00 and 15h00. There will be music from local community band, the “Stellenzicht Music Project”. A selection of food and wine will be available during the day.

Also on Saturday 29th, between 10h00 and 17h00, Fynbos Fine Foods will host an exciting day in the Paardeberg, just an hour from Cape Town, with wine tasting from small wineries of the area, a Farmers Market, Crafts, music and a lot more. Entry will be R15, adults and R5 children For directions contact them on 022 487 1153, or info@fynbosestate.co.za.

On the weekend of 6th and 7th December, you’ll have another bubbly opportunity at the 2008 Franschhoek Cap Classique and Champagne Festival, when Franschhoek will showcase an array of celebrated Cap Classique producers as well as some of the finest French champagnes.

Wine tastings
On Tuesday December 2nd, we will be holding a tasting of 6 modern Chardonnays – three premium and three at very reasonable prices, none of which are over wooded and too heavy – and 6 interesting red blends that we think will suit your Christmas celebration, or any other festive dinner you are planning (some of these will also be very good value wines, such as Cape Point’s Scarborough Red and Buitenverwachting Meifort).

Bookings are now open for this 2 hour tasting which starts at 18h00 and we do hope it will attract people who really are interested in buying some good wines from us. As before, we will take bookings for up to 22 people, as it gets a bit crowded with more. The tasting will cost R50 a head and canapés, prepared by Lynne, will be provided as well as a very interesting welcoming drink.

Our Saturday wine tasting this week will feature a range of wines from Mooiplaas, one of our favourite estates in Stellenbosch’s Bottelary ward.

The Weekend Pavement Market:
Audrey Grobbelaar will be here on Friday with her delicious home baked koeksisters, brilliant chocolate brownies, and wonderful pies and breads as well as her preserves and fresh produce. Nelle will be with us again on Saturday from Wolseley, with her freshly laid, backyard chicken free range eggs, home-made pies and breads and cookies and whatever fresh produce she has been able to pick. If you want wonderful, naturally produced food, this is where you’ll find it.