Last night at a book reading by Kim Sunee http://kimsunee.com/ at Fosters Marker in Chapel Hill, we were given a glimpse of the power of food. Left on a park bench in Korea at the age of three, Sunee was adopted by a family in New Orleans. She spoke about the difficulties of growing up Korean in that part of the country and the haven that her mother's kitchen provided. We were also treated to tastes prepared by Sara Foster, Bill Smith and Sunee herself. It was fun to watch faces light up when another tray emerged from the kitchen.
First there was a shot glass of Sunnee's crawfish bisque, then Foster's red beans and rice croquettes topped with her famous seven pepper jelly, followed by mini fried oysters po'boys. It didn't stop there. After the reading was over, skewers of Moroccan chicken with dates appeared and finally Bill Smith's dense almond saffron cake. All of this was interspersed with free mini glasses of wine.
The crawfish bisque was salty and complex, the pepper jelly on the croquettes ingenious, the dates complimented the smoky chicken perfectly and the bright yellow cake was dense and satisfying. Not sure if it was just the power of fried goodness that swayed me, but the oysters stole the show. Piping hot fried oysters in a sweet bun with a creamy, spicy sauce.
Faces beamed, friends were made. Bellies full, the power of food brought us all together.
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