Paula Deen (http://www.pauladeen.com/) is a moving target
I've been thinking about writing about something I'm calling Backlash Cuisine.
Backlash or Reactionary Cuisine is epitomized by the Paula Deen of around 3 years ago, and still alluded to by her. She shows you how to cook things that are guaranteed to kill you over time because "It's so stinkin' good." I call it reactionary because while much of the US is becoming aware of what a dramatic difference in their health they can make by eating a healthier diet, there seems to be an immature feeling pushback that's gaining traction (sorry for the mixed metaphor - I do love them).
Examples are the increasing size of restaurant meals. It used to be just fast food places, then Denny's jumped in and now we have well known chain restaurants doing it (how high can you stack that hamburger?). This site has a hit parade of meals with really scary calorie, fat and salt counts:
The 20 Worst Restaurant Meals in America
http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/20-worst-restaurant-foods-america
It completely underscores that restaurants do not have your health in mind when they design their menu. They just want it to taste really good. I am so looking forward to having calorie counts printed on the menu like they do now in New York. We're starting to see it in California and it's pretty eye opening.
But it's one thing for a restaurant to slip in calories, it's quite another when you do it to yourself.
Paula Deen is the shining example of death by butter.
Things like (no urls, I refuse):
Fried butter balls
Deep fried bacon wrapped mac and cheese
And I will add the url for the donut burger because it's just so appalling:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv8yEMRDe_w
It's using donuts instead of hamburger buns and she didn't slice the donut, no it's TWO donuts.
The website Serious Eats has a growing set of pages entitled Paula Deen is Trying to Kill Us
(Googling that phrase is pretty funny too)
http://www.seriouseats.com/2007/04/paula-deen-is-trying-to-kill-u.html
But while looking up the links I notice the dates seem a little old. I first heard her on Wait, wait, Don't Tell Me on NPR. Now that interview is relatively recent, so I know she still thinks "it's so stinkin' good" but these days she seems a little slimmer. (She's also utterly charming - she'd make a great assassin.)
Googling for Paula Deen weight loss reveals this amusing and slightly alarming video of her pants falling off after showing her now slimmer bum to the audience.
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto/archives/2009/02/paula_deen_show.php
I do wish her well and hope that she survives her success.
