B.W. COOK -- The Crowd

In case you were unaware, the Newport-Mesa family has a very large

contingent of transplanted South Africans, including two of my personal

favorites, Jacqueline Mercer and Hazel Dyer. Last week, Dyer invited some

50 guests to dinner for a little “taste of South Africa.”

The purpose of the evening was to introduce the local crowd to what

the hostess referred to as the “mystique” of her homeland. Working with

the Jewish Community Center, Dyer was encouraged to plan a trip to South

Africa next year for anyone wishing to partake in an exotic voyage to the

other end of the world. The dinner was a bit of an introduction to some

of the foods and customs of her native land.

“I just became a United States citizen [last] month,” offered Dyer,

the travel coordinator for the center. “I am very proud of the United

States and very proud to be a citizen in spite of our voting problems.”

Dyer is excited about sharing her African roots with her new-found

American friends. The adventure is planned for April 16.

Dyer, working with Meryvn Anolik of Safari Catering, prepared and

served the dinner, beginning with mini-vegetarian samosas, originally

popular with the people of India and brought to South Africa in the late

19th century by traders. A buffet of bite-size beef boerewors (a type of

sausage), strips of chicken breast peri-peri, curried and pickled fish

and drywors and biltong, which are like jerky, were served prior to a

wonderful, mild lamb curry. The curry was dished out with pappadums (a

type of bread) and assorted sambals (condiments).

The curry dish, according to Dyer, also was imported to South Africa

from Malaysia and India in the late 1800s. Also on the table was a

generous portion of one of South Africa’s most popular tribal foods

called “pap and gravy.” Of course, there was ample coconut-banana

chutney.

For dessert, there were mini-melkterts and koeksisters (pastries). I

can’t even pronounce this last dessert, but I can tell you it too was

imported to South Africa from Holland in the 1700s. The dinner certainly

was a tour of food as history as well as sustenance.

In the crowd were Len and Nina Balis, Susan and Larry Becker, Inga

Behr, Martin and Tamar Brower, Claire Brown, Gerry Buchner, Natalie

Chaiken, Julie Cohen, Charles Dyer, Florence and Gary Feldman, Susan

Glass, Zondra and Ernie Knapp, Jacob Lazerson, Anne and Charles Lesser,

Bill Mandl, Helvia Miller and Leslea and Ed Miller.

Also on hand for the fun were Levia Rabinowitz, Irene Samuels, Alan

Sneag, Geraldine Solnick, Tom and Shirley Staple, Rita and Bob Teller,

Michael and Diane Townsend, Linda Weingarten, Seymour Wigler, Abe

Matalon, Elana Silverman, Mary Goldberg, Ariel Rabinowitz and Arthur and

Rosalie Gottfried.

Guests sipped red South African wines and played a game called “Mala

Mala,” which is apparently the rage in Cape Town. To find out more about

the planned trip, call Dyer at (714) 755-0350, Ext. 135.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.