New Cooking for Real Saturday!! Carving Out Some Fun 8:30AM!

Hey there!! It's been a couple of weeks since a new Cooking for Real, but the weather is perfect for chili now so...Tomorrow (Saturday), catch a new episode I call "Carving Out Some Fun"!! This was a pretty easy menu for me to come up with. I always consider chili to be alone unless there are some kind of tortilla strips, chips or something along for the ride. So, one day I had some squash sitting around, It was cold and I felt like hooking the tortilla strips up with some easy warm flavors.

First I really beefed this chili up. It uses both ground chuck and chuck cubes! Meaty is an understatement!! I really like the texture and the chew, plus the slight sweetness and creamy texture of the squash really work here. If you are a chili person like me, this one is pretty hefty and great for foot ball watching. Pumpkin Spice is one of the things I buy and then try to use up. It's really versatile and goes well on sweet or savory dishes. So, it's in the chili aaaaaand on the tortilla chips. Don't worry, it's not an overload, but the right amount to be tasty and use up more of that spice that never seems to make it past pie.

Then, the shake. Have it loose, have it thick ... but the goal is to kill that box of sugary kiddie cereal!! Gives you permission to go buy another, eh? If you are in the Atlanta area, you have to go by Flip Burger and try the Capn Crunch Shake. It's a problem!!


Ok, here are the menu links!!

Beefy Butternut Squash Chili
Baked Pumpkin Spiced Tortilla Chips
Cereal Killer Shake


Tell a friend (we usually only share what we don't like, gossip about me and share :-). Tell a food friend)

Cooking for Real - Carving Out Some Fun - Saturday @ 830AM!!!

Stay tuned for details about the Food Network Live! event this holiday season!!

Catch me on Nate Berkus today!!

Hey there! A couple of weeks ago I got myself together and headed to the city to cook with Nate Berkus. It was my 3rd time being asked, but I finally said yes ... wanna know why? It was a chance to make something yummy and not say it was "healthy". I feel like I'm still finding healthy ways to eat and don't want to be a spokesperson for it. Last year I was asked to do a national show and discuss healthy options, the hosts were skinnier than me!! I'm thinkin can they tell me something?!?!? LOL

So, when they asked me to come on Nate's show and talk about healthy eating ... well, I declined... 3 times. Just feels silly. I love to eat and I love to cook! I'm here to be myself, not to catch all the money and all the press. I'm no nutritionist, but I LOVE to eat and cook and I do all the bad stuff in moderation, but taking health advice from me ... I'm a size 12. lol. I'm pretty average. Not the stick figure people are trying to figure out how to be. So, anyway, how cool is it when I finally decide to say I don't feel comfy talking health, but love the show that they still invite me to come on? Love Nate! He's so sweet!! The staff is really nice and they even gave me a chance to talk about working with Scope and Crest! I hope I get to go back and make something tasty again! Ok ...

Check us out today on his show, if a video is produced, I'll link or embed it here. Until then, check your listings! In NYC its on at 2pm on WNBC-4 :-) ...

New Cooking for Real Saturday!! Taco Dinner, Taco Lunch

Hey there! Well today's episode started with this picture above. I made chicken tacos at home on a whim and realized quickly that I hadn't done it yet on the show and it was a quick way to get dinner on the table, or lunch. Which is what the taco above was. Many times the recipes I develop from the show happen at lunch time because I'm developing them during my workday, other times the recipes come late at night, after the work is done, but my creative juices are still working. After putting this recipe together, I decided to streamline it even further and push the tomatoes that you see here sprinkled on top, right into the sour cream mixture. It removes a step and then I said to myself "that's close to a creamy salsa". So, I moved things around more and it's a pretty tasty and creamy version of salsa we are used to. It would be great on anything you put salsa on!!!

The next recipe I share is a dessert you can make today if you are stocked up properly for the hurricane :-). No, really even if you aren't stocked up, the recipe was built from my pantry, and my pantry isn't fancy, just the typical pantry items. So, I bet if you like the way they look, you can make em today from your pantry as well!! Ok, Here are the recipe links ...

Ground Chicken Tacos with Creamy Salsa

My Pantry Bars

Only two recipes?? That's not alot, eh? Well, today's show has a guest!! A returning one at that!! Please tune in to hang with my blog-friend Darius Williams again!! We had so much fun cooking and chatting last season, that I invited him back for more. He runs a cupcake shop and a pie truck in Chicago, he's an entrepreneur that left one career field (not by choice, but by design), then landed where his heart and mind could flourish. Here are his links ...

Cupcake Gallery

Uptown Pie Company

Ok, enjoy the show and please tell a friend!! You are supporting two dreamers today :-) not just me!! We need extra love. If you've ever had a tiny dream and left it behind, if it's still a tiny nugget in your head ... think about chasing it. This is the only chance you'll get in this skin. I'm asked all the time why I am so happy and positive and there are so many reasons, but it starts with waking up knowing that it's possible. What's possible? "It" is and that's all I need to know. Happy to be here, and you the person reading this, I'm happy you are here too. Not just at the blog ... but here. Means plenty you take time to hang, I don't take it lightly at all. If you meet me, that's what the hug is for, the whisper in the ear, the direct look in the eye. I thank you. Ok, before I get too sappy ... enjoy the new show!!!

Cooking for Real today!! Season 10 @ 10!!! Taco Dinner, Taco Lunch!! 10am Food Network!!

Don't forget the repeat on Monday at 3pm!!! And catch seasons of Cooking for Real you may have missed the rest of the week at 3pm on Food Network!!

Ever want to look at the full catalogue? Click Sunny Anderson recipes by season

Annnnnd I tweet ... Sunny Anderson

Annnnnnd I'm working on my website! SunnyAnderson.com

Workin' for the weekend!

Hey there! Some pics from the AC Food and Wine Festival!! It's been such a lovely week ... Thanks to every one that came out!!! We were sold out at both Sunset Sliders and Sweet and Stylish!!! Here's some flicks ...That's me at the VIP Dinner. Each year they ask me to come out as a surprise guest during a jillion course meal. I always ask to look at the menu before I choose what I'm making so it's not a train wreck on the tongue. This year I made my Quick Apple and Sweet Potato Soup. It's great hot or cold, but that night it was great not even made ... lol. The heat on the burner just wasn't cutting it, so I walked through the steps and then walked through the crowd. Some people watch Food Network Star and they say things like contestants not getting all the equipment or ingredients for a challenge would never happen and I say it happens all the time. It's no biggie if you ask me, the show must go on!! Ok, here's half of the VIP crew ...Then, just like last year, there were these really cool angle-perspective wall drop thingys lol ... click the link and see the ones that were still here this year. This one below was the only new addition, totally had to take the pic!Then, Saturday night after the Sunset Sliders party I headed over to my other shin-dig Sweet and Stylish, take a look at the crowd...
Can you tell this is a really fast post for me? I'm in a rush to head out to the Mets game. I'll tweet a pic @SunnyAnderson. Check out The Neely's on Pat's birthday! This is at their event on Saturday, really good brunch and music!!!
These are the guys in charge of the food for pretty much all the events ...

I have more pics, but I was busy having so much fun at the Sunset Sliders party, that I didn't get many personal ones. If you went and have any pics, comment, I'll get your email and we'll exchange hellos :-). Ok, Thanks again to every one that came out to the entire weekend!! It was so much fun!!!

Don't forget ... ALL NEW Cooking for Real tomorrow!! Season 10 at 10am!! Curry On Baggage!!

Curry Lamb Shanks with Potatoes

Twice Fried and Mashed Green Plantains (Tostones!!!)

Chocolate Chai Milkshake

Just something to look at ...

Hey there! Just something to look at ...I am super busy, been taking pictures and making mental notes for a marathon post. That was what I made for breakfast late last week and I just saw it on my desktop and smiled. Pictures are great like that. Alright, short and sweet and just something for you to look at while I plow through some work! Hope you had a good breakfast and lunch today ... what's for dinner?

Sunny Anderson on Twitter

Sunny Anderson interview with Dish

Drink break!

Hey there! I'm still working in my kitchens today on the new menus for season 10 of Cooking for Real. The newest season is airing now, with a new episode this Sunday at 11AM! I'll drink to that!!

It's cola, lychee, grenadine and a bit of lychee syrup. It's super sweet and fizzy!! I'm taking a bit of a break between recipes. I finalized 3 or so menus yesterday and a couple of people asked in comments who eats all the food? Well, when I test in the Food Network kitchens usually my culinary staff and I, plus I put out the leftovers out on the community counter for the team lunch. Every one cooking in the huge kitchen that day provides something and together it makes for a pretty nice buffet with people standing and chatting up each other's offerings. That's what happens there, but at home all I do is invite over a few key bellies and it's over. Reminds me of a Seinfeld episode when Elaine had a good/bad idea to open a muffin-top shop, only to find out it was hard to get rid of the bottoms, not even a charity would take them. Who wants bottoms? Anyway, they just kept piling and stacking up the whole episode until she called in ... The Cleaner ...

Just to make you smile ...

I'm in the middle of typing up a some recipes from my journals and got a delivery ... time for a cupcake break!

New Cooking for Real Sunday! Easier Than It Looks!

Hey there! I'm on the hunt for the elusive 15-pound lobster tail :-), but in the meantime I have a new Cooking for Real airing Sunday I want to tell you about!!

It's called Easier Than It Looks and a friend I met right here on the blog stops by to help me prepare the whole menu. This season, we added diner-like seating on one counter in the kitchen and I had guests come by and hang out while I cooked for a few of the episodes. Well, Darius Williams, owner of The Cupcake Gallery in Chicago was a guest on one of those shows alongside two more of my friends. We had so much fun taping that episode and he clearly has such great cooking skill, that my producer and I agreed asking him back to tape another show would be a great surprise and idea. So, after taping what he thought would be his one and only show, we approached Darius to ask him if he had it in him to do another show with me. He said yes instantly, what a champ! Here's Darius in a pic we took just moments before we asked him to come back for another show ...That's Jenna, Darius, myself and Fiona. Jenna thankfully filled in for a guest that couldn't make it due to weather and Fiona is a friend I met years ago and she was actually on another episode of Cooking for Real called Irish Eyes Smiling

We took lunch and Darius came back to tape Easier Than It Looks. We made my Sweet Glazed Butterflied Chicken and Tater and Asparagus Toss. Want to hear a funny little behind the scenes tidbit? Okay :-) ... after going through and reading the introduction I wrote for the show once, we stopped and decided to changed the title of the latter recipe because at first it was called "Asparagus and Tater Toss", but that sounded too much like I could be saying "Tater TOTS" at the end and confuse people and quite possibly upset the tots biz, so my solution on the fly was to simply switch around the words and call it the "Tater and Asparagus Toss". It sounds so simple now, but when I said it as a solution it seemed genius! Teeheehee ...

OK, catch the show this Sunday at 11AM and check out the blog Monday for my first ever guest blog from Darius himself recounting his experience taping Cooking for Real with me! Then don't forget the rerun of the episode Monday afternoon at 4!

A week with Martha! (almost)

Hey there! I've been a bit slow on posting and replying to comments, but I see pics of my finished spread for the big game are requested, so I'll post them at the end of this.

First, news to share! If you have a Sirius/XM receiver, tune in this week to catch me on Martha Stewart's radio station(if not, click here for a free trial!!!). I'm filling in during the afternoon drive all week long, except Wednesday. In the past I've stopped by for interviews and even co-hosted with Betsy on Martha's Morning Living show. This time I'm all alone so I have some great guests coming by. It's a tricky schedule, so I'll list it in a second, but can you believe I'm Martha material? Yes, I garden, but it's considerably messier. I obviously love to cook and I'm constantly doing stuff around the house. Some call it nesting, but I don't really think of it as that. I just like to constantly make things better. Anyway, I'm happy to be asked back because radio is like second nature to me, so it's a breeze and I'd love to talk and have conversation. It's a talk station, I asked if we could play music and it looks like snippets, but not whole songs. Should be fun! I like to think there are people like me out there, totally Martha inside :-), but a bit rough around the edges, ahem real - like Cooking for Real :-). It's not always pretty, but it gets done, right? Ok, here's the schedule for today and the rest of the week:

Monday 1-4PM

Tuesday 1-4PM

Off Wednesday

Thursday 2-4PM

Friday 1-4PM

Today's guests include; Man vs. Food host and author Adam Richman, competitive eater Badlands Booker, Lee Schrager, Debi Mazar, her hubby Gabriele Corcos and more! Stick around for updates.

Ok, week-late game day food flicks ... this is my counter top turkey fryer moonlighting as a wing fryer ...

I made like 20 per batch so they would always be hot when served. I made 3 different types ...That's a spicy honey BBQ sauce I whip up. Then a simple blend of honey and dijon mustard ...
And the third was a new recipe I worked on the night before. Wings tossed in a BBQ dry rub ...

I liked them all, but my new favorite is the last one ...
They taste like a sweet BBQ potato chip, down to the powder left on your fingers for licking! Can't wait to share the recipe with you on a show or in print somewhere :-). Then, here's the layered queso dip I made ...

Plus, I made the chili the day before and wrote about it here.

And what is a party without drinks???

That's a watermelon drink I made by just blitzing melon chunks and running it through a sieve. I toss the solids and sweeten the juice and add some lime juice, then I shake with tequila, pour over ice and top with lemon-lime soda. Pretty darn refreshing!!

Ok, sign up for a free trial and tune in to Martha Stewart's channel today on Sirius/XM!

Day 3 is a wrap, now how 'bout some snow!

Hey there! Well, day three went by so fast and probably because I had some guests in the studio!!! Take a look ...That's Lys from the blog Cooking in Stilettos and Jen from the blog One Curly Fry in a Box of the Regular. I met them both here on the blog and together and separately we've enjoyed some fun, food and drinks together in now 3 states! I'm looking forward to more fun this year ladies and what a way to kick it off with a set visit! SoBe is next!!

I shot two shows today, Comforting Classics and one title I'm very, very proud of ... The COD Father. Teeheehee, it's complete with my very own version of a Marlon Brando impersonation. It's bad, really bad. But I took one for the team and made a great meal between outbursts of Brando. I'm a total cornball and very cool with it. Can't wait for you to see some of my corniness. Ok, it's set to snow tonight in NYC, so instead of sleeping in my own bed out in Brooklyn, I'm holed up in a hotel room close to work so I don't have to worry about getting into the city tomorrow morning. The best thing across the nation at a hotel is a caesar salad, if you ask me. So that was dinner, told the room service guy to take back the bread sticks and butter or I'd eat em! There was enough bread in that basket to make a 9X13 of bread pudding!

Tomorrow's shows are called Piling it on and Easier Than it Looks :-), and trust me it's alll easy! Stick around and if you are in the NYC area, bundle up for another one!