Kitchen Personality- Paula Deen & The Positivity of Pancakes

                                                                           (from here)

I am sitting here dying laughing over this Paula Deen Christmas Carol. Yeah, I just got home, so I am catching up on ALL the holiday things I taped on my DVR. Extending my Christmas, if you will. My tree is still up too! (I think next weekend I will get everything packed away).

Anyway, back to the idea that got me writing late on a Saturday night. And posting two posts in one day!
I decided that I want my kitchen personality to be like Paula Deen. And that is because in so many ways it reminds me of my mama and grandma. Southern, all over the place, fun, and delicious. Paula Deen looks like she could throw down a pretty raucous party in her kitchen. And I could so join in the craziness.

She does not always measure evenly. There are spills and splatters. And there are stories. I love the stories. They are as appealing to my mind as the food is to my stomach. And I love that at 27 I have stories to tell about some of my own favorite meals. For example, the first real meal young Sabrina would cook was blueberry pancakes. On some Saturday mornings I would wake up and ask if I could cook breakfast for everyone. My mama would make the bacon or sausage. I don't know what Melanie and my daddy were doing:) And I would be on pancake duty. It was simple, but those times were the basis for this love of cooking that I have today.

One box of Jiffy Mix blueberry muffin mix, eggs, milk, and oil. Bam! Mix em all up and you have some mighty tasty pancakes. Of course, a true food connoisseur would say "Bah" to my pancakes because they did not include "real" blueberries. But, I was probably 10 years old, and you could not have told me that those pancakes were not the most delicious thing you had ever tasted! I would get one plate and put dabs of butter on the plate. Then slip piping hot pancakes on the butter. Then put butter on the top of those pancakes and build my stack. I was just so proud to call the family to breakfast and enjoy the work of my hands. And thinking back, those memories are precious to me. I gained all my cooking confidence making pancakes. They were not always pretty, but my family praised them. And I can't guarantee that I never sneaked the burned ones on my own plate every once in a while. Or flipped them carefully so the more toasty side was face down! I was not a perfect cook, but I was smart and resourceful.

I am far more bold and excitable in the kitchen than in other areas of my life. I learned from my mama that if you pay attention...you can't ever really ruin a meal. It might turn out different than planned, but not ruined. I learned from my grandma that you don't need fancy gadgets. Sometimes good old fashioned effort and elbow grease produce the best food. I see in Paula Deen's kitchen that the quality of her memories drives the depth of flavor in her food. And I see in my kitchen that laughter and cooperation make cooking, one of the most enjoyable things that I can do.