Q. Is it now de rigueur to offer one's dinnerparty
guests expensive chocolates along with their coffee or tisane? If the answer is yes, then I am afraid that I personally cannot afford to shell out a further termer on top of what I will already be spending on food and wine. Plus I think it slightly disgusting and self-indulgent when a treat becomes the norm. What do you think, Mary?
S.W., London VV11 A. I agree with your last point. The trouble is that, although it is not de rigueur to offer expensive chocolates, many people's palates do now seem primed to receive them following dinner. Guests will even boldly ask if any are available. You can be prepared for this eventuality with a compromise. Simply coat large, grape-sized pellets of crystallised stem ginger in Nutella chocolate spread and freeze them in an ice tray. Withdraw them from the freezer immediately before serving.
Chocolate craving will be thereby satisfied at minimal cost and in a way which will appeal to sophisticated tastes.
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