Southern Comfort: Paula Deen

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WITH SIMPLE RECIPES as rich and creamy as her Georgia drawl, Paula Deen has built a down-home food empire. Her books and television show, "Paula's Home Cooking," have made millions of folks familiar with her Southern vittles and spicy humor. She'll be joined in the kitchen by other cooks, famous and not, on her new Food Network series "Paula's Best Dishes" (Sun. at 12:30 p.m.).

» EXPRESS: So, why invite other cooks to come into your kitchen?
» DEEN: Well, they do say that too many cooks can spoil the pot. But it's more fun to cook with other people, and if it's with someone you've cooked with before, it can be like dancing. By bringing other people in, they teach me, and I teach them. The conversation can get real lively!

» EXPRESS: If you could cook with anyone, alive or dead, who would you choose?
» DEEN: I never got to meet Julia Child — I would've loved the opportunity to have been in the kitchen one time with her. But I guess it'd really be my Grandmother Paul. She certainly struck the match that lit the fire in me about how much pleasure cooking can give you.

» EXPRESS: You add butter to almost everything. Why do you love it?
» DEEN: The flavor of butter can just take an ordinary dish to an extraordinary dish to me.

» EXPRESS: What isn't better with butter?
» DEEN: The other day, I had a bowl of cornflakes, and I put some squeeze butter on it — it really wasn't that good. [Pause.] I'm joking!

» EXPRESS: You're on a deserted island and can take only one food — is it butter?
» DEEN: My husband, Michael, asked me that! I said I'd take my potato — loaded with butter and sour cream. He said he'd take his boat.

» EXPRESS: Describe your cooking style.
» DEEN: I think simple flavors are the best. I'm not into froufrou meals. I just can't get excited about them.

» EXPRESS: What's the biggest myth about Southern cooking?
» DEEN: People think Southern food is unhealthy, and I just happen to disagree. Up North, it's lots of steaks and pasta. Down South, we are big, big vegetable eaters. We have fresh corn, fresh butter beans and sweet potatoes. Everyone knows vegetables are good for you, even if they may have ham hocks in them.

» EXPRESS: You're big on Southern hospitality, too. How do you make guests feel welcome?
» DEEN: By being kind to them, treating them like family. I try to make sure people feel good when they're in my presence.

» EXPRESS: You just put in an outdoor smokehouse. What is it like?
» DEEN: We live on Turner's Creek, which is a beautiful body of water here in Savannah. We wanted a place on it to be with friends and family. Grills are lined up all around, and we've got three good fans to keep us cool, a refrigerator and an ice maker. We can load up our coolers from there and jump on the boat.

» EXPRESS: Georgia summers get really hot. How do you throw outdoor parties when it's sweltering?
» DEEN: I don't have parties in the summer. For me, it's just not the time of year for parties. It's 97 degrees today! That is unbearable. So, if I have people over, we go inside.

Photo courtesy Food Network