Red or White? Make mine... Wine!

Friday night, I enjoyed a great home cooked dinner hosted by Nomonde, a new friend who is a qualified winemaker at a popular distillery here in Cape Town.

Over dinner among other things, we discussed the flexibility in which wine is consumed lately. I hold the belief that wine is like a culture that should be practiced with traditional regard. Drank with the appropriate food, at the correct temperature and never to be modified with soda water, ice and or other shockers I’ve witnessed before… with Fanta Grape!

She on the other hand, is not the wine snob one would expect her to be. For someone who dedicates her skills and effort to bring out a perfected crisp and an all round brew, you’ve got to admire her coolness and the resilience to remain unperturbed by the thought of it all being ruined and drowned out by commercial cool-drinks.

She recalled an aunt who had for ages been nagging to bring her one of the distillery’s finest. She obliged and months later, called to enquire whether aunty dearest had enjoyed it. Nomonde was in hysterical fits relaying how aunty dearest had found the brew to be too bitter and how she had added something special to the mix…a dash of syrup to every glassful. She also suggested for the distillery to consider this fine trick.

This really goes to show the variety of tastes (pun intended). A perfect example of different strokes for different folks which led me to examine my own strokes. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with holding a culture in high regard. There’s also nothing wrong with rearranging something to suit your needs. With that said, I hope the next time I see someone mix Savignon Blanc with Appletiser, I will not have the urge to scream “No, No! You’re ruining it!” and just smile.

In the meantime I look forward to my tour in Cape Town through a distillery to enjoy a wine tasting evening soon.

This basically sums it up.

The preparation began at 5pm, yesterday afternoon. On the menu was an assortment of foods, none of them easy to prepare.

• Chopped liver
• Roast lamb
• spinach and feta pies
• Grilled marrows
• Roast veg and potatoes.
• Chicken soup
We began with the Chopped liver. It would be my first time preparing this traditional meal and I was completely unprepared for what it entailed. Firstly, the livers were defrosted and broiled in the oven [1 hour]. Then the onions were dashed into tiny bits and fried in schmaltz. Once the livers were complete, they were also chopped up and fried with the onion and schmaltz mix. With the addition of boiled eggs, the union of liver was complete. A heavy mix in the food processor churned out the final result, a real batch of finest chopped liver and an infinite amount better than the standard Goldie’s fare. Final preparation time, 2 hours.

The lamb was tackled next and it received a gentle massage of olive oil, with garlic and parsley squeezed into slits on its sides. We left it in the fridge alongside the cooling liver. It was now 9pm and our worn out bodies could cook no more. We slept and rested for the upcoming day

We both left work an hour earlier, to prepare for the Yontov rush. Hayden and Robyn lee would arrive by 7pm, leaving us with precious little time to prepare. We were both possessed by a whirlwind of cooking and cleaning. I hurriedly made my secret spinach and feta pie recipe as Judi cooked the lamb. As the sun set, chaos became order and the food was finally prepared. The plates were laid out in preparation of a portable table our cousins were bringing us, as our tiny apartment cannot accommodate such a basic necessity [but I still love it]. At 7:05pm, they rocked up, clean and brimming with Rosh Hashanah energy. We parked upstairs and moved the tables and chairs inside, transforming our lounge into an authentic dining area, for the first time ever.

Once we had all sat down, prayers began. The traditional Yontov service at shul lasts for hours. We were done in 5 minutes, as our stomachs grumbled with a sick hunger that no religion could fill. All the correct words were muttered beautifully by yours truly, beckoning the arrival of the food. Wine had liquored our words and utter madness we spoke will fill dusty tomes for years to come. My drinking, D-Dogs drinking escapades, politics, gaming, life in Ireland and many more regal tales were served up alongside good food and wine.

Cape Town had never seen a Yontov meal as grand as this and it will never see it again for years to come. All our lovingly prepared food was wolfed down by all in company, in the space of two hours. This is a fitting demise for the best of meals and a great end to Hayden’s time in Cape Town. After the meal, we relaxed with a cigar each and viewed the glimmering landscape of the inner city. I stared at my lounge; it was filled with gifts Hayden had brought me. The dregs of his party as he had explained. A massive bottle of Johnnie black plus other spirits littered the lounge. Additionally, he gave me his collection of Video game magazines, which is guaranteed to keep my brain busy for months to come. The evening was capped off with a viewing of the third episode of Imaginationland, a trilogy of South Park episodes currently running on Mnet.

It all ended as swiftly as it had begun, Robyn-Lee was ready to leave and pulled Hayden out of his South Park coma. Judi slouched on a bean-bag on the floor, heavily tired from the two days of cooking. Myself, I helped carry their portable tables back into their car and bid them farewell. Hayden is leaving for Irseland on Thursday and is having his final Cape Town tour today. It was an excellent evening, which was enjoyed by all. I collapsed into bed with darling Judi at 11pm and passed out instantly. The dishes are now waiting.