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Paula Deen will not let this backlash keep her down, but it sure took her by surprise. And she's been trying to keep a lid on it. But when Al Roker asked her about it on the Today show, she finally opened up -- just a little -- about how she feels about the negative criticism she got for keeping her diabetes diagnosis under wraps (and the buttered recipes poppin') until she finalized her endorsement deal with a pricey diabetes drug.
Paula told Al that "a few people were kind of mean about it and held it against me." And as if to demonstrate, Anthony Bourdain soon took to Twitter to say, "'Some people were kind of mean...' Some people were kind of greedy." Ouch, red-hot burn! But the heat is on for Paula. She's under a lot of scrutiny, and not just from her nemesis Tony. Via her endorsement deal, she has to produce recipes that are both healthy and tasty -- in a Paula kind of way. But hey, if you can't take the heat, stay outta the kitchen. Know what I mean?
Paula says she's up for it. "I've got broad shoulders, you know," she told Al. She also gave a loving holla to her supporters. "The people who care for me, they came out like you wouldn't believe. And those are the people I care about." End of discussion, on to the healthy cooking demonstration. It was an artichoke frittata, a recipe developed with Paula's son, Bobby.
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So far I'd say we're off to a B- start. Paula starts off sauteing some onions, while throwing in some drained, canned artichoke hearts, some cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, and some low-fat cheddar cheese into some whisked eggs (uh, sure, you could just use egg whites). Then she adds the onions before throwing the whole thing into the oven. It looks easy to whip up, and it's not a batter-fried sloppy Joe wrapped in bacon topped with cheese, so at least it's healthier. But it's food that kind of makes me sad.
The artichokes are bound to get soggy and watery in the eggs. The onions weren't caramelized. There were no herbs, which would have been so easy to add (thyme, yum!). And the chicken breast -- isn't that just protein overkill? Not to mention the chunks looked too big. Well, back to the kitchen drawing board, eh Bobby and Paula? No pressure, but we're all watching to see what y'all cook up next.
What kinds of recipes would you like to see from Paula?
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