Paula Deen (trust me, it's gross)

Here's some good old fashioned lovin' from the oven deep fryer:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recip e/0,,FOOD_9936_36918,00.html

What did y'all expect? XD 

 

we notice the frying down south, also.  My daughter said she tried to order a veg in a little cafe, and got corn, but all they had was fried!

I love Paula Deen as an entertainer.  Seems like she's lost some weight recently.  Her cooking style........not for me, ever.  Also her hubby could stand to lose a few pounds.

I sort of wonder if she actually eats like that herself, when off stage and doubt it or she'd be huge.  I think as long as it 'sells' she will probably continue to cook this way.  A lot of her things make me a little queasy just thinking about them.  TV shows, magazines..........she must be making a fortune on all this.

and her restaurant has been and continues to be extremely popular.

jharmon, it's not a more-is-better thing for you and me, because we wouldn't eat it.  but apparently people are eating this crap.  they must tell themselves something!

I like Paula Dean.  I've eaten at her restaurant and made several of her recipes and loved them all.  Some of her stuff does look gross to me but butter and oil aren't ingredients that turn me off.  I watch her occasionally but usually am not home during the day. As with an cook/chef there are some recipes that look great and others I'm pretty sure I would hate.  There's a lot of fried stuff down here of course and actually I love most of it but don't eat it all that often.  So many things just taste better fried!  Anyway her restaurant is always packed so I know I'm not the only one who likes her food. 

I frickin love Paula.  You know she's making something delicious because she eats everything she cooks.  Rachel Ray just tries a bite but when the camera stops rolling, Paula's still going at it.  I don't think I could eat anything she makes while I'm dieting she does go pretty far with them saturated fats but it all looks so good. 

I've had the fried stuffed potato.  It, sadly, is good.  But, Paula drives me nuts!! My fiance, however, loves her . . . maybe it is because his theory is that everything tastes better fried or using pork fat.  Ick.  :)

Na', don't be hatin' y'all. She's country, bless her heart, just like me. But there ain't no Southerner I was related to ever cooked and/or ate stuff like that! Not unless you count the pork fat that we just love to put in our greens and beans. That's what I'm talkin' about! That's some good eatin'.

Y'all are funny.

Her show was on when I was at the gym the other day, and I couldn't help but stare in amazement at whatever greasy thing she was making while I was sweating up a storm! Kinda weird/funny/ironic. Luckily I was listening to music on my headphones so I didn't have to hear her voice!

I like her show a lot. Even though her stuff is often absurd, sometimes even bordering on grossly fat-ass-tic (I mean, comeon, every recipe starts with a cup of either butter, sour cream, regular cream, or oil!) she seems really maternal and funny and whenever I miss my mama I plop down for an hour with Paula and although it's not the same... it's kind of like spending the afternoon in the kitchen with a really sweet aunt or grandmom or something. I guess I watch it more for her personality than the food.

Same for the Barefoot Contessa, anyone watch that? Every episode has some thinly plotted excuse for whatever Ina Garten is making, as though if she just woke up and decided to spend the day baking it might be wasteful! One of my favorites was when she made a whole dinner for her friends, and you think she's going to take it over to their house because she packs it up, and then they just came and picked it up and left! Hilarious. Also, her clearly platonic but still sort of sweetly sweetheart-ish relationship with her husband Jeffrey is hilarious. And all of her grizzled elderly-statesmen-of-the-J.Crew-model-lineup assortment of gay male friends. Seriously, so much entertainment to be derived from an afternoon with the Food Network.

emily:  great summarizing of Barefoot Contessa, very funny.  Yeah, I noticed the same.  No one packs up her food as often as she does, taking it here and there.  But I think I have more of her recipes than anyones.  Loved her potato salad with strong dill flavor,  different, but great.   Have a beef stew recipe with red wine I want to make one of these days.

yes, you can't help but love Paula.  Did anyone ever see her stick her tongue in her chocolate fountain?  so funny.......except I'm germ conscious and after she invited everyone up to try it.

I do worry about these gals, with their extra weight and hope they don't end up with health problems of any sort.

Fried stuff tastes great, people. You can't deny it. Now a velveeta-drenched hot dog with butter sauce? I don't know about that. But to each his own. And everything in moderation for goodness sakes.

Yeah, Paula Deen is not for the Calorie Counters but I made her Double Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake for the Superbowl Game.  It was so delicious (as you would expect).  I had a small piece and took the leftovers to work the next day for those who want to take their calorie chances.  Since starting Calorie Counters in June, my deep fryer has been pretty quiet.  I miss it but I know it's a unhealthy relationship that I had with fried foods.  Paula has no such qualms.  I try not to watch...it's too painful.

Original Post by mrsj:

Yeah, Paula Deen is not for the Calorie Counters but I made her Double Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake for the Superbowl Game.  It was so delicious (as you would expect).  I had a small piece and took the leftovers to work the next day for those who want to take their calorie chances.  Since starting Calorie Counters in June, my deep fryer has been pretty quiet.  I miss it but I know it's a unhealthy relationship that I had with fried foods.  Paula has no such qualms.  I try not to watch...it's too painful.

Don't take offense, but I'm glad I don't work in your office; I may not be able to resist the temptation, hehe. My office has its share of subversive saboteurs, so I have to avoid the breakroom because I never know what one of my coworkers has so thoughtfully brought in to share. :)

I actually had a coworker pop a bag of popcorn yesterday, unfold a napkin across my desk, and pour some popcorn on it. Like, she didn't even ask! She just put it there! Oh well...it was the full fat kind, but I ate it anyway.

At least it wasn't Paula doing it. Knowing her, she would have found a way to add lard, butter, and heavy cream into my popcorn, then she would have rolled it up in a ball and fried it!

It's not that I don't think she's charming, warm, or sweet. The woman just needs a book on nutrition. You can make good food without butter and lard in excess. I make tasty Southern-style foods (being with a Southern man, I make collard greens and bake sweet potatos, and roast a lot of meats), but they aren't like hers. She hasn't yet discovered herbs and spices. Butter isn't always better.

And I love Ina Garten. I have and older woman friend who has lots of fabulously dressed gay friends and is always having dinner parties with the full table scapes, never ending wine, and Enya playing in the background. Everyone wears slacks and sweaters and waxes poetic about politics and philosophy. I like to imagine that's basically how our favorite Contessa gets down when the cameras are off. I also like to imagine that's how I'll entertain once I get a bigger home and the right friends! The last time I had a wine tasting party, I ended up having to explain that it was wine tasting not chugging, and spent the next day Spot Shoting my carpet.

i find paula annoying. i hate how she laughs insanely  for every bite she takes.

but then again, i dont realy know her. eh.

Original Post by dinarly:

Brown got rid of the accent, as many other people have, so why doesn't she?

If she wanted, she could find authentic recipes using local ingredients, such as poke salad, sassafras, crowder peas, the small green peppers, etc., and game such as squirrel and possum, rather than the manufactured monstrosities she concocts.

why does she have to? she must fake-out her voice in order to please a few?

whether annoying or not, she shouldnt have to change her accent. imo.

I freaking LOVE PAULA.  I want her to adopt me.  :)  I haven't made any of her recipes but every time she's on I try to watch her.  Some of her stuff just looks so freaking good.  A lot of it is just way over the top but she's so much fun to watch

All of you who are balking at this concept of frying things are making me laugh. I go to the Indiana State Fair almost every year and you know what they fry...anything and everything. They fry Hostess snack cakes, that I have never tried...they fry oreos, bananas, ice cream, they even had fried pepsi last year (do not ask me how they pulled that one off)

I have been to the South many many times for vacations and such, and i'm actually headed down to her neck of the woods for spring break this year and while some of the home cooking isnt so healthy for you most of it is not all bad. I do plan on visiting The Lady and Sons in Savannah when I get the chance to. She is an entertainer, and while she might go overboard some of the stuff she makes, especially the seafood recipes, I wouldn't mind eating. You could also doctor a few of her recipes pretty easily and end up with a healthier alternative that tastes pretty good i'll bet.

 

Don't hate Paula Deen!

you know what, this whole thread is a little absurd.  if you don't like the cooking, don't watch the show or buy the cookbooks.  Clearly plenty of other people do like her food, her personality and her accent and she shouldn't have to change any of it.

 

 

thanks you so much mgrondin....Paula Deen once said on Oprah, I'm your cook not your cardiologist!!! 

And to the person who said that is just the way they cook in the south...I'll have you know that yes that WAS the way WE used to cook but so many southerners have learned to impart flavor without fat, cal, etc that that comment was just absurd..and if people choose to still make greens with fatback, then that is their body and their heart...no one told you to do the same

and to those who don't like her accent...Who told you yours was so much better...because trust you prob do have one...and no one is making you watch her show or listen to her speak

Any cook could learn from Paula...try to look past all the butter and find ways to make your own cooking taste better, which is all she is trying to do...

 YEAH I"M A PAULA DEEN FAN!!!  I'd quit my job to go work for her because she seems like a fun loving, happy person...