It was bound to happen… I’m a blogger, what ever that is.

So, here goes - welcome to our new web site. After a lot of work by a lot of talented people we are excited to offer a new look to The Lady & Sons restaurant web site. As part of the new experience we are including this blog. I will be checking in every Monday with a new post. If you have anything to share or any questions, leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to talk about them here.

Thanks y’all and enjoy.

Jamie

Back to the blog.

and a dollar short as my daddy says.

sorry for the delay y’all. as you can tell from the image on our home page we had a busy past few days and owe alot of thanks and thankful prayers to the savannah fire department. heres how it all went down.....

Uncle Bubba rang my cell phone around 11 o’clock Sunday night. he didn’t leave a message so I figured it was just a late call to wish me a happy 2nd fathers day. well, mom called about 2 minutes later and I knew something was cooking.

It turned out to be the lady and sons, literally. one of Bubba’s managers is married to a fireman and he alerted his wife who in turn called Bubba about an alarm at the station to gather his crew and boogie down to 102 west Congress street.

We have had a few false alarms in the past and I told mom to go back to sleep I would ride down for a peek and straighten everything out. Well when a WTOC news truck flew around me in the right lane of Broughton street I sat up a little straighter and eased the gas pedal down. I parked on Whittaker street facing the wrong way and saw 11 ....ELEVEN emergency vehicles with lights rolling.

Savannah firemen were everywhere, police out, people milling around looking up at our baby. The baby we started with more sweat equity than you could every count, our hope and dreams, the center of attention. I threw the car in park and was moving. Under the tape. past the first wave of responders only to be stopped at the sidewalk by captain Johnson. Our hero. He was able to calm me down pretty quickly.

No fire. Thank you Lord. No water. Thank you Lord. No damage. Thank you Lord .

A bag of terrycloth hand towels and cotton aprons , the tools of the front house staff, had self combusted! He said it is a freak thing but it happens. some time after closing around 6 o’clock or so as the staff was finishing up, a towel used to clean the flat-top grill where hoecakes are fixed, was dropped in the bag hot....and covered with towels with bleach from cleaning tables.  5 hours later smoke, lots and lots of smoke. We have had ten hundred thousand linen bags of the same makeup for 20 years and this bag, this night....smoke. no fire though. Thank you Lord.

About this time here comes momma. sweet little momma rolls out of bed and rolls into downtown with a hat on....in her gown. housecoat. slippers. Thats it. “momma ease around this truck there’s a news camera across the street” her first born son advises. Hah. momma strolls into the street and then across the street right up to the knot of fireman waiting for the air to clear before we can get inside for a look around. In her gown. and slippers. Of course this is breaking news, what a 61 year old women was wearing at 11:45 on a Sunday night was reported. You gotta shake your head sometimes.

anyway, we get the all’s clear sign and Momma, Bobby, Uncle Bubba and myself pile in the side door to access the damage. and we quickly decide we are double lucky...no, make that triple lucky. No one was hurt, our baby was in fine shape, and we were going to be blessed with the opportunity to wake up Monday morning and go to work.
so hows that for an entry.....

ok, some house keeping issues: phil is the smartest guy i know. he will be checking in during the week and answering some of the questions that pop up here during the week.  he handles all things computer and keeps me in line. he called an hour ago, “boss. send me smokes signals, a note.....anything, you are a day late.” yeah yeah phil. keep your shirt on. im a dollar short too.

keep it coming y’all. this is fun

Back to the blog.

Bobby and I have the opportunity to see and do a lot of things. We have been to places and seen things we never dreamed we would get to do…

I mean, I have been in the White House, met Oprah and stood on the sidelines in Athens for a Bulldogs game!

But the biggest honor for us is to be chosen as a special childs “Make a Wish” wish.

This morning Donna Vance and her family drove down to Savannah from Tennessee.

Her wish was to meet Bobby and I and have a meal at the Lady & Sons.

Donna is a beautiful 16 year old girl. When her momma was 7 months pregnant doctors discovered Donna had multiple birth defects. Water on the brain, deformed brain stem, very little brain inside her skull and a portion of her brain had developed on the outside of her skull.

You would not know it to see this ray of sunshine this morning. The sweetest smile, a bubbly attitude and one of the tightest grips of a hugger I have ever met...and I have been around the block with huggers.

The whole family headed out to finish their trip in Orlando this week and as soon as they left I kinda figured I would share this with y’all.....give thanks for what you have that you may take for granted, like your brain is on the inside. You may have a hard day or different struggles, we all do. But you meet a kid like Donna and her momma and daddy and it makes running out of coffee creamer a little easier to deal with, you know?

She made up a little gift bag for Bobby and me too....but what she did for me this morning would not fit into a bag the size of Deleware.

She gave me joy.

Joy for my life and hers...for my sons life. My life with my family and my beautiful wife...pure joy.

Oh, which just so happens to be her middle name.

Donna Joy Vance...... thank you sweetie.

I’ll be out next monday so check back in 2 weeks for an update....

Rumor has it Bobby may start one of these up so keep your fingers crossed.

Thanks Y’all

Back to the blog.

it took a few more days to shake off the family vacation than I anticipated.

We spent a beautiful week down in the Bahamas for our birthdays (thank y’all for the well wishes) and Jack Deen had the best time. We stayed at the Atlantis Resort and all Jack says now is “fishy!” He was so cute and Brooke and I are just thankful he slept through the nights. He has a tendency to wake up a few times a night when he’s on the road. Brooke’s youngest brother Scott just graduated from high school and we had him along as his graduation gift. He helped with the baby at night and Brooke and I actually sat down at dinner and chewed our food. First meal I have tasted in two years.

The last post brought a question about the television show Bobby and I did for the Food Network, Road Tasted, and what was the status of new shows. The show airs on Sunday right now and we had an awesome time doing it. If you see the first one (California) and the last one (Nashville) its fun to guess how much weight I gained.

Just kidding.

Don’t guess.

...25 pounds.

BUT Brooke was pregnant and me being the loving, supportive husband that I am, I ate every time she did then we would lay down. Being pregnant is tough I gotta tell ya.

The show took between five to six months of travel a year and I couldn’t be away from Brooke and Jack for five minutes so I came off the road. I had so much fun doing the show with Bobby and that was the only thing that pulled at me. We were traveling and eating and going to baseball parks around the country and making friends and people really liked the show… but.

I waited my whole life to be a daddy and I believe the decision to quit the show and stay home for my family was what momma and daddy tried so hard to teach Bobby and I when we were growing up; family first.

Thanks for keeping up with us, I’m still on Bobby about starting up his own blog. It takes a lot of his time sorting through his marriage proposals. Come on bro.....join the club.

Y’all look for us this Friday morning on Good Morning America…

Talk to y’all next week
-Jamie

Back to the blog.

Phil will be proud.
and surprised.......

Thanks to everybody who checked in last week, I have never read any blogs and don’t really know what I should be writing about but something always seems to pop up and tonight’s post is from watching the home run contest on ESPN.

Now stay with me....I realize the “all sports channel” is pretty far off from the “all cooking channel” but have y’all heard of Josh Hamilton?
A few years ago Josh was chosen as the number one pick in the baseball draft. He was held up on a pedestal by everyone his whole life and at 19 or 20 years old was given four million dollars and told he could be the best there ever was...until he turned into the worst he would ever be...drugs and alcohol got him. The money was soon gone.
He was given chance after chance until he struck out in baseball and was banned from the game. He turned up at his granny’s house 40 pounds under weight, everything a blur. His wife was beginning to give up hope and that was what it took for him to start working towards getting right again. We will never know how hard that fight must be for him.
He turned to religion and stayed close to home and began to work out again....and saved his marriage.
He was seen as a sure thing out of high school, it’s called a five tool player. Hit for average, hit with power, run fast, have a great arm and can catch anything.  Five tools....can’t miss.
A pure player is not easy to forget in the ranks of major league baseball and Josh stayed clean long enough to be given a chance last year with the Cincinnati Reds and played the last part of the season for them and was traded to the Texas Rangers in the off season. The Rangers assigned a fella to tag along with Josh and help him make the right decisions in his climb back to the bigs. Josh said he only carries $20 dollars in his pocket to help fight temptation.
He had a dream to compete in the All-Star game and participate in the Home-Run Derby. He has said he felt this was the best way for him to spread the word of his belief and set an example for folks who felt they were beyond help, no longer worthy of love and compassion.
So he changes his life...and makes it as a starter for the All-Star game tomorrow night and gets to compete in the Home-Run contest tonight.
Josh made the cover of Sports Illustrated a few weeks ago and I was anxious to see how he fared after reading his story. The first thing I saw tonight was that his pitcher for the contest (the player can choose his own) was his old coach from American Legion ball. Coach Counsil is seventy one years old. Seventy one! How cool is that? In Yankee Stadium, packed house, at the All-Star game pitching to a kid that he watched blow it all and then come back to
this....wow.
Well, of course all Josh Hamilton does is set the new record for home runs set in a single round during the contest. Twenty-eight home runs. The entire stadium began to chant his name half way through and as he took a break to wipe what may have been tears off his face and I took a break to wipe what were tears off of my face I decided I’m buying me a new hat tomorrow.
A Texas Rangers cap, the team of my new favorite player and one of the best stories I have ever heard...but y’all know I love an underdog story.

Bobby and I are headed to momma’s tomorrow to start filming for a special coming up on the Food Network details to follow....
Thanks again y’all. Have a great week and do good things.
-Jamie

Back to the blog.

The Lady & Sons softball team made it to the last round of the playoffs this year and we played three games tonight.... starting at six-thirty and I just dragged myself home...its eleven o’clock.
I’m forty y’all. I haven’t done anything three times in a row in a long time. I will tell y’all all about it. Tomorrow. Check back around lunchtime......
Jamie

Back to the blog.

But last year we only won two games and this year we came in 2nd place in our division. We are “The Sons” and its a bunch of guys from the restaurant and it is so much fun to play. I do feel like a truck hit me last night.. ankles, knees, back, thighs, arm....wrecked. As the elder statesman on the team I am the pitcher and with three games last night I probably did 1,000 lunges. The only position tougher was the guy behind the plate that did 1,000 squats.

This weekend the family and I were in Athens Ga. for the Stinchcomb brothers annual charity golf tourney. You may know Matt and Jon Stinchcomb played football at Georgia and are two of the nicest guys in the world.  Matt was given the award for highest GPA of a collegiate football player in his senior year(he’s says “yeah, but look at the competition") and was drafted by the Raiders in Oakland. He finished his career in Tampa Bay due to injury and is in the investment business in Atlanta with his wife Jenny and three beautiful daughters...they look like their momma. Jon was drafted by the New Orleans Saints and starts on the offensive line. He and his wife Ali, who is a teacher in New Orleans, live around Athens in the off season. The brothers started “The Countdown To Kickoff “ three years ago to benefit children’s hospitals around Atlanta and I was happy to go back this year. Took second place in the tourney as a matter of fact.  You see how I look like a shrimp in the picture of us? Well, I’m six foot four and weigh.... a lot so you can see these boys made their momma work at the dinner table.
Next Friday if y’all are near Valdosta, Bobby and are doing a show to help America’s Second Harvest. We cook and take questions, sign books and help out with the auction. We always try to bring one of a kind items signed by the family and raise some money to keep our kids from going hungry. I went to school in Valdosta and am happy to go back and give back.
Y’all come on down to South Georgia if you can.
Questions from last week:

Meagan- mid-town is nice, the islands are great and downtown is the best but pretty expensive. Check out savannahnow.com for some listings.

Deb- we are, of course, southern.

Cassandra- sorry you couldn’t get into the restaurant here but the Tunica property is using all the same recipes as The Lady and Sons. Our staff spent a lot of time over there and I gotta tell you, its good.

Its time to wake Jack up from his nap so that’s it for this week.
thanks again y’all
do good things
-jamie

Back to the blog.

You see, Brooke and I have a 2 year and that is an automatic excuse for anything, anytime.

Jack Deen, the smartest most handsome child in the history of the entire planet and any other planet that may produce children, turns 2 next month....and lets just say that brings some changes.

“No daddy”. Thats a good one. “Here daddy”. Another favorite.

And his new best friend...the dog. Or dawg in this case. Champ is the great grandson of UGA V, part of the University Of Georgia’s mascot line. Sweetest dawg in the world. He has more gas than Chevron but still, very loving and great with Jack. He is a docile animal so say for instance if Jack were standing behind Champ.....with his finger poked out, champ would kinda roll with the punches or pokes, whatever.
So Brooke walks in the den and both of her boys slowly raise their heads and just look at her. Champ with his look of “ you brought him home” and jack with his finger out.... behind the dawg. We use a lot of cleaning material at the house.

The old “watch my hand disappear” is a good trick too. Champ is about 60 pounds and a foot off the ground and resembles two cannon balls welded together and he has a big head. It is no longer a surprise for us to walk in and find Jack wrist deep in Champs mouth or pulling his jowls north and south at the same time. Good ole Champ.
So, yesterday at nap time Jack announces “No Daddy”.....and doesn’t. How can a child go 400 miles an hour and not need a nap. Jack is a go-go getter. Non-stop, which is great. A personality that doesn’t stop and neither does his motor so me and his momma need a break. Please… “No Daddy”.

OK, so we power through and make it to 7:30 and finally, he is out of gas. Sleeping like a baby and at 12:30 am, in the middle of the night I hear “daddy”.....

I go up to check on blankies and a re-tuck, it happens, but last night he was capital A awake......until 3:45.  Ahhh the joys.......

Another thing he has started is “ I love you too daddy” and that my friends is worth staying up for the rest of my life.

Thanks for checking back,
y’all do good things
-jamie

Back to the blog.

after writing for an hour I lost the stupid thing.
New blog posting gone. Gone.....
and now its late.
And now y’all have to wait until tomorrow cause I’m old.
And tired.

New posting before lunch on Tuesday...I promise.
-jamie

Back to the blog.

First off, thanks to Robin for sending so many new folks this way… it was a thrill for me as a new blogger to see the comments shoot up quickly and all the new visitors will help me keep my deadline.

Thanks y’all and welcome back.

Bobby and I want to thank all the great people down in Valdosta for making our trip so special. Tina at the Hampton Inn fixed the cutest basket for Jack and although he couldn’t make the trip this year when I got home we let him rip it apart and it was the cutest thing.

When he gets really excited he balls up both of his fist and says"yeah, yeah, yeah”. So cute. He also loves “the family hug”.Brooke and I hold him close and he squeezes both of our necks and just kisses us all over our faces. Man, I love that kid. It makes me smile every time I think of him and it would be easy for me to write about him every week.

Did I mention he was the smartest most handsome boy ever?

So anyway, Valdosta.

Frank, Shannon, Winona, all of the volunteers plus 550 guests made us feel right at home and together we were able to raise over $50,000.00 for the Empty Bowls program. Work never felt so good....

You may have heard about The Hungry Homes Tour my family was involved with last year. Smithfield Foods really stepped up and made a pledge to donate one million servings of protein to food banks across the country in just eight weeks. We kicked off the tour in Savannah with Mary Jane Crouch, the director at America’s Second Harvest here, and two weeks later we took off for New York. The food bank in New York alone supplies hungry folks one million meals a day!

The biggest surprise for us was learning it’s not always the homeless but average working families that are running out of money before they run out of month and are having to choose between power or gasoline or food. We learned that children from Atlanta to Los Angeles to New York down to New Orleans are only eating at school. Five meals a week.

That makes for a long weekend.

Mary Jane asked me at the kickoff here if I would be interested in sitting on the board.  Some of y’all know after being blessed with a child it is easier to see the world with new eyes. “What can I do to make it a little better place for Jack to grow up in?” was a question I had pondered many times late into the night since August 21st of 2006.I jumped at the chance to help out but wasn’t sure what i could do, I explained to Mary Jane this was the first time I had ever served on any kind of board, much less one so important to our community. She assured me I would find my way and welcomed me aboard.

Well, what can I do? Let’s see....I can talk. And talk. And talk. I also have a passion for the well being of children and so I spread the word.

The word is Help!

Right now go to your pantry. Look in the very back and pull out the stuff you “will get around to eating”. The early peas, some dusty stew and why did you ever buy that potted meat in the first place?  Peanut Butter is even better. Mary Jane taught me that....

Load it up in the car and take it to your local food bank.

Teach your children to be charitable and care about their neighbors. It’s up to us y’all. To care.To make a difference. I promise it will make you feel good all day long. If it doesn’t I will send you a whole case of potted meat.

Thanks for checking back
do good things
-jamie

Back to the blog.

hey y’all, bobby deen here.....my brother always runs late with his blog and I knew I could pop in and take it over for the day. but he likes to write more than me so its gonna be short.

Thanks to everybody out there for following our family and what we do. We sure love to do it for y’all.

Well that’s it for me.

I told you it would be short.

-Bobby

Back to the blog.

its the old married guy again.....

I am glad y’all enjoyed the posting by Bobby last week, he got quite the response.... maybe he will check back in soon.

We are gonna change the drop day for the new blog posting to Tuesday instead of Monday. Monday is full of meetings for us here and then trying to catch up from the weekend and by the time I get home and spend time with the family its too late.... I think I was only able to make one Monday anyway. So Tuesday is the new day....

This is a big week around here as Jack is turning 2 on Thursday.... hard to believe its been 2 years. It is amazing how fast time clips by when you measure it with a child by your side.

We have been working with him on his celebration skills and when asked how old he is he holds up both of his index fingers and says TWO!!! He has also been practicing his blowing out the candles and may blow the icing off of the cake....he is good at blowing.

My wife’s folks dropped their baby boy off at Georgia Southern this past weekend and his Mimi (Brooke’s mom) is staying here for the week. Granny (my momma) has blocked off the week for his party so she is here as well and its a nice break for Brooke and I to have the double tag team. Our plan is to try to go see a movie this week.

Sometimes it’s the small pleasure’s.....

News about the Paula Deen cruise:

If some of y’all have plans to go it will be so much fun. We have now done four and its a great time for us to get out as a family (a BIG family, everyone goes) and also spend some time being ourselves and just hanging out with everyone. Brooke and I will not be making the trip this year....its in Alaska for those who don’t know, and while Jack is ready for almost anything his momma and me ain’t ready to carry him across every time zone and keep him on a cruise for eight days"Aw, it will be easy” everyone says....huh. Kiss my grits it will be easy....... If it moves back to the east coast next year count us in otherwise, Bon Voyage Y’all.

Folks have asked about a new recipe every week and I think its a great idea so y’all look for that starting up next week. If anyone has a special occasion or request drop me a line and we can find something together…

thanks for checking back y’all......do good things

-jamie

Back to the blog.

Finally, a picture of Jack!

This is the birthday boy blowing out his candles and he got got ‘em all on the first try. His momma has been practicing him up. How cute is this kid?

Brooke and I were so happy that all of our family was able to come in town. With all of his friends and their parents I guess around forty people came to celebrate the big Two. We rented out The Island Playground in Hilton Head Island and it was so awesome to go somewhere, order out the food, make a mess and just go home. We had his first birthday at the house last year and I tell you what, Brooke and I fell into bed that night.

Thanks so much for the well wishes...I feel so blessed to have a healthy little guy and love to share all the good times with y’all.

I can tell you this blog will be short, he is running around my legs as I type hollering"Elmo!", we play computer games at SesameStreet.com and when he sees the computer....watch out!

We filmed our second Christmas special of the year at momma’s house yesterday....Merry Christmas....again. Our family usually averages about three a year. We are also shooting photos for the Deen Family cookbook which will be out next year.

Jack is going bananas....

Here is our receipe in honor of the upcoming football season, GOOOOO DAWGS, its chicken wings with an easy guac dip....

uh oh I smell a diaper, gotta run

thanks y’all..... do good things

jamie

Lime –Marinated Chicken Wings w/ Avocado Dip
Page 27 Y’all Come Eat

Marinade:
1 1/2 limes
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, trimmed and sliced
2 teaspoons tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Pinch salt
3 Pounds chicken wings, rinsed and patted dry
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. For marinade, finely grate the zest and squeeze the juice from the limes. In a blender, combine zest and juice with the remaining marinade ingredients; puree until smooth. Pour marinade over the chicken and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight.

2. Preheat broiler. Arrange chicken on a backing sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Broil at least 6 inches from heat for 4 to 5 minuets per side or until chicken is crispy on the outside and cooked through. Serve with Avocado dip
Makes 6-8 servings.

Avocado Dip: Peel and pit one avocado; cut into chunks. Place avocado in a medium bowl; mash. Fold in 3 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves; 1 ½ teaspoons lime juice; 1 clove of garlic, minced; ¼ teaspoon salt; and freshly ground black pepper to taste. 

Back to the blog.

but today is Jack’s first day at pre-school.

Brooke and I began to ask around about pre-schools when we first learned we were having a baby… we made our choice and had to register him 7 months before he was born! Its a great school with caring teachers and a super history and.....who am I kidding, his momma and I are a mess!

Our baby is alone, by himself....with strangers!  BoooHooo BoooooHooooo break out the kleenex…

Just kidding. Kind of.

We took Jack to visit last week and since then we played up his school and him doing it all by himself. How much fun he was going to have on the playground and making new friends and getting to paint. And he listened to all of this day after day for a week. So yesterday he says “No school daddy”. Smart kid.

This morning is the big day and we pack his school bag, get him dressed up, drive him in the school, video camera is rolling and we know the storm is coming..... Get to his classroom and........

he’s off.

Not even a glance back at us.

No bye. No kiss, no hug. Gone.

Kids......they will surprise you every day. God Bless ‘em.

Y’all cross your fingers for us down here. Hanna is headed this way and the last thing we need around here is more excitement. After the fire at the restaurant and the gas line underground blowing up around the corner I have had my fill of disaster this year.

I haven’t heard from any of my family on the cruise this week, I’m sure they are having a ball and enjoying a break from the heat. They are coming back on Friday and I will fill y’all in next week.

I forgot which recipe Phil is putting out but I know y’all will enjoy it.....he is in San Francisco and may take some time before it posts so come back if you don’t see it.

Thanks for checking back, do good things

-jamie

p.s. How Bout Them Dawgs!!

Fish Fajitas
Page 74 The Deen Brothers Cookbook

1 1/2 pounds mahi mahi or other firm-fleshed white fish fillets, skin removed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 8-inch flour tortillas
1 cup fresh salsa
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

1. Cut the fish into strips and season with salt and pepper. In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add fish; cook 4 to 5 minuets, or until cooked through, stirring frequently.

2. Heat separate skillet (do not use nonstick) over medium-high heat. Warm the tortillas one at a time in skillet. Line a plate or a wide, shallow bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Immediately transfer the hot tortillas to the plat, folding the edges of the towel over the tortillas to keep them warm.

3. To assemble, divide the fish among the tortillas and top with salsa and avocado slices.  Squeeze lime juice over the avocado and roll up the tortillas.
Makes 4 servings. 

Back to the blog.

We didn’t see one inch of rain.

Thank goodness. It seems we are in the ‘cane alley here but time and time again we dodge the bullet.

The whole fam damnly made it back from the cruise and the report is a good time was had by all… and it was a smart move not to take Jack. It was cold too.

Call me crazy but when I think cruise and I think of the sun and bathing suits and little umbrella drinks and blue, warm water and hot sand and not so much icebergs and big coats. I am pulling for the return south next year and Jack will be the ripe old age of three and all over that boat.

I know how beautiful Alaska is, Bobby and I along with two of our friends spent ten days camping and fishing in AK about eight years ago. Yeah, we really roughed it. We slept on the ground every night and paid $2 for a shower at some camp ground half-way through the week. Cooking over an open fire, fighting off the biggest bugs you will ever see but, and this is a little known secret about guys and camping, we managed to keep a cooler of beer iced down.

Ahhhh....the great outdoors.

Sorry to cut this entry short but I have an appointment I am 2 minutes late for.....

thanks for checking back

Y’all do good things

-jamie

This Weeks Recipe:

Blackberry and Peach Cobbler
Page 200 The Deen Brothers Cookbook

4 cups pitted and sliced peaches (about 2 pounds)
2 cups blackberries
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cubed
¾ cup heavy cream
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

1. preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9 inch square pan; set aside

2. In a bowl, toss together the peaches, blackberries, sugar and cornstarch; set aside. In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the cream and combine.

3. Spread the fruit mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan. Drop the biscuit batter by spoonfuls on the top of the fruit. Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until golden brown on top and bubbling. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. If desired serve with ice cream.

Makes 6 servings.

Back to the blog.

the Deen’s are coming over.

Bobby and I are headed over to film an episode of The Big Idea with Donnie Deutsch on MSNBC. I suspect it will be on tonight or tomorrow so y’all look for us there....

Tomorrow afternoon we are gonna load up and head north (its a secret) and drop by to see our friends at Good Morning America....and mommas coming too!

We are the welcoming committee for the arrival of the train. Have y’all seen this week the team is traveling by train across the country?

Bobby and I have been guest of GMA several times and they are the nicest people...really. Diane Sawyer (Ms. Diane) is such a treat to be around. When Brooke and I catch one of her specials on television we always wind up with tears in our eyes. She is so compassionate and down to earth....and beautiful. She is also from the south. Miss Kentucky at one point I believe. So y’all tune in Thursday and see us welcome Diane, Robin, Chris and Sam to the beautiful town of......can’t say.

The Big Idea is another show we have done a few times and Donnie is a great host as well. He is so smart about business and Bobby and I really listen to the advice he offers and we feel it is an honor to be guest on his show. MSNBC...look for us.

Well, we are into another week here and I haven’t learned any good dirt on the cruise yet....everyone is quiet so there must have been some serious cutting up going on. Bobby is exceptionally tight lipped...I will keep y’all posted.

Jack is into his third week at pre-school and today was the first day he shed some tears for his momma. I told Brooke I hope his doesn’t take after his daddy in that department...I cried about going to school until I was eighteen. She called the school to check on him, of course, and Ms. Spence told her that show was for her alone. One minute later and his was fine.... of course.

I will work on the request y’all submit, I do know a nice cocktail with sangria, so Deb M. try this one:

To a glass of ice: add half sangria, half sprite or 7-up, and squeeze in a lemon ......simple right?

And good. We sold the devil out of those at the little spot I worked at while in college.

That’s it. Thanks for checking back. As always....
do good things

-jamie

Back to the blog.

Hey everybody, it’s Bobby here.

I jumped in Jamie’s seat to tell you how much fun we had on the cruise in Alaska! 

Mom really enjoys getting close to her fans, and she had a great time. I’ve been to Alaska with Jamie and some friends of ours, but have never been on a cruise there. What a great way to see such an amazing place!  The coasts of British Columbia and Alaska are breathtaking, and are home to lots of great wildlife. We saw eagles on the fly, sea lions, lots of salmon, and best of all, whales breaching the surface...it truly is God’s Country.

Thanks to everyone who made the trip. Mom’s fans really tend to be great folks, and I enjoyed spending time with you all.  We look forward to doing it again next year, and mom’s already excited!  Thanks for all of your support for my mom and family, we appreciate it. Thanks y’all.

Bobby Deen

Back to the blog.

This was the first(and last)game that Bobby and I sat together...don’t get me wrong. Bobby and I don’t get to hang out enough, it was super fun, but it just brought too much bad mojo. And those black jerseys, ugh. I bet we won’t see those in Athens again for a very long time. It was also the last time I wear a black shirt to a game… we are lucky that so many teams lost and we only fell to number 11. If we win out we may get to play Alabama again in the SEC championship. That Alabama team is a good one and we have to work hard hard hard if we get another chance.

Of course the silver lining is Florida lost!

I was so happy to get to film with momma yesterday on Best Dishes. The name of the show was “All in the Family” and we used recipes from her magazines and Y’all Come Eat.

We did my absolute favorite dish in the world, Brooke’s Meatloaf, and our english pea salad as well as a mac and cheese covered with vine-ripe tomatoes and cheese! Just for good measure we had
gooey butter cakes for dessert and a chocolate, ice cream, coffee drink. Nothing really washes down meatloaf like a coffee ice cream float.

I am guessing I gained five pounds yesterday......

Thanks for checking back y’all
do good things

-jamie

This Weeks Recipe:

Baked Mac and Cheese
from The Deen Brother’s Cookbook

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
8 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
8 ounces American cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon bottled hot pepper sauce or to taste- optional
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish; set aside. In a saucepan, cook macaroni according to package directions, drain. Return macaroni to saucepan.

2. While macaroni is hot, add the cheeses to the pan; stir well. Spread the macaroni mixture in the prepared baking dish. In a bowl, whisk together the milk, sour cream, eggs, butter, hot sauce and salt. Pour the milk mixture over the macaroni.

3. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings. 

Back to the blog.

welcome back.

We had such an awesome weekend! The weather here is perfect...about 82, sunshine and a nice breeze.

Jack’s doctor, Dr. Ben, asked me if I would be the Grand Marshal for the 3rd Annual Buddy Walk here in Savannah and I jumped at the chance. October is, of course, Breast Awareness month (check yourselves ladies...and remind a friend) but it is also Down Syndrome Awareness month.

Dr. Ben is the best. He is the father of a beautiful 3 year old girl and is so good with the kids in his office. He is also a tried and true Georgia Bulldog fan...if he was a gator we would have shopped our business. Jack loves Dr. Ben and so do we so it was an honor to kick off the walk.

I found myself cutting the ribbon next to Jack Kingston, who is a state representative for Georgia from Savannah. Jack is a great Georgian and a fine Bulldog as well as a friend to our business. Now take politics out of this, am I the only one looking forward to all this winding down? But it was really a neat experience to have a private conversation with Jack as we lead the group of five or six hundred people around Forsythe Park.

I took Jack(Deen) on stage with me and as soon as we came off he wanted to get back up there… I believe he has a little bit of his granny and daddy in him. We spent the rest of the morning playing in the park and he worked up quite the appetite. Y’all should see that kid jump on a hot dog!

After the Buddy Walk we went to the fall festival at Jacks school. It was such an awesome family day… All three of us cashed in our nap ticket later that day.

One of my best friends had an opening at a local art gallery this weekend and people came from all around the country to help him celebrate his newest work. One of the guys to come in was our friend Joe,Lil Joe as we call him, and he is one of my favorite pals. He and his girlfriend stayed at the house with Brooke and I and Brooke’s brother Scott came over to visit from school...we had one full house.

I was looking on line a few weeks ago trying to chase down the GMA apperence we did and stumbled across a blurb about this blog. I am always interested to hear what folks have to say and clicked through.... and up popped a picture of me and Lil Joe. Kissing. On the lips. The kicker is the thumbs up he is giving. The picture was taken at the release party for our first book in New York two years ago. How funny! It is now, of course, the background of my computer. I have no idea who took it or how it wound up on line but I laughed my tail off and called Joe on the double.

I guess its more funny to the married with children guy.

Talk to y’all next week....keep doing good things
-jamie

This Weeks Recipe:
From The Deen Bros. Cookbook

Cheesy Pretzel Dipping Sauce - A simple and tasty recipe that’s perfect for your next tailgater.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded (about 2 cups)
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon prepared deli-style mustard
1/8 teaspoon bottled hot pepper sauce or more to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Assorted Pretzels for dipping

1. In a large saucepan, bring the milk and butter to a boil; reduce heat. Add cheddar cheese; whisk until smooth. Remove from heat. Add cream cheese, sour cream, mustard, and hot sauce; whisk until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer sauce to serving dish. Serve sauce warm with pretzels. If the sauce starts to cool and firm up, heat it in the microwave on low power, stirring frequently.

Makes 2 cups.

Back to the blog.

A day early! Surprise!

I have a pretty stretched out week and didn’t want to miss our weekly date.

If some of y’all out there read this near Orlando Fl. head out to Disney Saturday for the food and wine festival. I am doing 2 seminars and will have the family there with me. I have done this festival twice before and love it.

Marianne Hunnel is one of the directors and the nicest woman and has really taken care of us. If you have to work with a 2 year old in tow I highly recommend doing it at Disney! Jack is completely beside himself with anticipation for the Wild Kingdom. Every day “go zoo daddy” all day long. He is such a fan of all the jungle animals and Brooke and I are already smiling just thinking about Jack doing his hotdog dance of excitement. He has all the sounds down except for the flamingo, daddy didn’t know what sound a flamingo makes, so he sticks one leg in the air when he sees them. Brooke’s mom is going to join us and I have my fingers crossed that my momma will steal a day to come down. She (momma) is in the middle of her book tour for “My First Cookbook” up in New York. I think she does The View tomorrow.

I have to cram a weeks work into 2 days so I have to run......

Thanks for checking back y’all-

Do Good Things and Gooooo Dawgs!
-jamie

This Weeks Recipe:
From The Deen Bros. Cookbook

Bacon Wrapped Corn on the Cob - Yum Bacon......

Ingredients
4 ears corn, unhusked
4 slices bacon
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions:

1. Preheat grill for low direct heat.

2. Peel back the cornhusks but do not remove them. Pull out and discard all the silk. Working from top to bottom, wrap a strip of bacon in a spiral around each ear of corn. Season with pepper. Pull the husk back over the corn. Wrap apiece of foil tightly around the top 1 ½ inches of the ear of corn. (Or use a piece of kitchen twine soaked in water to tie the top of the husks closed)

3. Grill the corn about 10 minuets or until the husks are brown all over, tuning occasionally. Let corn cool for 5 minuets before serving.

Makes 4 servings.

Back to the blog.

I call it the easiest diet in the world. Lose 7 pounds in 7 hours....... Jack and I had a pretty rough 24 hours but we are much better now.

Sorry for the delay of the post but I found all things a struggle yesterday.

We had a great time down at Disney. Those folks know how to have a fun time. The weather was perfect and I thought the crowds would be smaller but it was busy! The food festival runs for a month and a lot of people think like me, it will be slower and the weather is cooler, and so everybody comes at the same time. The true slow time is in January I guess.

Great big thanks to Marianne and Jerrod for always making our time in Orlando special. Marianne works with the food end and Jerrod is our guide in the park and Jack calls him Uncle Jerrod. This is our 4th time with Jerrod and he always sends Jack home with a new Disney stash....thank you Uncle J. We love you.

Did y’all catch Bobby and I on GMA last week? I guess it was Wednesday? We always have the best time in NY with the folks from ABC. We did the spot with Robin Roberts. She is truly one of the nicest most sincere television people we have worked with… and Diane Sawyer is the best. Y’all know she is a southern girl… the former Miss Kentucky. She and Robin both ‘eat like they are hungry’ when we do a spot and we are scheduled to go feed them again around the first of December.

Y’all check back later in the week for photos and Phil will insert the recipe soon.

Thanks for checkin’ in, y’all do good things
-jamie

This Weeks Recipe:
From The Deen Bros. Cookbook

Blackberry and Peach Cobbler

4 cups pitted and sliced peaches (about 2 pounds)
2 cups blackberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cubed
3/4 cup heavy cream
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

1. preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9 inch square pan; set aside

2. In a bowl, toss together the peaches, blackberries, sugar and cornstarch; set aside. In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the cream and combine.

3. Spread the fruit mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan. Drop the biscuit batter by spoonfuls on the top of the fruit. Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until golden brown on top and bubbling. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. If desired serve with ice cream.

Makes 6 servings. 

Back to the blog.

But y’all come on out to Bubba’s tonight for the big book signing. The whole family will be at Uncle Bubba’s tonight starting at 5 until 8 or so signing all of our books. It’s not very often that we can do this and we are always excited to do something together. The back deck at Bubba’s is so beautiful this time of the year and we had our temp drop last night so that means no mosquitoes! I know most of y’all are out of town but we can sign books to ship out in time for the holidays so y’all keep us in mind.

I am part of a project to raise some money to open an office for the Georgia Transplant folks here in Savannah and that event is this Thursday night. Matt Stinchcomb, my friend who played at Georgia and I are hosting a “Grill the Gators” party with a silent auction and dinner at The Dawg House Grill. It will be a fun night for a good cause as well as non-stop trash talk about the Gators.

This brings me to the big game this weekend…

Those dawgs are coming off a huge win at LSU and now our sights are set squarely on the hated team from Florida. I am so excited I have dreamed about the dawgs every night. I always do that… all day and it carries into my sleep. One night I dreamt I was in full uniform and coach Richt was giving me a pregame pep talk. Last night was momma and I at a game together and players were coming up to us telling us how their moms watch the show all the time.

Bobby and I will be in Jacksonville for the game Saturday and I hope to see some of y’all gator fans down there… so we can bark in your face!

Thanks for checking in...go do good dawg things.

GOOOOOOOOOOO Dawgs Sic’em Woof Woof
jamie

P.S.
Alice, I am working on rounding up miss Tee-Eva’s recipe for her gumbo.

P.S.S
Thought y’all might like to see some of the pictures from our last visit to Good Morning America. Bobby and I had a great time and everyone there is just so nice!

This Weeks Recipe:
From The Deen Bros. Cookbook

Roasted Lemon Chicken with Red Grapes

4-5 lbs bone in chicken, approx 2 small chickens, cut and sectioned
1 clove garlic, halved
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lbs seedless red grapes
1 teaspoon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the chicken pieces all over with the cut sides of the garlic clove. Place chicken in a large bowl.

2. In a small bowl, Whisk together 2 tablespoons of the melted butter, the lemon zest and lemon juice; season generously with salt and pepper. Pour the butter mixture over the chicken and toss to coat.

3. In a separate bowl, toss together the grapes, the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter, and the sugar. Season the grapes with salt and pepper. Arrange the grapes in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking pan.

4. Place the chicken on top of the grapes. Roast, without turning, for 40 to 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear when chicken is pricked with a fork.

Makes 6 servings.

Back to the blog.

Hey y’all.......

Sorry for the delay. Brooke has been a little under the weather and I am just now catching up.

Well, the election is over, finally. I am so excited to see the election posters around town coming down and to see the end of the ads on TV. Wouldn’t you know we are having a run off for the senate here in Georgia come December and so we will have to endure a few more weeks of two men, who interestingly enough are fraternity brothers, slam each other into submission.

This is, obviously, not a political blog but because of the magnitude of this presidential election I would like to at least comment.

Do y’all feel like it was a huge day for the conscience of our country? Can we recognize how significant this is?

The civil rights battle started practically yesterday in historical terms and to have an African American appointed by election into the highest office in the free world is huge. I was really moved by the speeches the two men gave on election night. Senator Obama in his acceptance speech probably had a more somber tone than people had expected, but the state of our nation demands a level stance. Senator McCain was gracious in defeat and showed what makes him an American hero in his offer and insistence that the two parties work together and right the ship that is the greatest country in the world.

Of course I saved several newspapers for Jack and I hope that in his lifetime it will seem silly that this was ever a big deal in the first place. It seems so foreign to me that at one time women couldn’t vote, African Americans had separate restrooms and Japanese Americans were held in detention camps.

Well, times change and people do too, thank God.

Bobby and I have been filming with mom for the past few weeks and I wanted to share this photo with y’all. The man on the left is the best baseball player on the planet, Albert Puljos and the other guy is a local newsman, Sonny Dixon. Albert is the nicest, down to earth, community minded athlete I have ever met. A truly super guy and not only an excellent role model for kids but for me as well. Sonny is a long time Savannah guy and not too bad in spite of the fact that he is a gator. Yeah, yeah, I hear you gator fans out there.

I had a flat tire on the way to the game Saturday and should have just turned myself around right then.  Just wait till next year!

Thanks for checking back y’all, go do good things
-jamie

Back to the blog.

Hey Y’all…….

I’m back on schedule.

Bobby and I had a chance to get over to Americas second harvest this week and share some good news and a check with them. On the Paula Deen cruise this year was the opportunity to enter a raffle where the grand prize was my brother…..well at least dinner with him. All of the proceeds went to a charity of Bobby’s choice and he choose the local food bank. So we went and presented Mary Jane (the director) with a check for 12 dollars!

Just kidding, you know I gotta keep my little brother in check. He raised over three thousand dollars that will go a long way here in Savannah to help some local families through the holidays.

The shrinking economy is putting a hurt on the efforts of food banks across the country to help feed the hungry. Y’all know I serve on the board at Second Harvest here in Savannah and I have written about this before but it is worth repeating…find a way to make a difference. The food bank in your area needs help.

It is hard even for us who are blessed with families and jobs and friends who can offer guidance and support. Imagine the feeling of hopelessness for those who are dependent on the charity of others. It really is up to us, our small group that meets on a blog every Tuesday, to spread the word and share our blessings to the people in our community that needs it the most.

So get to it!

Thanks to the folks who chimed in last week….I was a little nervous about dipping my toe into any kind of politics and I managed to do it without making anyone mad!

Phil is planning on starting up a podcast with bobby and me next week, so if y’all think you can stand it, there will be the sounds of the Deen brothers coming soon…..

Thanks again y’all, get out and make a difference

-jamie

Back to the blog.

Hey y’all

Only 37 shopping days till Christmas. Ugh!

Do y’all believe my wife has finished her shopping? How do people do it?

I plan on breaking out the catalogs in about 30 days myself…and no, she doesn’t read this blog.

Bobby and I put the first recording into the can, as they say in show business, for our podcast. We are gonna need y’all to send questions to us because after 30 minutes we have already run out of things to talk about. Phil is going to include instructions on how to find us and we hope to drop a new show on y’all every two weeks. We are excited to get this project started and in time may include some video as well so send us your questions.

You can send your questions in to .
phil

Yes, Bobby is single, so save that question…..

We have signed our new cookbook deal! We are so thrilled to have our next two books published by Random House. The first book is going to be released in the fall of next year and unless something changes will be titled “Deen Brothers Take It Easy: Quick Affordable Meals for the Whole Family”. These are new recipes that are going to help busy families prepare great meals without spending a lot of time or money. Who doesn’t need that? We are still going to work with Melissa Clark, who is a new momma!, and the project is headed up by Pamela Cannon.

We. Love. Pamela.

She is the women who walked into the Lady and Sons all those years ago and saw the potential that our self published book, Secret Recipes of the Lady and her Friends, held.

That’s right, Pamela changed our lives and we so love her and could not be happier to see our new books land on her desk. Maybe she can help Bobby and I sell over a million copies like she has done with mom! My first trip to New York was with mom to meet with Pamela at the Random House headquarters and let me tell you, my mom and I have never been that quiet in our lives!

We are so happy for the opportunity and thankful to Pamela and the whole team at Random House…..

So maybe y’all can get an early start on your holiday shopping after all…."Deen Brothers Take it Easy” cookbooks for next year!

Thanks for checking back, do good things

-Jamie

Back to the blog.

Jamie is spending the Thanksgiving holiday with family and will be back with his blog next week.

Back to the blog.

I want to give thanks for.......

my family
our business
and y’all.

Bobby and I are in New York next week for work and I will give up all the details on Friday, December the 5th. Look for us on GMA next Thursday.
until then, do good things

Happy Thanksgiving
-jamie

Back to the blog.

....thank the Lord.

Bobby and I had a great trip to New York.....its our first time up during the holidays and it was beautiful.

And busy. People everywhere.

The GMA spot was a lot of fun too. We love them and if y’all happened to catch it, you know we are friends and don’t take the whole thing too seriously. Chris and Bobby jacked around with each other for half the time and I had to throw food into a cold pan and basically tried to inject some level of decorum.....just kidding. I was right there with ‘em. Boys is all we are and all we will ever be i guess. Karen Pickus did work hard on the food styling and I wish we could have showed off her work better.

Thanks Karen, we love you.

We met with Pamela Cannon at Random House and things are rolling on our next book. We are shooting photos in two weeks and I will keep y’all posted on the goings on.....

So I got home and haven’t stopped kissing on my boy and Brooke and couldn’t be happier. There is no place like home. Phil is going out to California for the week to get some work done so if you see the blog is not as clean or do not see your posting as soon as usual, sit tight, he will be back in the office next week.

Bobby and I were able to donate some coats this week on GMA and I want y’all to dig around and if you can find an old coat, share it with someone. It feels so good to do good......trust me.

thanks again y’all.....you know what to do
-jamie

Back to the blog.

we are getting down to it....16 days to Christmas!

My plan is to get out today and wrap it up....wrap it up, get it?

Hey! Our softball team won the league championship! We went from 2 wins to second place last year all the way to top of the pile this year. The team was awarded a trophy the same size as our second place trophy so I immediately went to my friend Rusty at his sporting goods store and had an extra 2 feet added to it....you know, for the team. Not too bad for a bunch of cooks and artist’...plus one old guy.

We have been coaching Jack to ask Santa for the toys on his wish list this year and when Brooke and I took him to the mall to ride the winter train he spotted Santa. You could not havestopped him with a truck. “ Dino’s, Dino’s Dino’s!”, all the way across the mall, running full sprint to make sure Santa got his list. People are surprised he was’nt scared but his desire for dino’s was much stronger. We are so excited to see him this year Christmas morning.

Can y’all believe we are going out with our entire family to sing Christmas carols from a tour bus? 

Can you imagine the family that opens their door to us?

.....we are a lot of things, singers ain’t one of them.

Did y’all catch momma on The Tonight Show last night? Its hard to believe that my little ole’ momma, who was scared to leave the house for so many years,right there on the TV on The Tonight Show.

Jeez, what next?

We are shooting our cookbook photos next week and I have my fingers crossed that Jack will be in the mood to say cheese, if we can get the shot he will be on the cover with Uncle Bobby and his daddy. 

Bobby and I are having a book signing at Barnes and Noble this Saturday here in Savannah and I expect to see all of y’all there.

Thanks for checking back, did y’all donate some coats? Its getting cold outside, save Savannah where it is a whopping 70 degrees, so don’t put it off. Maybe swing by the food bank and drop off some peanut butter.

Good job, y’all....keep doing good things
-jamie

Back to the blog.

its 80 degrees here in Savannah today. Eight zero. It looks like the rest of the country is zero eight degrees.

The only drawback is the bugs are just as excited as we are about the warm weather. It will be a more Christmas-y 60 next week. Y’all believe I have never seen a snow shovel?

Sorry for the delay, we have been busy shooting photo’s from daylight to dark the last few days. We are using Robert Jacobs again ( he shot the first 2 books) and some local people and y’all know, we have a good time.

We spent a few hours at Davis Produce yesterday and Randy and his wife Sherry kept bringing out fresh boiled peanuts,canned okra,pickled pole beans and fresh apples and on and on....I’m still full. The pictures are going to be awesome. Randy just brought in a new shipment of fresh squash and the most beautiful collard greens I have ever seen.

I want y’all to know Libby, that made the post about girls playing softball last week, is a friend of mine. She does all of the food styling for mom’s show and worked on our cookbook’s. We love Libby. She does great work and is a super person but Libby, you can’t play softball with us. We are in the men’s (boys) league. Its their rules....plus you are better than any of us.

We are down to a week before Christmas and like y’all I bet, I have a few last minutes things to pick up and a good bit of wrapping to do. I always wait to wrap everything at once which is the worst idea I have every year. Plus today is the deadline on some writing I have on the new book so I gotta boogie.

I will take a minute to share with y’all, we were able to donate 25 thousand pounds of food this week to America’s Second Harvest here in Savannah. Our family made the presentation along with Smithfield Foods so I was able to give and receive. As a member of the board I actually gave to myself....how cool is that?

Y’all have a great week and I’ll talk to you soon.

Do good......
-jamie

Back to the blog.

and to all a good night.....

Have a safe wonderful holiday y’all.
....all the details, next week.

-jamie

Back to the blog.

here comes the new year.

First off, the caroling thing defies description but here goes.....

The trolley pulls up in front of my house and about 30 people in different kinds of crazy Christmas hats are singing the worst rendition of Jingle Bells ever witnessed. Ever.

Jack is completely unfazed and immediately joins in the fun. The whole deal lasted about 3 hours (we made it an hour) and surprisingly, there were no arrests. Cops must have had a busy night elsewhere because the sounds coming off that bus had to violate some law.

Lets just say it was no Silent Night that’s for sure.....

Some of y’all may have caught the news of the explosion downtown in Savannah yesterday. We are alright and thank the Lord no one was hurt. With all the new buildings going up and the power company trying to redo lines that are out of date and who knows how old, it was too much for the system and it just blew up. That’s not the official version mind you just the facts.

It just blew up.

We missed a half day of business but got open for dinner and are back on our normal schedule today. Savannah is really busy and boy do we need it. Everyone downtown is experiencing an uptick in business and after the steady decline in the last quarter we are all so thankful.

Y’all should have seen Jacks face when he saw that Santa had come to see him Christmas night! That was the best present I received this year....of course I got it on tape. He got a train table and puzzles and of course his dinos. I can’t imagine more fun than a two year old on Christmas morning...it may be a three year old, I’ll let y’all know.

Brooke’s folks were here and her brothers and with my side of the family all here it was just a great holiday and a good time was had by all......

Thanks to y’all who keep up with us and my blog...its been six months or so and I look forward to checking in and hearing from y’all....its more fun than I thought it would be and sometimes harder too.

My family and I wish you all a safe and happy New Years Eve and all the best in 2009.

-jamie

Back to the blog.

it seems i am getting my “once a year cold” out of the way early.

We loaded up the family and took off for Orlando on the 31st for a “end the year, start the year vacation”. Yes, I went to see my bulldogs play. Awesome game....and we also took Jack to Universal Studios for a few days. Brooke’s parents flew down and we made it a family affair.

Unfortunately, the in-laws brought a bug from Atlanta and Jack had a little runny nose from Savannah and WHAMMO!

Instant sick.

We still had an awesome time. Jack saw Barney and had his picture taken with Dora, which is huge to him, and rode his first roller coaster.

Woody Woodpecker is now a legend in our house. Jack, as his momma said, laughed from his toes, from start to finish on the Woodpecker Express.

We are still holding on to warm temps down here and it feels like spring is around the corner.

The restaurant has been closed for the last 2 days taking care of some in house repairs and we took time to go out to the beach and plant some stuff in the yard....sorry to y’all that are still digging out from all the snow.

I hope that all of y’all have had a great start to your new year and Bobby and I have some neat new projects coming that i will keep y’all posted on...and I hear

Phil is getting closer with our pod cast.

That’s it for this week, I’m hittin’ the NyQuil

thanks y’all. Do good.
jamie

Back to the blog.

its gonna get down to twenty degrees tonight....

Hey y’all. we are feeling much better around the home front this week, thank you very much.

I have to send thanks out to the readers who voted for our restaurant being chosen as number one in the “Southern Favorite Restaurant” category this year for Southern Living Magazine.

One of my favorite restaurants in Savannah, Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House, also made the list and our city was chosen as the second favorite city to visit behind Charlston, South Carolina. We are proud to represent the tradition of southern cooking and service and happy for our friends at Mrs.Wilkes and for our city as well.

Pretty cool news....it even made the front page of our local paper. We had our monthly restaurant meeting last week and for the first time in our history the entire staff was named Employee of the Month. We couldn’t operate our restaurant the way we do without every one of our staff, all 250 of ‘em, pitching in and helping do business the way momma expects it to be done.

Thank y’all, thank y’all, thank y’all.

Some housekeeping:

Jennifer,
I believe the cruise is coming back East this year....at least I hope so, then we can take Jack.

Lisa,
Not only do I know what long john’s are, I have a full body set with a flap on the rear end....I may need ‘em tonight.

Jen,
Cooking with Sam now will be some of your fondest memories, his taste in food will grow don’t worry. The next problem you have may be trying to fill him up.

Jann,
Yeah those damn Gators...and Tebow just had to come back. Go Dawgs anyway.

Thanks y’all, talk to you next week. Spread some good.
-jamie

Back to the blog.

Hey all, Jamie is working on a project and will blog about it as soon as he is done.  Sorry for the delay, he does try his best to get these out on time, but sometimes life gets in the way.

Phil the administrator

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we flew in late last night from New York.

Bobby and I are happy to have been hired to promote the new campaign and launch of “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Cooking and Baking Sticks”. This is a healthy alternative to butter that bakes and cooks just like butter with half the saturated fat and 0 trans fats. It really does taste and cook like butter and the whole thing will launch on the website http://www.bakeittobelieveit.com in the middle of March.

We were shooting video for the website the last two days and it was about as cold as my South Georgia rear end could stand.... 19 degrees yesterday!

This weeks mailbag was pretty full so here goes:

Diane hates okra because it is slimy....me too. So you fry it.

Megan, my favorite pasta salad recipe is to take a dry Italian seasoning packet and to their recipe add a couple of tablespoons of mayo to help the dressing stick to your pasta and about a teaspoon of sugar. Toss this with any kind of cooked pasta and some blanched veggies. Add cooked chicken and fresh mozzarella cheese, some olives, anything you like on a salad really and you will love it. It is one of my families favorite quick dinners.

Deb M, I will keep you posted on the time line of the cruise. I don’t think even the cruise folks have it yet and our self published cookbook was titled “Favorite Recipe’s of The Lady & Her Friends”. This was tweaked by Random House and published as “The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook”. We only had 5000 printed before the rights were bought by RH and the only way to get one is a lucky find at a yard sale or on EBAY, where I have seen them sold for five or six hundred dollars.

Kate, the pros, in a nutshell, of living in Savannah are: January the 23rd temp, 68 degrees. The con, July the 23rd temp, 102.....humidity 100 percent. Hallie summed it up pretty well....it is like living on vacation.

Drew, I don’t know a food that pairs well with cigars but I would guess a hearty flavor....you just can never go wrong with a bone-in ribeye about 2 inches thick cooked on the grill.

Rose, how about your Cardinals!?! Good luck in the Super Bowl.

A few people asked about a good place to stay in Savannah and I like The Planters Inn. All of our family stayed there when Brooke and I got married. Its 2 blocks from the restaurant and a beautiful place to stay.

The question is what is a roof rake.....I’m gonna guess a snow blower?

Thank Y’all for writing in and checking back....have a wonderful week.

do good things
-jamie

Back to the blog.

I slipped and landed on 2 porkchops with rice and gravy and cabbage and biscuits and broccoli with my mouth wide open.

Yes, momma’s dinner table is the place where tight pants go to die.

Brooke warned me a full hour before we left the house to watch myself but those chops will be my downfall...and the biscuits. That’s not the first(or last) dinner that I eat because it tastes so good. Forget still being hungry, that feeling is over 10 minutes before I take a breath…

Did I mention the Million Dollar Pie? Oh baby....the pie.

I’m still full.

Some of y’all have asked about the schedule Bobby and I keep at the restaurant. We are at the restaurant unless we are out on the road somewhere. Every week that I check in with y’all, I do it from my office at the Lady & Sons. I call it an office but it’s more of a clubhouse. We are in the store signing books and taking pictures, visiting with folks and lending a hand to our staff 5 or 6 days a week.

Our guest’s are always surprised to see us here. I think some folks believe we live in their televisions. I can’t tell you the best time to catch us, but if you are in Savannah for a few days you have a decent shot at catching us during the day. I have cut out my double-shifts since Jack has come around.

I knew y’all would find the humor in our “not” butter deal.....and mom has too. She has not dis-owned, cut out of the will, or given us a spanking. She has the best sense of humor of all of us and will have so much fun playing with us about it but she supports Bobby and I above all other things and is proud and as excited as we are to have the opportunity to launch a new national product. And one Bobby and I really believe in too I might add.

The podcast? I don’t know.....Phil?

To Sherri: Brooke and I felt it was important for Jack to learn a little about separation and we found a great program at a church that has “school” 2 days a week for a couple of hours a day. We, of course were nervous, Brooke cried while I videotaped the big day but Jack took right to it. He figured out that momma would come back and it became about fun and exploring for him. Oh, and the suckers and snacks at school probably didn’t hurt. You wonder what you will do with the time but I bet you can fill it pretty easily...at least take a few hours for yourself.

Hey Joey, I’m sorry to hear your Nanny passed. I bet she was a good cook, you don’t make it to “Nanny” status unless you can shake a pot or two. In our family all of our loved ones that have passed stay with us every time we use their recipe or share a memory of our time in the kitchen with them or use a certain pot. Take those times and share them often and Nanny will never be far from your mind or heart…

OK, I gotta head down and get to work.

Y’all too, go do something good
-jamie

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and officially spring fever season here.

March brings beautiful flowers, the St. Patrick’s Day parade and spring football. April brings flip flops, The Masters and picnic’s in the park.

February brings “The Itch”. Man,I have got to get outside… today. I want the beach and the jet-ski and a sunburn and 2 cold beers.

Of course, tonight it will be 28 degrees.....

We had a great time at GMA last week...that is my favorite place to do TV. If y’all saw it you can tell we really have fun and its so relaxing and just like hanging out with friends. We will be back up sometime this summer for a spot on the summer concert series and Brooke and I are gonna bring Jack this time for his first trip to NY.

When we go out now he always comments on all the cars and “so many people”, he may blow a gasket in the city.

Mom was on the Conan O’Brien show last night and is on The View today and I know she is ready to get home and see everyone. The road is a good time but also a tough time and there is really no place like home.

Bobby and I sat down with Phil yesterday and recorded the second pod-cast and I know Phil is working to get it up but is traveling out of town for a wedding and it may be next week before he is done...y’all keep your ears peeled.

Hey Sherri, there are no hotels on Wilmington Island. Tybee is the only option if you don’t want stay in town.

I gotta full plate today and gotta get busy, thanks for checking back y’all. -jamie

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Good morning everyone, Bobby here. I’ve hijacked Jamie’s computer.

I wanted to say thanks to all of the folks that enjoy our mom’s work, and that make the trek here to The Lady & Sons.  In this economy, I’m moved by the people who drive or fly here everyday to visit our restaurant in hopes of catching a glimpse of our mom. It seem that every time I’m here at the restaurant, someone says “I drove _ miles to be here!” Just an example; A young couple (early twenties) I spoke with in the Paula Deen Store about two weeks ago, Had driven to Savannah from Minnesota to eat at our place. I chose their story because its fresh on my mind, but I hear that stuff all the time. Unbelievable! Our mother’s appeal is vast and covers the spectrum as far as people who can relate to, and love her. I’m very proud of that.

The Lady & Sons is running like a top, and we are gearing up for what we hope is a busy spring here in Savannah. I’m extremely proud of our staff, as they are responsible. Dustin Walls (our general manager) The kitchen managers (too many to mention here, but they know who they are) are doing an outstanding job managing this business. I think our health department score speaks for itself. (100) Proud of that too. Jamie and I will be in D.C. next week, then I’ll be in South Beach with my mom for the Food&Wine;Festival. Come see us if you can. Thank you all for your love and support, it is not lost on us.

love y’all-
Bobby Deen

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Bobby and I had a job in DC this week and I am running a day behind.

We did a cooking demo at a US Foods trade show. US Foods has been our food distributor since our first week of legal business. As y’all know we ran a pirate operation out of the house for the first year. Pat Watkins walked into the front door of The Lady restaurant and offered us the first weeks groceries on credit....good thing since we didn’t have two nickels to rub together, and the rest is history.

Pat took a chance on us and we have stayed loyal to him...it has worked out well for both of us. He really knows our business and has seen us grow and he has grown with our company. It’s nice to have a salesman that I don’t have to stay on top of about a fair price and our food bill is about a million times more than it was back in 1990.

We had about 800 folks turn out Monday night and the show ran an hour and a half. The two of us got to talkin’ and after an hour I had only managed to saute some onions so it wasn’t really the most structured cooking demo but everyone had a great time.

Micheal Peay, our good friend and loyal assistant, was tinkering around getting the stage set up before the show and managed to slice the palm of his hand wide open. About the most dangerous item he should handle is an envelope anyway so he spent a few hours in the DC emergency room.

8 stitches....in the palm.

and how was your Monday?

thanks y’all and Alice if its kills me I am going to hunt down the recipe from Miss Tee-Eva’s

do good things
-jamie

Back to the blog.

Jack is getting his big boy furniture delivered!

I can’t believe my little baby is moving out of his crib...time just flies. He turned two and a half last week and it seems like only yesterday that he was still sticking everything in his mouth and we had to keep the pee-pee tepee handy.

I wonder how many of y’all know what that is?

The whole famn damily got back from South Beach in one piece andI noticed that mom didn’t get as much sunshine on her face as Bobby and our cousin Jay did....of course those two guys are single and probably didn’t lay down untilthe sun came up each day.

Brooke and I had the chance to go three years ago and since there is a banon 2 year olds in South Beach we had to sit this one out. It really is a tough event to bring the little ones, nothing really cranks up until bedtime and we areright in the middle of the"staying home is easier"stage.

You couldn’t pry the details out of those guys with a crowbar but I will keep y’all posted on any details that may slip out.

March is right around the corner so if y’all haven’t made your plans for St. Patrick’s day inSavannah, now is the time. If some of y’all can make the trip I promise you will have a time that you will never forget. My first year in Savannah I stayed downtown with a fiend a block from Forsyth Park and woke up to the sounds of a traditional Irish jig....at 630 am. I peeked out the window and saw six grown men dancing around a keg of beer and thought “what have I signed up for?"We had a great time but I remember I was back in the bed by lunchtime. It took me a few years to figure out the right pace for cocktails in the middle of the day.

Hey, thanks Deb M. for sending me the card with the recipe. The bulldog on the front lookslike our dog Champ and the Red Velvet Whoopie Pies may be my new best friend. I will keep you postedon how they turned out.

Gotta run, thanks y’all and keep up the good work.
-jamie

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of course he still sleeps in the crib. When I go up in the mornings and he is buried under his blankies in his little nest I understand his hesitance to change.

I can’t say I blame him. I would hold out too.

So mom dropping her pants was the talk of the town last week....and evidently of you-tube. Y’all may have caught her on Oprah last Friday. If Oprah caught wind of it you know people are talkin’. The funny thing is when mom told me her pants fell down during the show she was so casual and I did not blink an eye.

“Battery pack get you again?” I asked. “Yep” she said. “Spanks?” asked the son. “Yep”. And that was it.

Its not the first nor the last time my mom will show her rear end on a stage but people were shocked but it was a two second slice of our conversation. That’s just us I guess.....sometimes your pants fall down and sometimes they stay up.

By the way I am sure that won’t be the last time my mom shows her rear end on a stage. Stay tuned.

“Best Dishes” is here filming for the next two weeks and I am slated as a guest on Friday. I love when I get to work on the show and we will be cooking out of the new Deen Brothers book, “Take it Easy”.

Speaking of books, The Deen Family Cookbook went up for pre-sale yesterday and if y’all enjoy our books this is a must see. The cover is a shot of the entire family and loved ones and the dogs and is slap full of brand new ideas and recipes. I think you can find it at http://www.pauladeen.com. It’s really awesome.

Tomorrow is my favorite day...Four years ago on March the 5th, Brooke and I were married. I have been busting my tail to get down to my wedding day weight, still trying to lose my baby weight you know, and I didn’t quite make it. Only missed by 40 pounds.

Just kidding, missed it by 14.

Friday is mom and Micheal’s anniversary, I think its 6 years for them. Friday is also Uncle Bubba’s daughter’s birthday. Happy Birthday Corrie.

It’s basically celebration week around here.

It’s time I got back to work, thanks for checking back and y’all go do some good things.

-jamie

Back to the blog.

thank the Lord. I was out at mom’s for a couple of days this week filming and I really love shooting her show “Best Dishes”.

We just laugh and its fun to try to crack each other up...the shows will air soon and I know everybody will enjoy them.

I have been covered up with a project that is still under wraps but hope to share soon. Stay tuned.

I finally got my hands on a copy of the family cookbook and it is going to be huge. The recipes are so solid and the photos of Jack are, if I may say so, the cutest things ever.....

I want to send out congrats and apologies to Hallie on her efforts with the mini-golf tournament this past week. I am so impressed by your dedication and your ability to come into a new community and make a statement and start up a new tradition for Savannah.

I am sorry to have missed it and will keep my fingers crossed that next year my calender will be free for the 2nd Annual Mini Golf Open.

Great job Hallie!

Alice you make me laugh.....still looking. Can I buy a little more time?

Jodi, please pass on our best to Ashley’s family and our deepest condolence’s.

Well, Bobby is calling me to go downstaires… duty calls.

Thanks y’all- do good. jamie

Back to the blog.

is over!

I mean, thank goodness for the business that our city gets but it has always been kind of a pain in the rear end too.

The Lady and Sons is always slower than normal and we have to close earlier than usual and now that St. Pats is in the rear-view mirror we can get into the heart of our season.

Brooke and I brought Jack down for his third St. Pat’s parade and he had a super fun time. The parade is one of the best family traditions in Savannah and we are enjoying seeing his reaction to all the sights and sounds grow more animated every year.

Firetrucks! Soldiers! Clowns! Horses! Bands!

Sorry I am late this week. Yesterday we were at mom’s house all day for a photo shoot. People magazine is doing a piece for the release of the family cookbook. Jack did really good. There are secrets though. When y’all see the porch picture of us at the rail, he has a mouth full of peanuts!

The website for the “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” campaign got kicked off a few days ago. It is http://www.bakeittobelieveit.com and is worth checking out. It is so funny to see myself on there so y’all go have a laugh on me...and if you play the game you can win cool stuff!

Alice.
Finally.
The Tee-Eva recipe, courtesy of our good friend Deb M.
(Thanks for getting me off the hook for this Deb)

Make your roux with 2 oz of butter and 2 oz of flouradd into the roux a “holy trinity” of green peppers, celery and onions about a cup of each. Saute that down until the veggies are soft. Add blue crabs that have been boiled and cut in half. save that stock. Add raw shrimp, season with creole seasoning, cayenne pepper, white pepper(careful with this!), thyme, and garlic powder. Cover the whole mess with your crab pot stock and cook until shrimp are done. Serve it over rice garnish with parsley and add a pinch of feli powder. This was the ingredient that was foreign to me....and still is.

How’s that Alice! A thousand thanks Deb M.

And to all of y’all too. Talk to you next week.

Do good.
-jamie

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Hey y’all, I’m glad to be back home!

Bobby and I were in NY this week doing some publicity for the ICBINB campaign.

We got to the studio yesterday morning at 635 am and went outside for the first time at 500 pm. It was a satellite media tour and we appeared on 34 television shows around the country.

Its a long day of standing in one spot but always exciting.... never boring when you are on live television for practically 6 hours straight!

The toughest part is when several spots run back to back and I realize a cup of coffee, a bottle of water and a diet coke is an awful lot of liquid for one bladder.

So we wake up Tuesday and its 24 degrees! I’m used to 74 and it took about one minute to turn me into a south Georgia popcicle.

Everyone was happy with our work and Bobby and I, of course, did plenty of cutting up and had a great time.

I have so much to catch up on this week....I gotta boogie. Thanks for checking back and I’ll talk to you next week.

Good things y’all -jamie

Back to the blog.

Bobby here.......Hope everyone is doing well. Jamie and I are here in Savannah (and in the restaurant) this week, but I’m really excited about this coming weekend...I’m headed to New York this Thursday with Michael (mom’s husband) for the first ever game to be played in the new Yankee stadium against the Chicago Cubs!  We’re all big baseball fans, and this is an awesome opportunity. I’m not sure how, but Michael has gotten to know the new owner of the Cubs, and we’ll be attending his cocktail party Thursday night, then off to the game on Friday as a guest of the Cubs! I guess I’ll have to stay neutral on the team gear. I don’t think I can wear a cap from either team, given the circumstances...So I’ll see y’all at Yankee stadium this weekend! I’ll be the guy in the Georgia Bulldogs hat....

BD

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and I am already behind on the grass cutting schedule.

It is also easy to tell by the crowd at the restaurant lately.... thank goodness, you can’t hardly find a seat around that joint this past week or so.

Bobby and his crew got back safe from the big city a few days ago and everyone was blown away by the new stadium. In case y’all were wondering why I stayed behind, I was invited to attend a football practice in Athens on Friday and while it was tempting, I decided pretty quick where my rear end was going.

I guess some of y’all have seen momma on TV the last few days. Our family book dropped yesterday and it will keep her in the road for a few more days. She is such a pistol. I saw her on GMA and I know from experience they have plates of samples ready to go but of course mom tore into her gorilla bread and shoved it in Chris’s mouth....he will be glad to have the two “quieter Deen’s” back soon I bet.

We are pouring over the manuscript for “Take It Easy” and it looks super....the only problem is I have dropped about 25 pounds since we shot the photo’s and every one of me looks like the “before” picture of a Jenny Craig ad. Take the good with the bad I guess......

Our minor league baseball team, the Sand Gnats, opens the season tomorrow night and Bobby and I will be throwing out the first pitch so if you find yourself in Savannah come on out to the ballpark. Grayson Stadium is the oldest park in the league and a beautiful place to stretch out and see some young men play ball as hard as anyone will....pretty cold beer too.

thanks for checking back
y’all do good
-jamie

Back to the blog.

everyone have a nice holiday?

We had a great time down here. Jack has officially moved Easter ahead of Christmas and a close second to Halloween on his list of favorite holidays. If we let him dress up like a shark or Superman or a tiger it would be number one.

He got to have candy for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner.

Brooke’s family was here and we all piled into Mom’s house for lunch....it was awesome, of course.

Standing rib roast, a giant baked ham, fresh corn, broccoli casserole, fresh green beans with red potatoes, pineapple casserole, macaroni and cheese, creamed potatoes, turnip greens with cornbread dumplings (my favorite), hot yeast rolls and our cousin Johnny sent the best red velvet cake down from her bakery in Atlanta.

How’s that sound?

On that note, I had a few folks ask how I managed to drop some lbs. Start here and let me say no seconds.... as hard as it was to pass up.

Its really simple Sheryl and Karen. Eat better food. Period. No fad diets. No special exercise classes. I have a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast with fresh granola on top of that, maybe some fruit. Sometimes I eat a boiled egg on top of cheese toast. Lunch is a lean meat with cheese and some veggies. Maybe a red bell pepper, they are sweet, delicious and good for you. For dinner I will have grilled chicken, more veggies or a big salad. The key for me is to not eat after 6 or 630. I snack on granola or nuts during the day with no candy or sweet drinks at all. I have not broke a sweat ( I should though) in the gym since I started and this morning I made my goal weight.

All I was shooting for was my wedding weight, 217, and this morning the scale showed 216 so I made it. We are attended a wedding in June and I wanted to wear the tux I got married in and that started the whole thing and now I can.

If I can do it with my tough schedule and Paula Deen cooking for me and standing in our restaurant day after day, y’all can too.

Kate, my tattoo is of my initials in a Native American style to recognize the Cherokee blood on my fathers side of the family.

Thanks for checking back in y’all. Have a great week and
go do good things.
-jamie

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some answers.

Hey y’all. I got some interesting questions last week on the blog so today I’m going to answer a few.

Jann wants to know who watches after all the animals (a macaw and 6 dogs) at mom’s house. Well Jann, our cousin Corrie lives in an apartment above the garage and she is able to help mom juggle duties. Mom is gone again for 10 days right now on her second leg of the new book tour.

Effie and Kristy are traveling to Savannah as is Michelle and they are looking for fun stuff to do....

It is beach weather, finally! So bring your bathing suits. We have so much history to explore here so you will want to get on one of the many tours that snake through downtown. My family went out to Tybee yesterday and made a trip to the top of the lighthouse, 178 steps, and it is worth the climb. The entire area is a re-creation of the early period of the original lighthouse keepers. The Fort Pulaski site is definitely worth the stop too. It’s on the way out to Tybee. We have a minor league baseball team in Savannah that plays in the oldest ballpark on the east coast so take a night to go to the park where Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and others greats have played. Y’all may as well eat at The Lady and Sons while you’re here too.

Susan is looking to find a golf course for her husband to play at while they visit. Well Susan, I can do better than that....how about you send him to the Westin to play a beautiful course and you spend 3 or 4 hours in their Spa? It’s Brooke’s favorite place to get pampered, other then at home of course.

Teresa, Brooke was a Zeta in college and Phil is our very own handy dandy Computer Whiz....geek.
Love you Phil.....

Penny is wondering about Jack and his big boy bed. He is sleeping snug as a bug in a rug....in his crib. Call me a softy, push over etc. etc. but at least I’m sleeping at night. We will try again in a few months when he turns three.

I’m in Atlanta this weekend Lisa, sorry I am going to miss y’all this trip.

Bobby is hollering again, time to pay the piper.

Thanks for checking back in…
do good.
-jamie

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39 and holding. It’s hard for me to believe my little brother is pushing up to the big four oh.

I love you Bobby, Happy Happy!

Knock wood. Jack finished his second night in the big boy bed without any fussing. I really don’t care if he stayed in his crib until college but it will be nice to free up some space in his room when we can take it down. I don’t know if I told y’all we went through this before and after two nights I slipped into his room while his momma was giving him a bath and took the crib apart...well as soon as he walked in he said” Daddy, where’s my crib!”. A couple of tears later and daddy was building that sucker right back up.

So anyway, knock wood.

I want to fill y’all in about mom’s eyes. Don’t be alarmed...its like dry tear ducts or something. There is a word for it but I can’t pronounce it much less spell it so let’s go with dry tear ducts. She is taking some meds but the duct in our eyes is the last place in the body to react , or something close to that, and its takes eight weeks or so to respond. She should be close to that now and I will fill y’all in next week.

The crew rolled in last night from the book tour and of course there is a big family dinner tonight in Bobby’s honor. I wonder whats on the menu?

It will be good to catch up with mom...ten days away is a long trip. No rest for the weary though, the west coast swing of the tour starts up in a few days.

Bobby and I will be in Altoona, Pennsylvania this Sunday doing a food show so if y’all find yourself in Altoona, come on over. We are going to take in a Pittsburgh Pirates game Saturday night while we are there. That is our favorite thing to do on the road is visit major league ballparks. Fenway and Wrigley are our top choices with the Oakland Athletics facility bringing up the rear. We hear good things about the park in Pittsburgh so we are excited to see some baseball.

Speaking of baseball, we are hosting our annual “Lady and Sons Night” at Grayson stadium here in Savannah on the 8th of May. It is to benefit our local America’s Second Harvest and is one of the highlight’s of our year. Y’all come down and bring a food item, meet the whole family and pitch in to help fight hunger in Savannah.

Billy Jones. I did live in Dawson, Georgia. 1000 years ago...check out the memory on Billy. We lived in that yellow house and my daddy sold every car he could....which lasted less than a year. I guess we were in school together at Terrell Academy?

Thanks for checking back in y’all. The restaurant is about to open and I need to get to it.....

do good.
-jamie

Back to the blog.

Jamie is catching up from being out of town. He hopes to have a new blog for you all tomorrow. Thanks!

Lisa the Admin

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...right?

Hey y’all. Sorry for the delay of the blog but sometimes there is just not enough time in the day.

And its already 11:30 so you know Bobby is sweatin’ me to get down to work.

First off, sorry for the loss of the past comments. It was fun to read back and to be able to answer questions but we can just start over.

Lisa is going to be a great addition to the site and if she can ever help y’all out, she will. Thanks Lisa for all the help this week.

Bobby and I had an excellent trip to Pennsylvania. The folks were all so nice and the staff at the event was top notch. PNC is at the top of our list of the “new “ ballparks. The view of the skyline past the outfield looks fake on TV and it was such a thrill for us to get to see it in person. The Pirates
won too and the fireworks after the game were awesome.

Next on my list is Camden Yards in Baltimore.

The Deen Family will be at Grayson Stadium tomorrow night for a food drive and meet and greet if y’all can make it this way. At 5:30 mom, Bobby and I will be doing everything we can to help end hunger in our community. We throw out the first pitch at 6:30 and will stay until the fireworks after the game so we will see y’all at the ballpark.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you momma’s out there....enjoy your day!

thanks for checking back
do good things
-jamie

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if you have a two year old.

Yesterday I took down Jack’s crib.

He has been in his big boy bed for the last week or so with no problems. Every day I asked him if we could take down his crib and for a week straight, “No sir”, until yesterday he said yes. We got his little tool set all together and we were going upstairs to break it down but he got distracted, imagine that, so I did it myself. Later on he bopped into his room and didn’t give it a second thought.

The crib is gone!

But on the other hand.....the crib is gone.  Where did our baby go? I guess one of the things parents have to deal with fromthe very beginning is watching the strings to our kids slowly unravel and break away. First his crib is put away and tomorrow he is going to want to drive. Brooke and I have already decided to tell him the driving age is 25.

Best news ever part 2.

Jack crawled up on the potty and pooped! There is no down side to this one. As long as we keep him naked he runs to his little frog potty but in the last few days he has wanted to crawl up on the big seat. Thank the lord. Anybody out there cleaned poop out of a plastic frog potty before.....nothing good about it.

We had a great momma’s day. Jack and I got a big canvas from the art supply store and he choose the color and where he wanted daddy to put the paint. He had a wide brush and proceeded to paint his masterpiece. Brooke was so surprised. Jack made me a little clay thing with his picture in it from school and nothing in life is better than a handmade gift from your child. We went to moms for lunch, yes she cooked as usual, and after I gave her a mother’s day card announced, in front of Bobby, “Mom here’s your present...a grandchild.

Bobby what did you get mom?”

I never get tired of that joke......

Thanks for checking back. Do good things and we will talk next week.
-jamie

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seriously, we have not seen the sun in a week and the forecast for the next seven days is not much better. It’s been two weeks since we played our last softball game and speaking for myself, the rust shows up quicker when you can’t take the car out of the garage.

Okay, first things first....the grandchild joke. Some folks felt it was a little harsh but you have to realize we laugh at ourselves. If I felt like Bobby couldn’t stand the heat I wouldn’t invite him into the kitchen. He’s fine, trust me.

I will share something that will chap his rear end though.....he was the readers choice for most eligible bachelor this year in Connect Magazine for Savannah. Yep, another slow year for bachelors.....

Before y’all rise up to defend Bobby, I’m just kidding. I think it’s a pretty cool thing but I do wish he could meet the right girl, settle down and produce a cousin or two for Jack.

Y’all have questions. I have answers.

Hey Nancy, the menu at mom’s was slow roasted short ribs and rice with fresh turnip greens, baked sweet potatoes and a cast iron skillet of hot cornbread slathered with butter(real).

Sharon, the meatloaf recipe is in our book, Y’all Come Eat on page 51. If you don’t have the book let me know and I will include it in next weeks blog.

Deb, the People magazine is on newsstand’s now. It is the special country edition, whatever that is.... it has cowboy singers on the front instead of the “Jon and Kate” cover. There is also some behind the scenes interviews at the People magazine website.

Hey Sherri, welcome to my world of “Where am I going to park today?’. The best option downtown are the parking garages, the new one is right behind the restaurant and while it is more expensive than a meter at least you don’t have to keep an eye on your watch all day.

Hallie wants to know our best golf memory. Bobby and I were invited up to play a round of golf at Augusta National last year. Augusta is where the Masters Championship is played every spring, its the first of four major tournaments and the course is recognized as the most beautiful and historic of all. If anything ever tops teeing off at #1 with a caddie that looks ready for tournament play I can’t imagine what it could be…

Here’s something fun. We have a condo at Tybee that will be offered to rent during the year when the family is not fighting over it and we need a name. Y’all warm up the old noodle and shoot me your ideas. If you submit the winning name I will come up with some sort of grand prize. Think outside the box, have fun and fire when ready......

Thanks for checking back today y’all, I gotta boogie out to a photo shoot but always look forward to our connection.
do good
-jamie

Back to the blog.

....but first, I have to thank everyone for playin’. It was so much fun reading all of y’all’s ideas.

I will have to think up another contest for us to play soon.

My three favorite choices were, in no particular order:

Crystal- Y’all Come Sleep Jennifer- Bags to Beaches Jennifer- Lady and Sun

I don’t know if the Jennifer’s are the same person or two different women. Lady and Sun was suggested by Andrew Lee, our warehouse manager last Monday at our staff meeting and it was kinda declared the name then but I thought it would be fun to go fishing in our blog pond for some more ideas. So Jennifer you get a little glory there but....

We received a suggestion in the office of our GM and it’s official.

The name of the Deen Tybee Island condo is.... but first.

Just Kidding.

It’s the “Y’all Come Inn”.

I read through the posting’s this morning to double check for it and I don’t think I saw that one. If I did miss it drop us a line and we can hunt it down.

Jennifer, or Jennifer’s, and Crystal send us your mailing address and I will send y’all a signed book as second place prizes. We will, of course, not post your address.

I gotta full plate this morning so it’s a short one today. I hope everyone had a safe and restful holiday and took time to remember the sacrifice that our armed forces makes for us everyday.

Talk to y’all next week.
do good things
-jamie

Back to the blog.

I wanted to drop in and thank everybody for the great response to our search for a condo name. Thank you everybody! Jamie and his family went down to a wedding in Amelia Island this weekend and I think he is still shaking off the cobwebs from one of their rare nights out with freinds and a few adult beverages! The weather here in Savannah is perfect and I would like to invite y’all down to see it for yourself. The beach is calling your name! I hope to get out on the golf course in the next few days before we head up to New York for our apperence on Good Morning America on Friday morning. We are doing a spot for their summer concert series, John Legend is the musical guest,and we are gonna cook up some ribs out on the grill in Central Park.
Thanks for everything y’all do for our family, I’ll see you in Savannah.
Bobby Deen

Back to the blog.

happy Tuesday!

First off, thanks to Bobby for filling in last week for me. I just can’t run as fast as I used to I guess, although every now and then its fun to give it a try!

The wedding was one of the most beautiful I have ever attended. The message during the ceremony was a great lesson for the bride and groom as well as the married couples in attendance. The minister was very smart and laid out the important lessons and commitments that marriage brings as well as all the joys it can hold. The reception was at the Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island and those folks sure have it together. At breakfast one morning Jack said he was cold and the server showed up two minutes later with a beach towel that she wrapped him up in and said it would make a nice souvenir.... now that’s service.

This is the week of our big Deen Family Vacation. The first annual, maybe the last annual, whole fam damily get together. I say the last annual because I am wondering how successful we are going to be able to move 17 people in the same direction at any given time. I have faith and doubts at the same time.....I know these people you understand. I know we will have fun and I sure can use some downtime with Brooke and the baby. As much as we travel, and it’s fun, it is work and I will be turning my phone off for the first time in a year.

Over at pauladeen.com we have a new attraction, Get Cookin’, that has been built over the last year or so I guess and launched a few weeks ago. It’s a place for all of us to get together and share stories and trade recipe’s as well as see some behind the scenes video’s of backstage stuff that happens. I think the video up now is of mom on GMA a few weeks ago but keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming footage of mom acting as our make-up person for the last photo shoot Bobby and I did here in Savannah. I noticed Lisa had some comments about trouble signing up but I believe it’s all worked out now so sign up today and join in the fun.

I will be gone next week so no blog on the 15th but will be back in two weeks from today with all the details.

Thanks as always for checking back in.....
y’all do good things
-jamie

Back to the blog.

we sure have been busy.

The family had a great time on vacation at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. Brooke and I have been down there several times and it was so much fun to have the whole family down to share in the the good times.

I celebrated my third fathers day doing what I do best....kissing Jack every five minutes all day long. He came up Sunday morning and gave me a kiss and said,"Happy Fathers day daddy” and that’s really all I need.

Mom and Bobby and I rode over to Americus Ga. this past