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| Paula Deen |
The queen of Southern cooking is on tour sponsored by Smithfield Hams and Tops Markets, spending Wednesday morning at the Buffalo Food Bank, unloading large amounts of donated food.
"Smithfield, my partners, have trucked in 30,000 of protein, for the food Bank and it's just wonderful. It gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside.. to put that into the food bank refrigerators," Deen tells WBEN.
Deen is a champion of fried cooking, with a repertoire that includes a lot of bacon, butter, mayonnaise and cream.
Known for her drawl, as much as her sense of playfulness, her recent TV creations include fried macaroni and cheese (see video below) , and a bacon and egg cheese burger, with Krispy Kreme donuts that substitute for a more traditional hamburger bun. She's big on desserts too, like lemon cakeorBananas Foster
One of the network's breakout stars, Deen began her catering business in Savannah Georgia, in the late 1960s, after packing up her two sons and journeying from New Albany Georgia with a newly minted divorce and just $200 in her pocket. She went on to start a bag lunch service called The Bag Lady, and later expanded into Savannah's "The Lady and Sons," restaurant.
Wednesday she told WBEN of growing up in New Albany - she says Al-benny- a town where WBEN's John Zach started his radio career.
" I graduated from Albany High School in 1965,. and we would get in bed at night, and sneak our radios back on and listen to "Johnny Reb radio'," as WALG was known when Zach started there.
Deen appears with a surprise guest at Shea's tonight at 7 - but as of about 9 am this morning she hadn't yet decided what she would cook for the Buffalo audience. She says in her 90 minute, live on-location performances, the cooking is secondary.
"The food's kind of the vehicle that gets us into all the places we want to be." Deen says, adding that " We have a wonderful, wonderful time. We do a lot of laughing."
Deen is the author of Paula Deen and Friends: Living It Up, Southern Style, The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook, The Lady and Sons Too and The Lady and Sons Just Desserts.
