Two major gaffes in this book:

First, in the soup party, we’re told that some of the soups are suitable for vegetarians because they include no meat. But all of the soups are based on a meat broth or stock, and one of the “suitable” soups contains seafood. Vegetarians do not consume meat broths or seafood.

Second, and perhaps somewhat more egregious, is the Shabbos dinner, which is wholly unkosher. Meat and dairy are mixed and the challah recipe given isn’t pareve. While that may fly for non-observant Jews, it was really jarring to see the meal portrayed as a special Jewish sabbath feast when it flew so hard in the face of the traditions surrounding Jewish food.

Paula Deen is the queen of hearty, homey, southern cooking with loads of cream and butter and eggs and frying and sour cream and mayonnaise and other things that aren’t terribly good for your health while appealing strongly to your palate. In this book, she’s lost that focus in favor of attempting to pander to far too wide a variety of people and entertaining situations. The recipes are all fine and good and the book is worth reading for the recipes, certainly, but the framework and the stories and the scenarios just don’t cut it.

there is no one quite like paula deen