Paula Deen

[Pete]

I just watched an episode where she had her sons on to make snacks for "Poker Night". What a riot!!!! The food they made was all right (won't win any awards), but a few things looked pretty tasty. As for using prepackaged food stuffs. I really don't have a problem with it as long Food TV keeps that stuff limited to only a few shows. There are plenty of "made from scratch" food shows on the network, I see nothing wrong with a few shows showing how to create tasty foods using these shortcuts. Again, as long as it doesn't become a trend that prevades all shows.

[Cooky]

I enjoy reading these posts about that woman that I don´t know and probably will never come to know as I don´t have access here to the tv series on cooking that she is moderating. The only more famous tv cook in Europe that I know of is Jamie Oliver. But even of him I have never had a chance to watch an edition. In a recent magazine series of cooking I found, however, several recipes of his. They are not vegetarian, which is a minus, but his ideas appear to be very inventive, decorative and easy to make at the same time.

[Metrakay]

I find her entertaining, and a lot of her ideas are good, I just don't like the way she executes some of them. I have a couple of her cookbooks -- and they are the same way, for example, they use a lot of canned refrigerator biscuits. I mostly use her books as idea generators.

She did have an updated version of the Tunnel of Fudge bundt cake recipe that my family had used as a birthday cake for years: the original used frosting mix, and when the dry mix was discontinued, so were our birthday cakes. She used premade frosting. I took her recipe and rewrote it without any mixes, using butter, sugar and chocolate in place of the canned stuff.

When I was a kid, I never noticed the chemical taste from the frosting mix, either I was used to it or the mix didn't have the same flavor as the premixed frosting. The mix-free version is much tastier, and doesn't leave that metallic aftertaste in the mouth that the her version does.

[KeeperOfTheGood]

Hey oh

OMG!!

Who, I mean, WHO has Krispy Kreme doughnuts long enough for them to go stale!!??

I'd love to try that, but, ahhhhh the sin of letting them stale.........

As to the scotch eggs. Interesting idea to pan fry them. Me, my heritage is very blended. What I grew up with and still do, is a meatloaf with pickled eggs through the centre...mmmm good!

Wish I got the Food Network. Don't, and don't think I will anytime soon. Ah, but as to the other great names in this thread..... MY FAV Julia moment.... roast chicken... slippery chicken..... in hand.... out of hand... on the floor... in hand... hand on apron...chicken then prepared..... mmmm a la floor And that Jamie guy, a laugh for sure, and a real testament to the short bus

Oh, and is that what it is that causes that searing burning sensation I get from those flavour packets!? Well!! Thanks, never knew that before.... I don't use them except for the occasional "organic" mixes, and even then only rarely.....

[Kerryclan]

I have tried making fried chicken many different ways because it is one of my family's favorites. I must say that the Paula Dean trick of adding lots of hot sauce to the egg coating mixture sounded weird, but I tried it and OMG! The best fried chicken I ever made! The heat seems to cook out pretty much and leaves a fantastic flavor.

[jenni belle]

I love Paula Deen! She cracks me up. I just love how she has to take a bite out of everthing she makes.....'Just a little bit, no one will even notice'.....and it's this monster sized serving! She just tickles me. I make her version of the gooey butter cakes for birthdays at my office job. Everyone loves them. I think that having like 3 sticks of butter and a pound of powdered sugar might have something to do with it.

[MarkV]

Well I'm obviously in the minority but I can't stand the woman. She's too histrionic and dramatic for my liking and so........I don't want to use any politically incorrect terms regarding refuse that's pale in color, but let's just say she's not going to win a Golden Globe for sophisitication or grace.

I'll never forget the show where she made cracker salad. Crushed up saltine crackers with mayo. Good Lord! I don't want to come off as hoity-toity but cracker salad???? It sounds like something that should be in a Jeff Foxworthy skit.

But the grossest thing of all, and I've seen her do this more than once, is take an inordinately large mouthful of food and stare at the camera as she gnaws on it like a cow's cud. So gross I want to puke.

C'mon guys, someone must agree, there's a difference between down-to-earth charm, (which she has some of), and being undignified and uncouth.

My grandmother was from a farm in the hills of Virginia but she was mannerly and ladylike. I don't want anyone to think I'm being prejuduiced toward the south. It's NOT about the culture. It's about her character.

To be fair, I must admit that some of her recipes are good. But as the old commercial used to say: "Take Human Bites!"

Mark

[Kerryclan]

To be fair, I must admit that some of her recipes are good. But as the old commercial used to say: "Take Human Bites!"

LOL! Mark. How true. She obviously looooves her food. Talking about a mouthful of food in the camera, ever see Lidia? She'll stuff a tennis ball size amount of pasta in her face and then try to talk!
But she is less uncouth than Paula.

I still get a kick out of Paula, though. Maybe because I'm a 6th generation New Yawker and the whole southern thing is alien to me.

[MsSmokey]

I love Paula's antics and her wonderful Savannah, Georgia accent. I like the way she tastes her dishes, too. Be ware of the cook who won't eat his/her own food!! Paula Dean appears to be the real thing.
I'm in my early 50's and I have had to cook for a hungry family my entire life and Paula is the first person to be able to break the kitchen ice with me. She cooks practical food that my family will really eat. Most of her recipes are absolutely wonderful and not so complicated that I can't find the ingredients in our small town grocery stores. Yeah, most southern cooking is a little on the heavy side but being careful when LOADING your plate will put that problem to rest. I'm southern myself and have eaten this way all my life. Sitting in a doctor's office is a rare event for my family and me and you are what you eat... right?
I wish Paula continued success. Her sons are adorable and her show seems to support a family atmosphere that is so needed these days. My husband and I are planning a trip from our home in Alabama soon to visit Savannah and "Lady and Sons" is on our list of places to dine.

MsSmokey - no I don't smoke

[temdem]

As an 11th generation southerner,I must say that Ms.Deen does not represent us all.She is loud and obnoxious.She uses poor grammar,bad manners,and she is not bright.She rarely washes her hands.And,when she does,she rarely uses soap.

[MikeLM]

I'm mixed about Paula. She's kind of fun, but much of her food is way too heavy for us. I saw the Krispy-Kreme bread pudding episode with horror. Wasn't there an entire can of prepared frosting in there, too?

Just reading about the cracker-mayonnaise salad made me queasy. Thank God I didn't catch that episode.It reminds me of a recipe that appeared on Ritz cracker packages for years..."Mock Apple Pie." You took a pie shell, filled it with crushed Ritrz crackers, and sprinkled this with sugar. and then saturated the whole thing with lemon juice. I don't remember whether you baked it or just ate it cold. Needless to say, we never did either.
Speaking of outlandish food, I think many of you would enjoy James Lileks' blog, Gallery of Regrettable Food. It contains many ads, recipes, and other food items from the 40's and 50's. He's a collector of food-related items from that era.

http://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/index.html

He's a columnist for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Take a look. There are a half-dozen separate subjects on his site, all enjoyable.

Mike

[Mezzaluna]

Since starting this thread I've repented of my opinion. She may have started out genuine, but she's gone waaaaaaay commerical. As noted here by others, she's using too many processed ingredients and has become more of an entertainer than cook. I do find her more appealing than not, but the shows aren't what they were. She's more like Sandra Lee than Julia Child now. I see that her two sons are getting a show too. We'll see what that's about.

[cakerookie]

Being from the Southern United States myself I do find her accent just a little way out there. I don't know if shes been instructed by producers to accentuate the accent or not. Show reminds me a little bit of "Gone with the Wind" kitchen style no offense to the original movie or the actors that played in it.

Rgds Cakerookie...aka Rook

[panini]

I just don't get a clean feeling from the show. wiping nose,dogs, what appears to be the same shirt over nad over I respect all those personalities taking money from this stupid new look.

[cakerookie]

Pan a few of those words fall into my adjective book don't they? Be honest I have never watched more than 5 minutes of the show myself. If I watch a cooking show and do not learn something in the first 5 minutes I am flipping the remote.

Rgds Rook