Paula Deen really likes her political figures. She has chilled with Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn, and now she's jumping on the campaign trail and itching to party with the potential first wives. The AP reports that Paula Deen is cooking with Michelle Obama in an upcoming episode of Paula's Party, which will air on the Food Network on September 20.

The pair chat about their familes' favorite meals and make super-tasty, super-healthy dishes like fried shimp and french fries. Deen recently said of Obama: "She was getting her hands dirty. I think they are like us -- they like real food, not a bunch of prissy food." But it looks like only the women are allowed to get their hands dirty. Deen says that's she also invited Cindy McCain to cook with her, as well as running mate Sarah Palin. No Barack, no John, no Joe. Hey Deen, Palin is the vice presidential running mate; she's not a potential first wife. I know, this is not the presidential campaign you're used to, but times they are a-changing.

Sometimes I could shake that woman, but instead, I think it'd be more fulfilling to grab that butter drinker and put her in a new reality show -- one where she has to eat all vegan fare and "prissy" foods. Think Survivor, but without the bugs. She spins the wheel, dying to get the Twix, but instead lands on the ... confit! Or the gelee! It'd be great.

In response to the unleashing of Rachael Ray's "Nutrish" line of dog cuisine, celeb-skewing artist 14 visually muses on what product line extensions might come about should other TV chefs join the pack. Paula Deen's Varmint Vittles or Gordon Ramsay's 100% F***ing Organic Hell Hound, anyone?

Yes, proceeds from the sales of Nutrish will indeed go toward funding no-kill shelters and awareness campaigns, and it's not as if she's the first media-centric chef to go to the dogs -- or cats (remember Rocco DiSpirito's Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys?). Still, I'm continually shocked by the branding stretches some of these folks are making.

Has anyone found celebrity-endorsed products more outre than dog food or signature garbage bowls? Mario Batali limited edition Ernst Benz watch, perhaps?

(Aaaannnd I've just run across Paula Deen's Butt Massage. I know it's likely a handy and delicious mix of herbs, spices and faerie dust, but still. Ew.)

[via: Gallery of the Absurd]

Since Mother's Day is right around the corner, I've been searching for some recipe ideas and started wondering how Paula Deen, probably the best-known mother in the cooking world, would celebrate Mom's Day? The answer, of course, is by inviting her sons over to cook with her. After a quick search, I found out that the Food Network would be airing her Mother's Day special today. Paula, Jamie and Bobby will apparently be preparing a brunch feast which includes Nutty Orange Coffee Cake, Benedictine Sandwiches (pictured, above) and Eggs in a Nest, which essentially equates to a ham and cheese omelet served in phyllo pasty - nice twist on the original.

If you watch her often, you'll know that Paula isn't afraid to mix things up a little in the morning with some wine - and in this case she is preparing Wine Spritzers which I'm fairly certain would be light and refreshing after a heavy brunch.

(image: Food Network)

Paula Deen's newest book - a memoir - is set to come out this April. Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cookin' takes the reader back to a time when things weren't quite as rosy as they are now for Deen, from when she dealt with depression and agoraphobia and struggled to make ends meet to when she sold her first cookbook and finally hit the road to the success she is now know for.

On the trunks of hazelnut trees in Tennessee, one of the most prized ingredients in the culinary world is growing: perigord truffles. And they're good ones, too. Despite the fact that they're not grown in France, chefs think that they're world class

Women tend to be underrepresented in kitchens to begin with, but molecular gastronomy sees even fewer women joining its movement. "It's not very nourishing emotionally," said Ann Cooper, author of " 'A Woman's Place Is in the Kitchen."

Is Whole Foods stretching itself too thin?

Frank Bruni gives Robert's Steakhouse, which happens to be inside the Penthouse Club (a strip club) one star.

Mark Bittman, the minimalist, makes Quick Whole Wheat and Molasses Bread

If you don't usually do a lot of cooking at home, you might still cook for holidays and the occasional family gathering, since the kitchen is often the focal point of family activity as people gather for coffee or snacks. While an all-purpose cookbook might serve the everyday chefs better, sometimes the ones that are specifically geared towards celebrations work out better for the very occasional chef. Paula Deen Celebrates!: Best Dishes and Best Wishes for the Best Times of Your Life is the newest cookbook from the ever-popular Food Network Star and, if you have any interest in homestyle cooking, you probably don't have to be reminded that Paula is a great source for those types of recipes.

The book is divided up into sections based on the holidays and special occasions - covering everything from New Year's Eve to Elvis' Birthday to a Movie Watching Pizza Party in Bed - that she and her family like to celebrate. The dishes are always themed and fit together well. They are easy to follow and a pleasure to read, which should be no surprise to anyone who has used one of her previous books. And even though I started this off by saying that those sometimes-chefs could find this to be a good resource, it would also, of course, be a great addition to anyone who enjoys Paula's recipes. And butter.

The Food Network loves Paula Deen and they are about to do what they always do with their favorite stars -Rachael Ray, Emeril, Bobby Flay, Alton Brown - and give her a new show. Paula's Cooking Party is an hour-long prime time show staring Paula, a kitchen and a live studio audience. The network describes it as a "non-stop rollercoaster of food, fun, stories, recipes and surprises" and it will have far less emphasis on straight cooking instruction, which her current show is based around. Well, that and butter, anyway.

Deen, 59, just recently became a grandmother, so it is something of a surprise that the network is opting to promote her when they have been trying to attract a younger audience. Granted, Paula's show and her specials have attracted the some of the largest tv audiences on the network, but is "Paula unplugged" going to attract viewers? And when one of the early episodes featured Paula "trying on a young audience member's stilettos, telling jokes and staging a live crab race," will it keep viewers accustomed to seeing her cook satisfied?

The show premiers September 29th, so we'll just have to wait until then to find out.

Oh my. As if watching Tyler Florence coach a bubble-headed blonde on Saturday mornings and Tony Bourdain jet around the globe eating cobra hearts wasn't enough for my heart, Paula Deen's sons, Jamie and Bobby, will have their own show on the Food Network later this year. It will be called "Good to Go."

In an interview with the two dreamy, charming, totally adorable brothers that's posted on the wesbite for their restaurant, The Lady and Sons, the boys reveal that the show will be a prime-time, travel-type show, like the current show "Food Finds," but obviously from their perspective.

I'll be looking out for their show, but let's just say that I never thought "Food Finds" was all that interesting. 

In an interview with Pop Candy this week, Paula revealed a few secrets about her life as a celebrity chef, now that she is the most watched personality on the Food Network. For example, with two restaurants to run in addition to her busy TV, book-writing, magazine-editing schedule, she and her family rarely eat at home, preferring to eat at one of her restaurants. She says she spends approximately $100,000 on food for both restaurants, one of which seats over 300 diners at a time. That is not stopping her from cooking Christmas dinner, though. Her table will be spread with a standing rib roast, green bean bundles, shrimp-stuffed twice-baked potatoes, salad and “everything that goes along with [those]”. The best meal she ate this year was not one of her own, but a romantic dinner with her husband in Paris’ George V at the Four Seasons.  Paula also has a new line of cookware in the works for 2006, along with a new biographical book.