Food - Paul Dean

N

NY25

Cathlete
So, in light of the recent thread on the American diet, and just had to share what was the most appalling thing I think I've ever seen Paula Dean make. Now granted, none of her food is healthy, but this just takes the cake, especially when one considers how many people watch her and then make her food.

So, this weekend I caught the last five minutes of her show and this is what she made: she made a macaroni and cheese casserole (I assume full of tons of cheese and butter). She refridgerated it so it got firm. Then she cut it into pieces and this is where it really gets scarey. She wrapped each of the pieces in bacon. Then dredged them in flour AND bread crumbs. And then......you guessed it - she DEEP FRIED IT!!!!!

I couldn't believe it. I wonder if the "meal" comes with a life insurance policy and a free ride to the cardiac unit and your local hospital. And this is what America will then think is the way to eat.

Frightening!!
 
It is frightening. She really should be banned. Our friend went on a tour of her restaurant in GA, and she has an entire refrigerator full of butter!
 
WOW-the fried maccaroni sounds a little heavy! My mom is really into Paula Deans recipes-and they are mighty tasty!i think if you can stick to eating stuff in moderation why not enjoy some good tasting food every once in awhile.;-)
 
IMO there is nothing wrong with ANY food so long as it is eaten in moderation. The problem is that most don't understand the meaning of the word moderation and OVER-DO it most of the time. This macaroni dish sounds like a heavenly TREAT to me but certainly not an every day meal. :)
 
Lordy, from the looks of Paula Dean I would summize that she eats a lot of her food! I have to agree that it is extremely unhealthy eating, even in small quantities. Gross, gross, gross.

X
 
My mother just told me she saw her on Larry King and she admitted to smoking 1 and 1/2 packs of cigarettes a day!
Not good!

Gin
 
I saw her make bread pudding from Krispy Kreme doughnuts. She used two dozen glazed doughnuts and smothered them in butter and sweetened condensed milk, among other things. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! My arteries clogged just watching her make it.
 
I saw Paula on Tv and someone asked her why she cooks with so much fat & butter and she said Honey I'm your cook not your Doctor. This being said I take her recipes and modify them with a lot less fat.


Susan
PS I really like her so she could stand to cut some fat out OK!!!
 
MAN that doesn't even sound good to me...it sounds like it would be too rich! I have acid reflux and I would expect to be miserable if I ate even a small amount of that mac and cheese dish. I stopped watching her about a year ago when she made a pie called "sugar" pie. I would have to look up the recipe, but it was primarily sugar and flour for the filling I think....the results were even a milky white color...I thought "SUGAR PIE????" Jeez! I remember watching the show and how she made that pie and I think my jaw was on my chest. I couldn't believe it. I like watching Everyday Italian, but alot of her recipes are full of butter too, and let's not even delve into Barefoot Contessa. I love watching the cooking aspect...it's just interesting to me how they compose the meals, but I think all of their recipes require major overhauls to be healthy.
 
I love Food Network and often get ideas when I watch. But I wouldn't know how to even begin cleaning up Paula Dean's recipes and come out with anything remotely resembling what I am trying to copy. I watch her the same way I would view a bad automobile accident.....I can't help but look although I am horrified by what I see.:eek:
 
In her defense . . .

You must make the adjustments to any recipe to fit them to your own personal nutrition plan.

She has had a few episodes where she has reduced her fat content tremendously.

Remember she is from the South where "rich" foods are very prevalent and the "comfort foods" she makes are what "made" her.

She has many ideas, I just adapt them !
 
the timing is too funny on this post, as I was just catching the tail end of Paula Dean just yesterday ... and I was thinking the SAME thing! My goodness, but everything she makes is LOADED with fat, sugar, oil, and butter! I know the saying is that these kinds of rich foods are the most flavorful and treatful. But I think that's just a matter of taste and habit, as for me, I think all that stuff just MASKS the REAL flavor of food. When you clean things up, you get to enjoy the untouched, natural flavor of things, which are quite delicious if given the chance to stand on their own.

I wish the food network would have more healthy, even vegetarian, cooking shows ... as that is another issue for me .... once every few months a show might do a "special" vegetarian episode. How about a show that is ALL vegetarian? And done by someone who takes you out to the garden to pick the produce, and maybe gives natural food tips, etc.
 
>I wish the food network would have more healthy, even
>vegetarian, cooking shows ... as that is another issue for me
>.... once every few months a show might do a "special"
>vegetarian episode. How about a show that is ALL vegetarian?
>And done by someone who takes you out to the garden to pick
>the produce, and maybe gives natural food tips, etc.

The network (as all networks do) is trying to appeal to the masses. They need as many people as possible to watch their show in order for it to be a success. Let's face it, vegetarians are the minority in this country. The show probably would not succeed for this reason as there would not be enough people interested in watching it. By the same token, I have to wonder if there is a cooking show that focuses on eating HEALTHY? Not vegetarian, not clean...just basically HEALTHY?? Probably not! It is unfortunate but true.
 
I do think a veggie cooking show could succeed on Food Network.

But IMHO, Alton Brown is the man - although I have to admit I'm shocked about what I see him and his buddies eating while Feasting on Asphalt! Ugh! Grits with melted head cheese?

Or the episode when they ate barbecued beef tips on buttermilk panckes?

It's just homemade fast food!

Susan L.G.
 
Emeril likes butter, too, and pork fat (it rules, you know!), and he's gained a LOT of weight in the last few years. One of the chefs on the Food Network who looks like he works out is the "Dinner Impossible" guy.
 
Great idea "beautyandgrace". I would watch it. I do watch Everyday Italian and the Barefoot Contessa. I agree that Ina uses too much oil and butter, but generally her recipes are easily modified, as she uses them for the sauteeing or other cooking processes. It's generally easy to adapt her recipes. Paula's just over the top. Her recipes are butter. And I agree, too, that Emeril is the same way. I can't stand watching him. Even Rachel Ray - this weekend she made some kind of burgers and she filled the pan with "EVOO" to cook them in. yuck. I think if they got the right person, with one of those goofy over-the-top personalities, they could sell a healthier program. Oh, well.
 
I agree that 99% of the cooking on food network TV is far from healthy, but I watch simply to get new ideas that I can modify . . . and I envy the beautiful kitchens they work in. I love the Barefoot Contessa's kitchen, not to mention her garden and her home!

On a lighter side, check out Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger . . . it's a little better. We should start an email campaign and send a bunch of requests for "clean" or vegetarian cooking shows - who knows, they might come up with something.

Mo
 
I always say, if you want to eat healthy, pop open a can of tuna, a bag of greens, chop up some veggies and fruits and call it a day.Eating healthy to me, means keeping it as simple as possible. Watching cooking shows is entertainment. And frankly, on the rare occasion when I cook or bake I choose comfort foods and yummy baked goods-otherwise like I said before, pop open that can of tuna, and grab an apple.
:)

I love the Foodnetwork! I do not come down like a ton of bricks on any of these cooks. Paula Deen's story is a good one, came out of an abusive marriage with no money and has built an empire. You and your fried macaroni and cheese go girl! And as one of the posters said, she is from the south, that is how alot of these people eat, right or wrong. We are not perfect either for goodness sake-or at least I am not perfect!:)
I watch in horror as Sandra Dee makes some of the most disgusting looking dishes ever, complete with cocktails, but I love how she matches everything on the set and her table-scapes are very cool. I get great ideas.
I love to watch all the "road trip" shows, true, I personally cannot imagine eating some of the rich food they find, but its cool to see how these little diners have lasted forever and are a part of history.

Oh, and the network does have healthier shows, and recipes, "Calorie Commando" comes to mind, and there is another one too, I forget the name. But those aren't fun to watch (at least for me!)
One more thing: Paula Deen has a receipe for a standing rib roast that has become a holiday favorite in our family! It is simply amazing, and no, there isn't a stick of butter in sight!:)
 
>She made a macaroni and cheese
>casserole (I assume full of tons of cheese and butter). She
>refrigerated it so it got firm. Then she cut it into pieces
>and this is where it really gets scarey. She wrapped each of
>the pieces in bacon. Then dredged them in flour AND bread
>crumbs. And then......you guessed it - she DEEP FRIED IT!!!!!

She must have stock in some drug company or medical device company!

Sad thing is, there are probably people out there who would use this as a regular addition to their diet, rather than as a 'once-in-a-blue-moon' splurge (and even for a splurge, it's nasty!)
 
>Lordy, from the looks of Paula Dean I would summize that she
>eats a lot of her food! I have to agree that it is extremely
>unhealthy eating, even in small quantities.

I'm always amazed that people WANT to get recipes and eating advice from someone who is obviously suffering from a surfeit of calories (that's my P.C. way of putting it!)

I think I'll submit a recipe to her:
Mix one container lard (Crisco for we veg*ns!), 2 cups sugar, 1 jar jam of choice, and freeze. (I just made that up...please nobody try it!)
 
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