This Valentines Day, treat your loved one to some time away or try out something new and different together.

Many lodges and resorts have special Valentines deals which aim to provide you and your partner with a weekend or night of luxury and romance. Enjoy the beautiful Magaliesburg mountains in Gauteng at the Budmarsh Private Lodge with delicious cuisine, live music and a champagne breakfast, or a Valentines dinner and dance at the African Pot Restaurant at Lovers Rock Family Resort. Johannesburg has plenty of wonderful accommodation and restaurants to choose from. If you’re single on Valentines Day this year, it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun! Only singles are able to attend a black tie dinner and dance at the Randburg Golf Club on the 13th. Also in Joburg is a Vaal river cruise and three-course meal.

Another popular getaway spot is the breathtaking Drakensberg mountains. Get lost in the beautiful scenery by staying at the Antbear Guesthouse overlooking Giant’s Castle or spend a night or two at Sycamore Avenue, renowned for its romantic tree house accommodation with luxury facilities and fabulous views of the mountains. In Durban, enjoy the sounds of Just Jinger and Farryl Purkiss at the Old Mutual Music at the Lake Valentines Day Concert.

If you’re spending your Valentines weekend in the Western Cape, there are numerous options to choose from in the Cape Winelands, where you can enjoy phenomenal views and delicious food. A sunset picnic will be held at the Rickety Bridge Wine Estate, a moonlight movie and picnic will be held at the Overgaauw Wine Estate and a sunset picnic and violin duo at the Lourensford Wine Estate. Try out something different with a salsa-themed Valentines Day celebration at the Nederburg Wine Estate in Paarl or enjoy musical theatre and a sunset picnic on the lawns of the Mountain Shadows Estate. Have a delicious dinner at the Victorian Restaurant at the Rhebokskloof Estate and contribute towards the TygerBear children’s charity. Sip an exotic love cocktail at the Red Valentines Sunset Concert in the Wilderness or spend a full morning on the Backsberg Estate, where you can take a cellar tour and participate in grape stomping! Various other wine estates will host Valentines lunches and dinners.

Entertaining musical events will be held in the Cape Winelands area as well. The award-winning Parlotones will be playing live at D`Aria Wine Estate. The Cape Country Picnic Festival will be held at the Bien Donné Farm in Simondium throughout the weekend and guests can browse around food, wine, arts and crafts while enjoying live music by local performers. At the Oude Libertas Amphitheatre in Stellenbosch, the highly anticipated musical performance, My French Valentine, will be held on Valentines Day. The Raka Unplugged Festival will take place on the banks of the Breede River in Swellendam throughout the weekend, where rock music lovers can camp, swim and bask in the sun while listening to local talent.

If you’re in Cape Town, don’t miss out on the Valentines celebrations at the V&A Waterfront, where good restaurants offer fine food and where there will be various sunset cruises. At De Grendel Estate in Plattekloof, the Cape Town Opera and the Hout Bay Music Project will be holding the Midsummer Melodies Concert to raise awareness for the Montrose Foundation and their initiatives. For truly spectacular views, couples can enjoy a one-hour micro-light flight over the Cape Peninsula or a one-hour high speed boat trip starting at the V&A Waterfront. There are wonderful restaurants to choose from for romantic Valentines meals, such as the Silver Tree Restaurant in Kirstenbosch, and plenty more throughout the city.

So you’ve got a partner and now you have an idea about a venue. But what about gifts? While Valentines Day is about appreciating and spending time with our loved ones, flowers or chocolate won’t hurt! If you need some help deciding what to get, browse through our website for ideas. Cooking your partner a homemade meal or buying him or her some yummy treats will definitely go a long way. Spoil your loved one with one of our Valentines Day hampers or speciality chocolates. And always resort to scented or ambiance candles to set the mood for romance in an instant!

Seeing as the new year has just passed I thought I would share some information with you on what excatly Cap Classique is as we all know we are not allowed to call it champagne. I am personally a big fan of Cap Classique.

Grapes are selected from a diversity of regions in the Cape, resulting in highly individual styles. Only specific white and red grape varieties are used to ensure delicate fruit and rich complexity. Grape Selection in the vineyards ensures that only perfectly healthy grapes are handpicked and brought to the cellar.

Whole bunch pressing is at the heart of the winemaking process, with only the first pressing, our cuveé, used to make the various base wines destined to be called Cap Classique. Individual base wines and blends are tasted annually by the Association’s own members to ensure that the final wine is of a high quality.

Once bottled, the bottles ferment and mature horizontally in cool, dark cellars for a minimum of twelve months. There are individual members who ensure much longer yeast contact time, depending on the style and vintage. After riddling and disgorging, Cap Classique wines are left to mature on the cork for some time, to ensure integration and balance. This commitment to quality is evident in your glass every time a Cap Classique cork is popped.

Now I would like to introduce one of Diletto’s latest additions our very own Boschendal Brut made in the Cap Classique way!

We also have the Rose Brut available.

Happy eating and drinking until next time!

New Diletto hamper now available at Diletto as seen on Ideate at a special discount price!

Only while stocks last!

Happy eating until next time!

The Diletto Team.

Brand new product released on Diletto Online deli today.

Using their very own sweet Amber Jewel Plums this versatile Preserve goes with just about anything.

Ingredients: plums with skin (53%), brown sugar, onion (10%), balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, herbs and spices and salt.

Recipes

Pork sausages with plum & onion preserve

Ingredients:
o    500 g pork sausages
o    Chaloner Plum & Onion Preserve

Directions:
o    Cook the sausages either by pan, grill or bake and serve with the plum and onion preserve.
o    Serve with mashed potatoes and salad.

Liver steaks with crispy ham and plum and onion preserve

Ingredients:
o    3 tbsp olive oil
o    3 onions, sliced
o    2 tsp sugar
o    300 ml red wine
o    1-2 tbsp Chaloner Plum & Onion Preserve
o    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
o    4 slices of cured ham (Parma, Bayonne or Serrano)
o    4 x 175g  thick liver slices

Directions:
o    A tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan or wok. Once sizzling, add the onion and cook over a high heat until softened and well coloured.
o    Stir in the sugar and continue to fry for two minutes.
o    Pour over the red wine and boil until just half the liquid is left.
o    Stir in the preserve to thicken the sauce and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
o    Heat the remaining olive oil in a separate frying pan. Fry the cured ham over a medium heat for a few minutes until the slices become very crisp. Remove and drain on kitchen paper, keeping warm to one side.
o    With the same pan and oil still hot, add the liver steaks and fry for two to three minutes on each side, depending on their thickness, to leave them moist and pink inside. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste, and rest for a few minutes.
o    Spoon the red wine onions onto plates with the steaks and ham.
o    Serve with a green salad.

I hope you enjoyed this post and happy eating until next time!

Come and join us for a day of fun and some adrenalin in the sun at picturesque Silvermine Reserve.

Diletto will be handing out spot prizes on the day to some of the lucky people that do the jump, each abseil entitles the person to 1 entry into the spot prize draw!

Do as many abseils or rapp jumps as you like!

Cost: R150 for your first abseil, R180 for first rapp jump.
Thereafter: R80 per abseil, R100 per rapp jump.

Booking via Facebook RSVP essential!

Host: Dynamic Adventures
Date: Sunday, November 1, 2009
Time: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Location: S34 04.508 E18 24.059
Silvermine Reserve, Cape Town, South Africa
Phone: 0722602294
Email: martinlompa@yahoo.com

We hope to see you there!