Several times a year, Jannie and Christa Wentzel host a boerewors making party in their Naperville home.

Boerewors is a type of South African sausage.

The couple moved to Naperville about 13 years ago from a town about four hours south of Johannesburg, South Africa. Although they could find many of the same ingredients they had used at home in area grocery stores, the one thing they could not find was boerewors.

“It means farmer's sausage, and it is very popular in South Africa, like the hot dog is here,” said Jannie, 46. Since they couldn't find it here, they figured out how to make it and invited other area South African couples to come help with the task.

“It take about six to eight hours to make it. The rule is that you only get to take home some sausage if you are here to make it,” he said. The couple purchase bottom round beef and pork loins to make the sausage. “We use about two-thirds beef and one-third pork.” The meat is cut into 1-inch cubes before being sent through a sausage grinder to be coarsely ground.

A key part of the sausage is the seasoning.

“It's a mix of coriander, salt, pepper, garlic and other spices. We purchase a spice mix when we visit South Africa and bring it home,” said Christa, 47. After grinding and seasoning the meat, it is stuffed into sausage casings. “After we finish, we cook a batch for everyone to have. Then we split up the rest for everyone to take home. Sometimes we make close to 200 pounds of sausage in one day.”

Boerewors is usually grilled, much like a hot dog or bratwurst. “Sometimes we make a tomato and onion stew to put on top of it but chutney goes well with it also,” said Jannie. Their favorite brand of chutney, Mrs. H.S. Ball's Original Recipe Chutney, can be found in the United States. It is a sweet mix of apricots, peaches and spices that is used as a condiment.

Jannie said that meat is an important component of meals in South Africa. “But the meat is mostly lamb. I grew up on a cattle farm so there was a lot of meat. Our cattle was grass-fed though.” Jannie enjoys many different lamb dishes. His favorite is an interesting twist on leg of lamb. After marinating a boneless leg of lamb, Jannie grills the meat for about one hour. Then he slices the meat, dips it into a mushroom sauce and grills it lightly again for a moist and flavor-filled dish.

A popular South African dessert that is seldom found in the United States is a milk tart. Similar to a custard pie, the milk tart is standard fare for family gatherings in South Africa. “The most important thing to remember is to pour the hot milk very, very slowly into the flour or you will get lumps,” said Christa. If the flour does clump, use a stick blender to dissolve the flour. The mixture needs to be very smooth for a tasty dessert.

Christie has found it unusual that Americans use regular forks for dessert. “We have small forks for desserts,” she said, pulling out an ornate fork about half the size of a regular fork. The couple also believe in having a “proper cup” for tea and have a space in the cabinet dedicated to china teacups and saucers.

“South African tea is very much like British tea,” said Jannie. “It is less bitter than American tea.”

The Wentzels are looking forward to Thanksgiving, when several area South African families gather for dinner at the New Covenant Church in Naperville.

“They started meeting before we arrived and I took over organizing the event a few years ago,” said Christa. “Thanksgiving isn't celebrated in South Africa but we adopted the holiday. We don't have family close by so we found some. We usually have about 50 to 80 people.” There are some turkeys on the table but also leg of lamb and milk tarts. “It is open to anyone who would like to come,” she said.

The Wentzels share the recipes for the lamb and the milk tart for anyone wishing to try South African cuisine.

Judy Buchenot is a freelance writer.

Jannie and Christa's Culinary Cue

When carving meat, first lay out several layers of paper towels on the counter. Set the cutting board on the paper towels. The juices from the meat will be absorbed by the paper towels and create less mess.

Leg of lamb

on the grill

Makes eight to 10 servings.

1/2cup red wine

1/2cup soy sauce

1teaspoon ground mustard

4-5 pound boneless leg of lamb

1/2gallon milk

210.75-ounce cans cream of mushroom soup

1pound sliced mushrooms

1. Mix red wine, soy sauce and mustard. Inject the lamb in several places with the mixture. Place in a one gallon plastic bag and place in the refrigerator. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours. When ready to prepare, heat grill (preferably charcoal) to medium. Grill lamb for one hour, turning twice. While lamb is grilling, heat milk in a Dutch oven. Add soup and mushrooms. Heat and stir until mixture thickens.

2. When lamb has been grilled one hour, remove and slice into ¼ -inch thick slices. Dip each slice into the mushroom soup mixture. Put back on the grill for a few minutes. Dip slices in mushroom mixture again and grill on the other sides. Place slices into the soup mixture after grilling and then serve.

Milk tart

Makes six to eight servings.

Prepared 9-inch pie crust

2cups milk (whole or 2 percent)

1/4cup sugar

3tablespoons flour

1tablespoon cornstarch

2tablespoons butter

3eggs

cinnamon sugar

1. Line pie pan with unbaked pie crust. Bring milk to a boil in a saucepan over low heat. In a bowl, combine sugar, flour, and cornstarch. Slowly add hot milk to the flour mixture, stirring constantly. Return to the saucepan and cook and stir constantly for five minutes until thick and smooth. Remove pan from heat and add butter. Allow mixture to cool slightly.

2. Beat eggs in a small bowl. Add to milk mixture and combine well. Pour mixture into prepared pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 and bake 10 more minutes. Sprinkle top of pie with cinnamon sugar. Serve warm.