Sunday Brunch with Paula Deen at Loews Miami Beach

Paula Deen hamming it up at Sunday Brunch

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Oh my, oh my. The Southern cuisine served at Paula Deen’s Sunday Brunch — one of the final events of the 2012 South Beach Wine & Food Festival — was lip-smacking and then some. Held in a  ballroom at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, the Food Network’s grand dame had her husband Michael and son Bobby by her side. Attendees couldn’t get enough of the famous family; I might have been a little star-struck too.

 Favorite dishes included chef Cindy Hutson’s shredded Certified Angus Beef short ribs topped with a quail egg on bacon-cheddar bread pudding. Hutson of Ortanique on the Mile in Coral Gables, said her rich gravy was made from a beef reduction. I award it first prize. The Southern fried chicken and waffles dish was a close second. Frederick Delaire of Loews served it with to die for molasses-infused gravy.

As Deen waved farewell, her signature sign-off filled the room: “I send you best dishes and love from my kitchen to yours.” Back atcha Paula.

Tags: Cindy Hutson | Food & Wine Festivals | Loews Miami Beach | Ortanique on the Mile | Paula Deen | South Beach | South Beach Wine & Food Festival