SEATTLE — Rosie Mayes was born and raised in Seattle but her southern style cooking has given her a family that's worldwide.
“I have a nice audience online and I refer to them as my Cousins,” she said.
Rosie started making YouTube videos in 2009.
“I wanted to do make-up but I quickly learned that I was not gonna keep up with those girls. So I stuck with what I knew which was budget cooking,” she laughed.
That turned out to be an excellent plan. Today, I Heart Recipes with Rosie Mayes has 534,000 subscribers, and more than 56 million views.
“It's people that love old school, homestyle cooking those are the people that like to watch my videos,” explained Mayes, who has gone on to author cookbooks.
USA Today named Rosie's first cookbook, "I Heart Soulfood," one of '12 Essential Cookbooks by Black Chefs and Authors', and she released her second cookbook, "Super Soulfood with Cousin Rosie" this October.
“Sometimes I sit and think like wow, just the other day I was just yellin’ at my camera in the kitchen and now I'm sitting here doing an interview about my second cookbook, it happened so fast!”
Savory monkey bread with bacon, sausage, and cheese is one of the recipes in the book — a signature Rosie Mayes creation — no fear of calories, or convenience; she popped open a tube of 'canned' biscuits when she made it for us.
"I never get flack for using the canned biscuits — if anything I get flack when I'm doing everything completely homemade because people want those shortcuts.”
Whether it's Creole Crab Cakes with Sweet Chili Sauce, or Candied Yams (her most popular recipe — she says it’s “to die for”) there's one thing all her recipes must have.
“Flavor, it has to have flavor. I cannot stand when people only cook with salt and pepper.”
Whip up one of Rosie Mayes’ flavorful recipes and you won't just have something new for dinner — you'll have a new family member.
“If you are trying my recipes and we are talking online, you're my cousin,” she said.
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