News, this morning, of a tiff between the Queen of Southern Cooking and the Prince of All-Things-Food, caught my attention. The Prince is asserting that the Queen is "the most dangerous person in America". A war of words is ensuing and the result is great publicity for both of them. The cynic in me thinks that, mayhap, this just might be a collaborative effort between the two "foodies" - as the press calls them - and their publicists. Early morning news shows were all over this spat and the viral coverage will only serve to advance both of their careers, I'm certain.
Now, to the assertion that the Queen of Southern Cooking is "the most dangerous person in America". So, she promotes cooking with butter (and lots of it) and consistently serves up the most scrumptious-looking fried food ever seen on television and in print media.
I'll say again, "So?"
How is this dangerous to me? It is only dangerous if I choose to: Number One - try her recipe and, Number Two - consume all of what I cooked. Furthermore, am I not a consulting adult, free to eat what I want, how I want, and where I want? Is it not my choice to eat fried foods?
Casting aside the health issue of fried foods and uber amounts of butter for the moment, allow me to examine the taste issue of what The Queen cooks. Hands down, I'll wager that her recipes taste better than some of the other Food Network stars who promote cooking with canned goods and lefteovers from last Thanksgiving and Holly Daze. When I watch The Queen make her deep-fried macaroni and cheese squares, I think, to myself, that if she were to accidentally drop one of those mac and cheese deep-fried gobs right in front of me, I'd arm wrestle the nearest person to scoop the food off the floor and gobble it up as quickly as possible.
Is this dangerous to America? Only if arm-wrestling produces broken bones. Otherwise, "caveat eator", which is fractured Latin for "let the eater beware". If I choose to eat The Queen's fat-laden but very tasty food, then I should simply make sure that my life insurance premiums are paid on time and in full!
Ancora imparo
