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OVER THE TOP Paula Deen's flirtatiousness!!!!!
I think if Paula were a guy grabbing his younger, female guests, we'd all be revolted by the scene. I think she's had to much to drink and isn't a bit funny when she harasses her guests like that.
cake angst
Could it be that for them their reference is grocery store cakes which are so vile that anything delicious must be from a box, because the concept of baking from scratch is outside their known universe?
Mini Foodies
I think if the adults act like it's normal and no big deal to eat something, the kids will happily try it. Parents who "assume" kids won't like nice fresh vegetables or tasty poached fish or yummy liverwurst spread convey to them that there's something wrong with eating those foods.
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Worst Dessert. Ever.
Whenever I get back to the US in summer I love to indulge in strawberry shortcake. mmm. So imagine my horror when I ordered it in Florida and got spongecake with frozen whipped topping, defrosted frozen strawberries and stale vanilla ice cream. I felt like asking for a refund on my air ticket.
OVER THE TOP Paula Deen's flirtatiousness!!!!!
I think if Paula were a guy grabbing his younger, female guests, we'd all be revolted by the scene. I think she's had to much to drink and isn't a bit funny when she harasses her guests like that.
cake angst
Could it be that for them their reference is grocery store cakes which are so vile that anything delicious must be from a box, because the concept of baking from scratch is outside their known universe?
Mini Foodies
I think if the adults act like it's normal and no big deal to eat something, the kids will happily try it. Parents who "assume" kids won't like nice fresh vegetables or tasty poached fish or yummy liverwurst spread convey to them that there's something wrong with eating those foods.
What are your food refrigeration practices?
your refrigeration habits should reflect the climate of your kitchen. When I lived in an un-air conditioned house in the tropics, I refrigerated the bread so it wouldn't go moldy in two days, but in an un-air conditioned house in Austria I didn't need to. I've noticed Northern Europeans seem to have more salmonella problems with eggs, possibly because they are never refrigerated. On the other hand, I never refrigerated my butter in those countries because room temperature was usually kind of cool! I couldn't do that in the tropics. So I think some people refrigerate to prevent spoilage, and other people do so to keep insects away, and it's all right, depending on where you live.
Dining with kids
It drives me crazy when restaurants assume all my kids will eat is fried chicken bits or a hamburger. We travel all over the world and my kids have developed a willingness to try different foods, because that's how they were raised. Generally I emphasize that the purpose of dining with friends and family is to enjoy delightful conversation, so they know they cannot bring books or gameboys. That said, if I know I will be gabbing at length with friends who will not include them in the conversation, I will let them bring a gameboy for use after the meal ends.
Is the grocery store a 'manners free' zone...
When I lived in Austria I had to go grocery shopping on Saturday mornings, and it seemed that the stockboys were always blocking access to the product I wanted. I so wanted to ask them whether the food was there for customers to purchase, or just to look pretty. But they wouldn't have understood the sarcasm.
A Red Velvet Affair
So, is red velvet cake a chocolate cake or not? I don't really know, even though I've eaten in made from a mix a few times.
I remember old recipes using beet juice or tomato juice to add moisture (not really noticeable in the taste) and wondered if that's where the whole "red cake" idea came from.
Eating for Two: Raspberry Leaf Tea
When I had my first child, in Germany, the midwife prescribed raspberry leaf tea post-partum, to encourage the uterus to contract and shrink more quickly. My husband when to the drugstore and bought the tea, which really was just leaves, and I brewed a couple cups a day. It didn't taste great and I don't know if it actually helped, but it was a very common, routine treatment there.
What lunch box did you have - what was in it?
I had a purse lunch box too! It was Josie and the Pussycats,and predictably, the thermos broke right away. I was so sorry when my mom switched to brown bags - I had to carry the same one for about a month. My mom also re-used the tin foil she wrapped my sandwich in (or should I say, half a sandwich - she was obsessed with our weight) all week. She always gave me homemade cookies, but they got smooshed into crumbs, and the crumbs got lost in the wrinkles of the old tin foil. And there's that distinctive, strange smell of lunchboxes that is oddly acrid...
Top 10 ingredients I will never have in my kitchen
You guys are so lucky! I've lived half my life outside the US, and sometimes Cool Whip is as close to whipped cream as I can get. Also, it doesn't melt as fast in tropical heat. And Vegans will eat it. The Splenda stuff is the only sweetener my diabetic kid can use. And canned peas and beans were the only way to find those veggies in some places I lived. I do draw the line on canned berries, though, even when they are they only kind I can find!
Is there life without a microwave?
No one seems to mention my favorite use - steaming vegetables and making baked potatoes. Is there some reason - did I miss a major health warning or something? I also like to buy artisan bread on the weekends, then freeze it and defrost it piece by piece as the week goes along. Also prevents binging on bread!
Gallery of Eggs
Where I live, in Peru, hardboiled quail eggs are considered a suitable snack for school kids to take along to class. They are sold right along side the regular eggs, and are available in organic varieties. In El Salvador no fancy party was completed without hardboiled quail eggs impaled on toothpicks stuck into half a melon, served with thousand island sauce on the side.
A Red Velvet Affair
I agree with everyone who prefers the cooked frosting. That's original to the cake. Here's my favorite recipe, if anyone wants to try it:
FROSTING
1 C milk
5 Tb flour
1 C butter
1 C white ugar
1 tsp vanilla
Boil together milk and flour until thickened. Let stand until cool. Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla. Add milk and flour mix and beat very well. (The longer you beat it the better it gets.)
A Red Velvet Affair
Red Velvet Cake IS a chocolate cake with a reddish color. My late grandmother used to make a red velvet cake and it contained NO red food coloring or beet juice or anything like that. Her recipe has been lost and we haven't been able to duplicate it. It was the best red velvet cake I've ever eaten. Not like todays so called red velvet cakes, with their shocking red color. Her's was red AND chocolate. Wish I could find something akin to her recipe.
Is the grocery store a 'manners free' zone...
i don't get upset when shopping. i expect to be around morons. i just go with the flow. the only thing that kinda bothers me is when guys are with the wife/girlfriend and you can tell they are following you in the ailes. if someone blocks the way i say excuse me. if they ignore me i bump the carriage. if kids are running around and the parent doesn't coral them i have bumped them to. all is far in Aile war. i usually don't mind standing in line as long as the cashier is doing their job. sometimes i am asked to go to a empty line, which i say thank you very much.
Is the grocery store a 'manners free' zone...
well i have 2 small kids one is 5 one is 3. I sometimes am having a bad day. I never blame a store or random strangers for my bad day. BUT sometimes my little buggers are screaming bloody murder yes I know it is annoying I am TRYING to make her stop. I am sorry she is being difficult and it is bothering my ears as well. I promise to always try to be out of your way but sometimes I am not aware I am in your way. I promise never ever to let my child wear roller shoes in the store(i hate them too). I hate when I see a child alone and always wonder what they are thinking when their are bad people in this world.
One last thing as it is "that time" of year even if it is 75% off is it REALLY worth pushing me out of the way?
Is the grocery store a 'manners free' zone...
I am a bagger at a grocery store and here are my pet peaves:
a. When people realize they forgot to get something after they laid all their items out on the belt ready for check out. It's a huge inconvienance to everybody in line who is in a hurry.
b. When a new lane opens, and the last person jumps in right away (The cashiers here were trained that when they open they need to invite the very next person who has not unloaded their stuff yet into their lane.)
c. People not putting their carts away.
d. Parents with children who are never disapplined that run around screaming through the store.
e. When someone's running to get an item and I start bagging it in plastic and theyr'e like "Can I have the rest in paper" after I bagged like almost everything.
A Red Velvet Affair
That sounds like a lot of oil...a cup and a half. You may need to adjust your baking time. Overbaking can dry a cake out. If you are using dark coated pans, cut the bake time by five or so minutes.
A Red Velvet Affair
Hey can somebody please help me! This thanksgiving I decided to make this much talked about cake. And to my dissatisfaction after three tries I've frosted what appears to be a very dense three layered cake that didnt rise very much at all. The texture is like that of a pound cake, while the flavor is good and there was some moisture, the crumb is dry is this the intended flavor and texture. I made this from a traditonal way with the vinegar and baking soda combination almost identical to the receipe above except my recipe also called for 1 teaspoon of vanilla, a cup and a half of vegetable oil and 20 ounces of cake flour. I had never eaten one before while my guest said the flavor was good everyone thought it should have had more moisture. What could I have done wrong?
A Red Velvet Affair
Chari: Red velvet cake is not really a chocolate cake. Though most recipes include a modicum of cocoa, I've rarely encountered a red velvet with a marked cocoa flavor.
Shunafish: To wit, there was no misinformation here. I made no claims anywhere in this article as to the origins of the red in the red velvet. In a follow-up article to address our readers' questions and comments (http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/02/red-velvet-cake-history.html), I did, however, address those origins. What I wrote in that second article seems largely in line with your own thoughts on the subject (re: old-fashioned, non-alkalized cocoa, etc., though I and my research tend to disagree with the claim that red velvet is a direct descendent or another form of Devil's food cake). Regardless, thank you for submitting the link and for your input.
Pjracz10: Unless there is something very unique about your brother's mother-in-law's recipe, I can't imagine why it would be such a challenge. Seems like you should definitely try it some time - the only thing you have to lose is some flour and time, but it seems that you stand to gain much more. :o)
Is the grocery store a 'manners free' zone...
I can relate to almost every pet peeve mentioned above. My boyfriend who is usually very patient, now hates to go shopping. I am handicapped and his help is very much appreciated. I have nerve and muscle loss in my hands and legs. He has actually become outwardly even more patient but he is stuffing his true frustrations. He wants to defend me against people who are shoving past me and blocking me. I have told him we will just have to use this as a way to learn tolerance. However, if someone is just standing there blocking the aisle I will give a firm "excuse me" and they will usually move then. [are they blind, or am I invisable?]
Many people do seem to be extremely rude in grocery or big box stores.
Why can't people use the rules of the road, maybe we should put up signs. Keep your cart to the right of the aisle you are shopping, believe me you will be able to step across to get the items on the other side. Keep your children on the same side of the aisle you are on. Would it hurt to teach your child shopping etiquette? I did and my children behaved nicely and even enjoyed shopping and helping me. When they were little, I think twice we had a child meltdown and I took them outside to the car until they calmed down.
It seems even store managers are so desperate to keep customers they allow any rudeness. I remember years ago if you parked and left your car in a loading zone, you would hear someone say on the loud speaker, would the owner of such and such car, please come move your car or it will be towed.
At times my boyfriend will drop me at the door and then go park, in a handicapped spot and then come into the store, but even if he waited in the car for me what is the problem? I have to have a cart to lean on to walk any distance and I still have to walk out to the car with my purchases.
Please don't abandon your cart at the end of the aisle while you go down the aisle hunting for the items you want! This causes everyone coming down the 2 connecting aisles to have to go around your cart.
OVER THE TOP Paula Deen's flirtatiousness!!!!!
Paula's a real Southern gal......who flirts with men, other women, kids, even pets ......who usually respond by flirting back. I've lived in her community for 30 years and I can say she has been very animated every time I have seen her. The accent is real and many Southerners sound just like her. She and her family are very generous and support many local charitable organizations.
Worst Dessert. Ever.
I worked as a pastry chef at a well known restaurant, and found that not another cook there had ever been taught any pastry skills - not even the executive chef. Before I left, I had to teach him and his sous chef how to make the desserts on the menu because they were planning to replace me with someone off the line. And that is why desserts in most restaurants are iffy!
Worst Dessert. Ever.
went to a snazzy expensive restaurant with some college friends who were in town visiting their parents. We had dinner at her Mom's house, then went to this snazzy place for drinks and dessert.
i've never had a worse creme brulee. the custard part was tasteless, and the carmelized part was about a half inch thick. i was picking it out of my teeth the next day. i expected better from that restaraunt.
A Red Velvet Affair
I remember the first ime I had Red Velvet Cake, I was 9 or 10 years old and my brother's mother-in-law made it for the holidays. It truly was love at first bite. It became my favorite cake heads up. My brother's mother in law told me that it was very difficult to make and at times she had to remake it 2 to 3 times over to get it right? Is this something that anyone has heard of, that it has to have this certain texture or consistency or the whole thing is ruined? She gave me the recipe (still have it) but never made it because of what she said.
A Red Velvet Affair
I really wish a food site as well trafficked as Serious Eats would not continue to advertise mis information.
The origins of the red in this cake come from early American cocoa, not food coloring. The Red Velvet Cake as we know it today is really a Devil's Food Cake in an unrecognizable disguise. Please read further historical information about this cake on the site What's Cooking In America.
While I agree that cakes make with egregious amounts of food coloring, in any color, are shocking to look at, and interesting because of it; I have to, as a baker, call to question, and remind you, the recipe for the RVC of today has no relation to its origins.
This cake that is now fast becoming a trend, is one dimensional in flavor, and not delicious, unless you love white cake that appears red.
OVER THE TOP Paula Deen's flirtatiousness!!!!!
Used to be a Paula fan. Now - not so much. ...
@Chef Jo - I watched Paula for a very short time. I thought "why not know more about southern food??" She lost me the first time she ever used a pre-made biscuit dough. No, ah say no self respecting southern cook would EVA use such a thing! I had a nasty mind bending Shamdra Lee flashback and changed the channel.
When I saw how many shows they've shoveled onto Paula, I wrote them off as Emerilizing.*
* TVFN's habit of waaaay overexposing one or another personality until we can't get away from his or her image.
OVER THE TOP Paula Deen's flirtatiousness!!!!!
Used to be a Paula fan. Now - not so much. Pitiful and sad, as is the entire excuse of a "food" network. If they (the producers,etc.) are truly orchestrating this, then more shame heaped on their heads. She's become a cliche and an embarrassment....bless her heart. She needs to say "NO" to the whole over-the-top behavior thing.
OVER THE TOP Paula Deen's flirtatiousness!!!!!
When I'm single, I'm an incorrigible (and effective) flirt. When I am happily tucked in a monogamous relationship, the idea never crosses my mind.
There's trouble in butterland.
OVER THE TOP Paula Deen's flirtatiousness!!!!!
I met Paula at a book signing, and she was genuinely warm and friendly. She did not personify a genteel southern grandmother nor did she act lewd and obnoxious. She fell somewhere in the middle, sharing funny and sometimes racy stories but nothing in poor taste. She stayed long after the close of the booksigning, just talking in general to a group of us and engaging us in conversation about our different food experiences. She was very charming and at the time, I wished I could have someone like her as my next door neighbor.
I agree that her recent behavior on FN has been outlandish, undoubtedly orchestrated by the powers that be at FN. They needed a BIG personality to replace Emeril Live, complete with his inuendos (playing with sausages, etc.). Enter Paula's Party. Unfortunately, they went way over the top. They exploited her natural tendancy to be a little baudy and went straight for lewd. I use my remote to tune her out, but I can't help but contrast the person I met to this tv personna. Please bring back the old/real Paula.
OVER THE TOP Paula Deen's flirtatiousness!!!!!
I agree with ChelleyD01completely! I can't watch Paula Deen or the Neelys, they are so obnoxious and have absolutely no class!
OVER THE TOP Paula Deen's flirtatiousness!!!!!
I apologize. That someone is on television certainly warrants declarations about their substance use/abuse problems.
OVER THE TOP Paula Deen's flirtatiousness!!!!!
@ccbweb: But could we please, literally in the name of decency, shelve the unnecessary and entirely baseless comments on what substances may or may not be in play? I don't like Paula's Party as a show, personally (though I've seen only a few minutes of it here and there, so that's a sense and not a totally informed opinion). But how on earth would I know whether she were on anything?
No, CCBWEB, we can't shelve the comments. These folks have deliberately sought fame. They're fair game. And besides that, if you've only seen a few minutes of it, how would you know?
Get off the soapbox (again), please.
OVER THE TOP Paula Deen's flirtatiousness!!!!!
Though she's often completely over the top and bordering on obnoxious, I have to agree with Jerzee Tomato. I only wish I could be as well off, heavily made up and as surrounded by young, attractive men when I'm her age. Hell, I'm twenty-three and have none of that going for me, it's something I aspire to.
That being said, sometimes when I'm suffering from horrible boredome, I'll watch Paula's Party and I'll literally have to flip the channel because she embarrasses me so badly. It makes me cringe for her, so I'd rather not watch.
OVER THE TOP Paula Deen's flirtatiousness!!!!!
Has anyone seen the episode where she cooks with Jimmy Carter? Before the cooking starts, he gives her a tour of his childhood home, and she kept commenting that she wanted to see his bedroom...commenting in a flirty way, like when a girlfriend wants to see her new boyfriend's room. I thought it was a bit odd to say the least.
OVER THE TOP Paula Deen's flirtatiousness!!!!!
I've never cared for Paula... her show makes me feel like I've gained weight just by watching it. And her personality is, as many others have said, over the top. Rachel Ray is high-energy, Paula Deen is maniacal!
PerkyMac, look at it this way--at least she's not flirting with people who ARE related to her!
OVER THE TOP Paula Deen's flirtatiousness!!!!!
Paula, the Neeleys (and FN) need a heads up. Almost all of us enjoy silly, sexy stuff at certain times in certain places. Almost all of us DON'T like to watch others doing the same. There is a difference. Some, like Nigella, know how to stay just on the classy side of the line, as cambriana points out.
They have things called porn channels for the voyeurs.
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About chari
Location:
About: I travel a lot internationally, and enjoy trying to specialties of the region I visit. I often travel with my sons, one of whom is diabetic and the other who has food allergies, making my exotic dining even more adventurous.
Favorite foods: The basic four food groups: potatoes, cheese, bread, chocolate. I believe anything is better with butter. I believe what doesn't have sour cream should probably have whipped cream.
Last bite on earth: brie on fresh french baguette, with maybe a wild strawberry on the side.
Whenever I get back to the US in summer I love to indulge in strawberry shortcake. mmm. So imagine my horror when I ordered it in Florida and got spongecake with frozen whipped topping, defrosted frozen strawberries and stale vanilla ice cream. I felt like asking for a refund on my air ticket.