Kitchen

[novamc1]

It could be that when PD started out in television, she worked a little harder at enunciating more clearly for  mass consumption, and these days is simply being her natural talking self. 

[Moonchilde]

I just now came across this photo randomly, not at all looking for anything to do with PD. I can't resist posting it here. No hidden message (from me, anyway).

[suzyQ3]

Quite some time ago, I thought I would check out some of her cookbooks. I went to my local bookstore and thumbed through two or three. I guess I shouldn't have been shocked, given what I had seen her present, but still. So many recipes relied on processed/package foods, sugar, and fat; e.g., her *gooey butter cake that relies on packaged cake mix (and she's a chef?), along with every other conceivable fat and sugar

Sure, anyone can do that. The real skill in cooking is to make delicious foods that are bright and fresh, not heavily-laden with what I listed above.

And I strongly disagree with the poster who implied that hers is true Southern cooking. I have some wonderful Southern cookbooks whose recipes are more aligned with fresh ingredients and dishes made from scratch.

I also disagree with the idea that it's okay to peddle such recipes because we don't eat like that every day. Hmmm....I'm afraid that for too many, they do indeed eat like that on a regular basis.

Perhaps she has changed her ways. I have no clue because I have no intention of watching her.

* Gooey Butter Cake

1 (18 1/4 oz) package yellow cake mix.

• 1 egg.
• 16 tablespoons butter, melted, divided.
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened.
• 2 eggs.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla.
• 1 (16 oz) box powdered sugar.

[Danky]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

I just now came across this photo randomly, not at all looking for anything to do with PD. I can't resist posting it here. No hidden message (from me, anyway).

---

OMG---- this is disturbing on SOOOOOO many different levels. The look on her face, 

the pile of already chewed(?) food, her legs splayed out, her fingers down the guy's throat, the look on her son's face...........Hope she didn't use this as a publicity shot.

[Danky]

I don't think that Paula D. , or any other food entertainer, has any social responsibility

regarding what people eat......if someone chooses to eat a certain way, it is their decision .....

[Ruthie-Roo]

---

suzyQ3 wrote:

Quite some time ago, I thought I would check out some of her cookbooks. I went to my local bookstore and thumbed through two or three. I guess I shouldn't have been shocked, given what I had seen her present, but still. So many recipes relied on processed/package foods, sugar, and fat; e.g., her *gooey butter cake that relies on packaged cake mix (and she's a chef?), along with every other conceivable fat and sugar

Sure, anyone can do that. The real skill in cooking is to make delicious foods that are bright and fresh, not heavily-laden with what I listed above.

And I strongly disagree with the poster who implied that hers is true Southern cooking. I have some wonderful Southern cookbooks whose recipes are more aligned with fresh ingredients and dishes made from scratch.

I also disagree with the idea that it's okay to peddle such recipes because we don't eat like that every day. Hmmm....I'm afraid that for too many, they do indeed eat like that on a regular basis.

Perhaps she has changed her ways. I have no clue because I have no intention of watching her.

* Gooey Butter Cake

1 (18 1/4 oz) package yellow cake mix.

• 1 egg.
• 16 tablespoons butter, melted, divided.
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened.
• 2 eggs.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla.
• 1 (16 oz) box powdered sugar.

---

That's an old recipe.  She has a newer, lighter one in her book, Paula Deen Cuts the Fat (2015), page 328.  Bobby Deen also has a lighter version (I don't have his cookbooks handy right now.  But the recipe is on the FN web site.).  Both recipes call for boxed cake mixes as a base (I'm sure one could easily whip up something by scratch as a replacement.  I don't see why it wouldn't work, but then, I'm not a certified/trained chef.).  I think they suggested that route as a shortcut, as many benefit from having quicker, easier ways to get the dish made.  I've not yet made a gooey butter cake of any kind, regardless of whose recipe it is.    I just might try one, especially Paula's.

[suzyQ3]

---

@Danky wrote:

I don't think that Paula D. , or any other food entertainer, has any social responsibility

regarding what people eat......if someone chooses to eat a certain way, it is their decision .....

---

I would say that of course neither she nor any other "food entertainer" has any LEGAL responsibility. But I do wish that those who peddle high-caloric, high-fat, less than healthy foods did think about the increasing rates of obesity and disease  -- for example, Type2 diabetes -- that can be linked to such a lifestyle. They can and do influence folks.

Again, as I said in my post,  I know nothing about the Paula Deen of 2016.

[SharkE]

Does she still have a magazine?

[wagirl]

You know, I tried to watch her yesterday and just HAD to change the channel. She was touting her clothing line and she just says stuff that I'm sure she doesn't realize she shouldn't be saying in this day of the PC police. I liked her  TV show but her in person for hours at a time is way more than I can handle and I wonder if it's way more than she can handle too. I don't eat her food or cook her recipes, too much stuff in it that I can't handle. And she really doesn't have the knowlege to talk about her clothing line except that is comfortable. Obvious she is a rookie doing this and good for her for spreading her wings. Just not a huge fan.

[Ruthie-Roo]

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Danky wrote:

I don't think that Paula D. , or any other food entertainer, has any social responsibility regarding what people eat......if someone chooses to eat a certain way, it is their decision .....

---

@Danky  I agree.  If I go to McDonald's and eat a Big Mac, a large fries, an apple pie, and a chocolate shake, should I blame Ronald McDonald?  Should I blame the company? No one is forcing me to eat that, or anything else.  My "diet" is my responsibility, not anyone else's.