Oyster-, wine-lovers: unite in Durham

Tonight at 7 p.m., Durham's Blu Seafood is reprising its popular "Oysters and Bubbles" wine dinner. Each of the four courses will be paired with a sparkling wine. The cost is $45.

On Oct. 1, chef Tim Lyons will host a Hurricane Party on Blu Seafood's back deck. Lyons -- an evacuee of Hurricane Wilma, a Category 5 storm that hit South Florida in 2005 -- will cook the cuisine of those areas hardest hit by these storms: fried plantains, alligator sausage and shellfish gumbo. A portion of the proceeds will go to disaster relief. To make a reservation for either event, call 286-9777.

Chanterelle cuisine

Chanterelle lovers have until Friday to submit their best chanterelle recipe at MarxFoods.com, an online company that sells specialty foods from fennel pollen to huckleberries. The author of the best recipe will win two pounds of those delicious mushrooms, plus 25 hexagon-shaped, biodegradable plates.

For contest rules or to see entries, go to www.marxfoods.com.

Food for thought

Cookbook author Debbie Moose, who writes our monthly Sunday Dinner column, will speak about food writing and signing books at a Knightdale library at 2 p.m. Sept. 27.

Moose has written "Fanfare: a Playbook of Great Recipes for Tailgating or Watching the Game at Home," and "Deviled Eggs: 50 recipes from Simple to Sassy."

The event is scheduled for the East Regional Library, 946 Steeple Square Court. To register, call 217-5300.

The Food Nanny

Speaking of cookbook authors, Liz Edmunds, author of "The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner: Easy Family Dinners For Every Day of the Week," will be speaking at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 15 at Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh.

For more information, call 828-7912 or go to www.quailridgebooks.com.