Hi, Mamzelle! I really like your post. You hit the nail on the head. Paula, despite all her lib creds, couldn’t win out against the food Nazis and haters.
I was a fan of hers when she had her first show. It was in a small, yellow kitchen (very pretty) and there was a dog wondering around the set. She made delicious food and was quiet and demure. I still think she’s the best cake maker on the food network.
When she became a “star,” she started getting strident and annoying. But the gal can cook!
I suggest the reruns of Laura Calder’s show on the cooking channel. I record them and watch them carefully. I’ve picked up a lot of techniques from her style. Just this week I made fritters from squash blossoms from one if her episodes. She has an attitude toward cooking and food very much like my own. I really liked Paulas show in the early years but she took on an unpleasant vulgarity as time went on.