Paula's Odds and Ends 10

[may2]

Emmy Nominations

OUTSTANDING LIFESTYLE/CULINARY HOST

GIADA DE LAURENTIIS, as HOST
Giada At Home Food Network


RICK BAYLESS, as HOST
Mexico One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless PBS


NATE BERKUS, as HOST
The Nate Berkus Show SYNDICATED


PAULA DEEN, as HOST
Paula's Best Dishes Food Network


SANDRA LEE, as HOST
Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee Food Network

[may2]

Paula opens restaurant in Joliet

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entert...,6524554.story

[may2]

Home for Dinner with Jamie Deen

Series Premiere: Saturday, June 16th at 10:30am ET/PT

For Jamie Deen, it's all about food and family. As a husband, father, and cook, Jamie puts his personal and professional skills to the test to create great family dinners. Jamie always welcomes a helping hand, whether his son Jack joins to make dessert or Grandma Ginny (aka Paula Deen) comes over to help put the finishing touches on the meal. In the Deen family, there's nothing more fun that being Home for Dinner.

[wicker762]

Giada! Yummy!

Seriously, this wonderfrul woman has some great things to offer all of us who enjoy meal making. Despite the fact that she is a growing food personality she behaves like an everyday person and that is pretty cool. The way she cooks tates so complex (when you re-create at home) but is still so simple. I like that it's mostly based on simple food products. There is no pomp or attitude to Giada's cooking (at least what I've seen) and I can appreciate that.

[may2]

Family cooking, his own way

Without a doubt, Jamie Deen loves his mama's cooking.

Southern hospitality has made the Deen family famous. Not that they see it that way. They're just a close-knit family sharing their love of food.

But after 23 years in the restaurant business, Paula Deen's eldest son is doing things his own way.

While he'll probably never give up mama's pork chops, the 44-year-old is cooking for his own family now. Edamame is always on hand, and broccoli is a kitchen staple. He's even been known to use vegetarian sausage when making gumbo.

Since 1989, he's run The Lady and Sons restaurant with his mama and brother, Bobby, in Savannah, Ga. He's also co-authored four cookbooks.

Opening the door on his family life, he hosts "Home For Dinner With Jamie Deen." Shot on Tybee Island, Ga., the 10-episode series premieres at 9:30 a.m. June 16 on Food Network.

He lives in Savannah, Ga., with his wife, Brooke, and sons, Jack, 5, and Matthew, 1.

Q. How old were you when you started catering with your mom?

A. You know, my first job was when I was 16. I worked at a restaurant in the car auction house in Albany, Ga. It was a car auction, and they did it once a week. They had a little grill. I was in charge of cheeseburgers and taking out trash. I've always cooked at home. . . .

I started with Mom when I was 21. My brother, on the other hand, the first job he ever had was with our family. He's always been front of the house. I've always been in the cooking.

Q. You've spent more than two decades working with family. Any tips?

A. The hardest part, and the best part, is working with family. You have a tendency to talk with family like you wouldn't with strangers. . . .

My advice? Patience and understanding is paramount to your success. My parents didn't see eye to eye. They were together for 27 years and they split up. . . . We claimed bankruptcy twice before I was in high school. We never went without, but we never had a lot of extra stuff, either. We were such a close family, that's what has allowed us to stay together.

The first five years of my business, I would never want to repeat that.

Q. When you started dating Brooke, you cooked for her?

A. Of course, I cooked for Brooke. Even the night I asked Brooke to marry me. She loves the egg salad I make. This speaks to what a simple life we lead: I made egg salad and toast points, and I made a berry salad, I put the ring on top.

Q. Egg salad might not work for everyone. What recipe should everyone learn to cook for a date?

A. The classic recipe, I've begun seeing it everywhere, is a roasted chicken with root vegetables. You cannot mess it up. You can go high-end with vegetables or just do potatoes and carrots. It makes a beautiful meal and it's foolproof, American and comfort.

Q. There's been lots of talk about your mom's diabetes diagnosis. How are you addressing healthy eating?

A. Our family is pretty much out there. We hope to lead by example in all the things we do.

As far as our food, it's kind of a generational thing. My mother doesn't cook like my grandmother did, but she's still in that traditional southern way. My brother and I, long before she came out about her health, we're doing it different.

We've been here eight years, and I've never fried one thing in this house. . . . As far as Mom's health, all Bobby and I want is for Mom and Dad to be healthy. We, of course, support her 100%.

Q. Family dinner is a focus of the show. How did becoming a parent change things?

A. Now I'm cooking for a 5-year-old, and Matthew is on table food. I got such a taste of healthier eating once Jack went to table food, because I didn't want to prepare two dinners. . . .

I was probably around 250 pounds when Jack was born. Now I'm about 210. I've lost 40 pounds in the last four to five years. That's just through a steady, healthy diet. Nothing to do with Mom. I suspect my boys will cook differently even than I do.

Q. Any rules for recipes on the show?

A. I really don't. . . . It's what would I feed my family, as simple as that.

Q. Does Southern cooking seem to be getting more attention, especially giving it a healthy spin?

A. It's funny, you don't ever hear people say "Midwestern food" or "Kansas food." It just doesn't have the same weight that southern food encompasses, seven or eight states and generations. . . .

It used to be pork on top of pork, cream. It goes back a generation. Now there's just not enough time in the day. It's like preparing Thanksgiving dinner every day. Who has the time?

It's also education. . . . As a responsible adult, especially as a dad, I'm just not going to put bacon grease and ham hock in my greens for Jack. I'm just not going to do it.

Who wants to go through the last third of their life with health challenges? Life's hard enough.

Q. What are the foods you just can't resist?

A. If my mom is going to continue to cook her New Year's Day meal, I'm never going to give that up. Mac 'n' cheese, cream corn; she fires pork chops for me, and I'm never going to give that up.

Q. What's always in your kitchen?

A. Edamame. It is Jack's favorite little snack, also one of Matthew's favorite things. I've always got pasta, broccoli, mozzarella cheese, fresh fruit. . . . We pretty much shop every day. If I'm going to cook fish or meat, I'm going to buy it the day I cook it.

Q. Must-have gadget?

A. I can't live without a cutting board. It drives Brooke crazy because it clutters up her kitchen counter, but I have a big wooden block that I use. The Boos (John Boos & Co.), nice big, heavy boards.

Q. What do people ask you most often?

A. What's funny, what I hear more often than anything else is people love my mom and they take inspiration from her. Mom's just one of those people. . . . They never hesitate to share that. I think they think they're part of our family.

Q. Do you ever mind sharing your mom?

A. I used to. I remember early when my mom started the media career and Bobby and I were at the restaurant, he and I both had some anxiety when she was gone. We leaned on her for so many things. I just missed my mom. Paula Deen is not my mom. . . . A young man said, "I saw your mom at the grocery store, she was in a baseball hat and T-shirt." I said, "That's what she looks like." When you see her on TV, that's her disguise.

I'm super proud, and I don't ever feel that way now. . . . I think that my mama is famous. But she hasn't changed at all. We've found that as we have these different opportunities, nothing in our little family has changed. People's perceptions of us have changed. We started too late with too little to change. We'll never consider ourselves famous.

http://www.jsonline.com/features/foo...157028695.html

[may2]

Paula Deen game show

After tackling hams and diabetes awareness, Paula Deen wants in on the cooking competition business.

The TV chef, who specializes in high-calorie, Southern comfort food, is shopping around a half-hour game show called “Food Chain,” according to reports.

It is said to be a knockoff of a hit Italian TV show called “Cuochi e Fiamme,” in which whole families whip up meals in an effort to win increasing amounts of cash.

Deen will act as host on “Food Chain.”


http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainmen...#ixzz1xrfKiUW5

[Sal Monella]

Originally Posted by may2

Paula Deen game show

After tackling hams and diabetes awareness, Paula Deen wants in on the cooking competition business.

The TV chef, who specializes in high-calorie, Southern comfort food, is shopping around a half-hour game show called “Food Chain,” according to reports.

It is said to be a knockoff of a hit Italian TV show called “Cuochi e Fiamme,” in which whole families whip up meals in an effort to win increasing amounts of cash.

Deen will act as host on “Food Chain.”


www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/paula_deen_game_show_kdQ6rqmFrIShOAjtv1odCO#ixzz1x rfKiUW5

Dear God .... why?

[may2]

She on the cover of the new People.

Paula Deen: How I Lost 30 Lbs.



Nearly six months after announcing she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, the Food Network star, 65, opened up her Savannah home – and fridge – to PEOPLE, and revealed how she devised a slim-down strategy that has worked for her.

"I do think differently now" about food, Deen says in this week's cover story. "I'm more aware."

So instead of regular meals with her favorite trigger foods (so long, mashed potatoes), the Southern chef has developed a new-found love for Greek salads and baked fish.

Her focus has paid off: So far, she's dropped 30 lbs. – and counting.

"It took me a couple of years to get to this point," says Deen, who learned she had diabetes almost three years ago and faced harsh criticism when she finally announced her diagnosis in January. "If you make a few small changes, they can add up to big results."

http://www.people.com/people/article...607259,00.html

[SJR]

She looks fantastic!!! Amazing how much difference 30 pounds can make!

[Sal Monella]

[may2]

Paula Deen and Jimmy Carter to co-host fundraising dinner

Savannah celebrity cook Paula Deen and former President Jimmy Carter will co-host a dinner to raise money for the Cancer Coalition of South Georgia, reports the Americus Times-Recorder.

Money raised at the Aug. 25 dinner at the Plains Community Center in Carter’s hometown of Plains, Ga.,will help provide cancer screenings for uninsured and under-insured residents in south Georgia.

Both Deen and Carter are scheduled to discuss how cancer has touched their lives, the newspaper reported.

Tickets are $150 each and only 150 will be sold. A live auction is also planned, the paper reported.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/m...o-co-host.html

[may2]

Paula Deen: Diabetes Diagnosis Hasn't Dented Her Earnings

Paula Deen may be known as the butter queen, but bounce-back queen might be a more appropriate title. It’s hard to think of a worse endorsement for her butter-soaked Southern cooking empire than a Type II diabetes diagnosis. But despite the bad press, her diversified food businesses couldn’t be more healthy.

In the past year her earnings have reached $17 million by our estimates, making her the fourth-highest earning chef on our Forbes list. The diabetes diagnosis padded her bottom line: our sources estimate she’s getting $6 million for a three-year deal shilling for diabetes drug-maker Novo Nordisk.

Partnerships with Walmart for baked goods, Smithfield for hams, and Harrah’s for a growing chain of Paula Deen restaurants at casinos in the South are still going strong. Deen has got her own branded line of nuts, a frozen seafood line, plus a partnership with Springer Mountain chickens. And in June, she announced a new partnership with Nanco (the firm run by the Nanula family of Tops Friendly Markets) to launch her own line, Paula Deen Foods.

Her Southern Cooking Bible, out last October, is a cookbook best-seller. She keeps going on cruises with her fans. And Deen was recently nominated for what would become her third Emmy for her work on “Paula’s Best Dishes.”

“She’s a personality. I think she coated and deep-fried and ate Betty Crocker,” says restaurant consultant Clark Wolf, who is critical of the food she serves and its effect on health. “Make no mistake, she’s really good television.”

Instead of turning around her cooking, Deen’s new publicists turned her bad health news into an opportunity to advocate for moderation: Deen has posed for the covers of both Prevention and People magazines, showing off a 30 pound weight loss that she says is achieved by portion control and cutting back on sweet tea. She’s now offering lighter versions of her favorite recipes. And the cook seems just as sunny as ever. Her explanation for waiting three years to tell the world she had diabetes? She had to come up with a solution to help—you know, the drug deal, y’all.

Not that her decision hasn’t come at some cost. Long-time publicist Nancy Assuncao reportedly quit over Paula Deen’s decision to endorse a diabetes drug. “I can’t make it clear enough that I’m very fond of Paula,” Assuncao told Forbes. “The company took a different direction and it was time for me to leave.”

Notably, Bobby Deen’s cooking show has taken a step away from his mother–it’s called “Not My Mama’s Meals.”

Separately, Deen is facing legal trouble. In March, Lisa Jackson, the long-time manager at Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House, sued Deen’s brother, Bubba Hiers, alleging a pattern of sexual harassment and racism. Deen is also named in the lawsuit.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erincarl...-her-earnings/

[may2]

Paula is scheduled to be on Leno this Friday, October 26.

She doesn't seem to have much to do with her magazine any more.

[may2]

I thought he was still with Katy Mixon.

Bobby Deen getting married

The Deen family is getting bigger.

Savannah’s own Paula Deen announced on her Facebook page Wednesday that her son, Bobby, is engaged to his girlfriend, Claudia Lovera.

“Y’all, please join me in congratulating Bobby on his engagement! Welcome to the family, Claudia!” the proud mama posted underneath a photo of the pair.

Bobby Deen is a cookbook author and host of his own show on The Cooking Channel, “Not My Mama’s Meals.” On the show, he recreates some of his famous mother’s most famous meals with healthy substitutions to cut down on calories and fat.

According to her social media profiles, Lovera is a producer and avid runner in Chicago. According to a 2011 profile by the Savannah College of Art and Design, she is from Caracas, Venezuela, and was at SCAD working toward a master’s degree in fine arts in film and television.

Bobby Deen and his brother Jamie are the “Sons” in Paula Deen’s now world-famous Savannah restaurant, The Lady & Sons. The brothers rose to fame along with their mother as she became a sensation on Food Network and drew legions of fans — some waiting in line for hours — to dine at their Savannah restaurant.

Bobby Deen began working for his mother when he was 18 and had just graduated from high school. He was the delivery man for her home business, The Bag Lady.

When the home-based business turned into The Lady & Sons, Bobby Deen was based in the front of the house, where he took care of customers.

The brothers became stars in their own right.

The result was their own program, “Road Tasted,” where they traveled the country in search of delicious food. With his brother, Bobby Deen has written a series of cookbooks: “The Deen Bros. Cookbook: Recipes from the Road” in 2007; “Y’all Come Eat” in 2008; “Take It Easy” in 2009; and “Get Fired Up” in 2011.

But Bobby Deen stepped out on his own recently with his own TV show and book, “From Mama’s Table to Mine: Everybody’s Favorite Comfort Foods at 350 Calories or Less.”

That led to him appearing as a featured speaker at the 2013 Savannah Book Festival.

Prior to his appearance, Bobby Deen told the Morning News he was proud of the book because it’s the first release he’s done on his own.

“I love my family and enjoy working with them, but it’s nice to do this myself,” he said. “It’s a damn good book.”

Yes, everything the Deens do seems to turn to gold, but Bobby Deen isn’t about to take all the credit for that.

“Without the support and generosity we’ve received from the city of Savannah, this wouldn’t be possible,” he says. “Hopefully the book is useful and people will like it.”

http://savannahnow.com/news/2013-04-...d#.UY6Aq6KsiSo

It says in People he's 43 and she's 27. You can see the age difference in the pic with the article.

[BigRuby]

I thought Katy was so cute, sorry that didn't work out.