Paula Parties with Michelle Obama

We're just about a month away from the presidential election, and even the food television world was getting into the spirit. Paula Deen welcomed Barack's wife, Michelle Obama, onto her show Paula's Party.

From my article on Edible TV:

Politics was the word Saturday night as Paula Deen welcomed Michelle Obama to her grease-themed episode of Paula’s Party.

Actually, it seemed almost the other way around, as Paula took to the road to catch up with Obama on the campaign trail. Michelle Obama is as tall as she is lithe; she admitted upfront that she made sure to wear flats so as not to tower over Paula, who’s only 5′5″ (average-height girls unite!).

Despite all that, she showed no lack of enthusiasm for the piles of deep-fried food she and Paula produced, snacking on spicy fried shrimp throughout the segment. “Let me tell you, that lady is a good eater!” Paula told Edible TV.

Admittedly, a show full of fried foods doesn't fit too well with the theme of this site. On the other hand, I'm not entirely opposed to the idea of deep-frying. In fact, we'll be deep-frying a turkey this Thanksgiving in the giant electric fryer my husband's parents bought us. It will be juicy and delicious and no more unhealthy than my usual roasted turkey.

"Really?" you query innocently, before going for the jugular: "But what about all that oil?!"

What about it? Oil is the cooking medium, yes. But where does most of that oil end up at the end of your fry session? Still in the fryer! When I make my roasted turkey, there's often with butter rubbed under the breast skin for moistness and oil drizzled over the top for some lovely browning, meaning that as much or more fat ends up in the final product.

My point is, just because you bake or pan-fry your chicken fingers, they're not necessarily any less fattening if you've laced the crumbs with four tablespoons of oil or if you've thoroughly coated the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking. Food deep-fried in a heart-healthy oil is just as reasonable in moderation as any other food involving oil.

As for the political content of the show . . . I'd suggest going elsewhere for political debate!

Photo: Courtesy of Food Network

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