Multicultural event boasts buffet of food heritage
It's not on every table that you will find schnitzel and sauerkraut, egg rolls, soul food and Greek salad present side by side, just begging to be sampled by hungry diners.
But at last week's annual Multicultural Feast at Henderson Community College, there was all this and more as staff members, students and the community at large put their best food foot forward and brought a dish to the potluck that reflected their culinary heritage.
There were southern favorites (sweet potato casserole, dirty rice, fried chicken, baked beans, macaroni and cheese and Georgia Greenwell's annual offering of white beans, greens and cornbread), a Chinese-style corn soup, German potato salad, Italian-style round steak, all-American apple pie and German chocolate cake among the many offerings.
While the food heritage and traditions varied, there appeared to be at least one common denominator.
Home-style cooks in every culture often use "a little of this and a little of that" when throwing together a favorite and don't necessarily follow a set recipe.
That was the case for the egg rolls brought to the feast by Young Combs, a native of South Korea. At home, she said, the egg rolls that she made "American style" for the potluck might be filled with just about anything that's on hand, including sweet potato, tofu and kimchi (a spicy fermented vegetable mix that's traditionally made with cabbage.)
And take Bernice Jagoe's Homemade Vegetable Soup, for instance. She said she never makes it the same way twice, but she always seeks a robust flavor.
"I like a vegetable soup with a lot of body," she said. Her version for the feast contained Italian-style green beans, "lots of carrots," kidney beans, potatoes, tomato puree, salsa, onions, ground turkey, red peppers, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, spaghetti and Creole seasoning.
Other cooks are adept at adopting a regional recipe, changing as desired and making it their own. Such was the case with dessert prepared by Malinda Hudson.
"I grew up in Fairview, Kentucky, and later moved to Tennessee," she said. "This recipe originated from Knoxville relatives and with some changes, I turned it into Middle Tennessee Coffee Cake."
Some cooks just get a reputation for making good food, including computer sciences professor Eugenios Patsalides, who is Greek and made his version of Greek salad for the potluck.
A baklava he's made for other college functions earns raves.
And then there are recipes that get passed through families, thus creating another type of richest, such as the sweet potato casserole brought by Meg Burnley.
"My mama passed it to me and I'm going to pass it to Scott," she said, referring to her son.
Last week's potluck was a celebration of diversity on campus and was hosted by the Diversity Learning committee.
