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Food Network star Sunny Anderson shares the 8 kitchen essentials she swears by
The celebrity chef tells us about her favorite game-changers, including a $20 organizer that keeps her countertops in check.
Sunny Anderson lived many lives before becoming a professional chef and Food Network star. She grew up traveling all over the world as an Army brat, then she joined the Air Force as a broadcast journalist. That led to a job as a radio DJ in New York City ... which inspired her to start a catering company ... which, in 2008, brought her to Food Network. Now she's a network staple and co-host of the beloved show The Kitchen — but that's not all. She's also an animal rescue advocate, an inventor and a cookbook author!
With so much, ahem, on her plate, Sunny's a big fan of stocking her kitchen with gadgets and ingredients that have multiple uses. And because she loves cooking for herself at home, you can be sure she puts every appliance she has to work. Those huevos rancheros and mac and cheese (two of her favorite dishes) aren't going to make themselves!
Read on for Sunny's kitchen must-haves — including the $20 lifesaver that keeps her counters organized and the one cooking tool she can't live without. Curious how other experts stock their kitchens? Here's "the internet's favorite grandma" Babs Costello's go-tos and professional organizer-approved storage solutions.
Sunny's an avid gardener, and this food dehydrator helps her enjoy the fruits (and veggies!) of her labor after the growing season is over. "I find myself saving time and money using it to dry herbs, garlic, peppers, fruits and more from my garden," she says. "In the months when I have no harvest, I buy and dry other things like apples, peaches and citrus slices. I usually use these for salads, marinades, teas or scent sachets. In the past I've sun-dried and oven-dried and still do — this is just a more efficient and controlled way to get the job done."
She landed on this Cosori dehydrator after reading the reviews (it scored an impressive 4.7 stars from more than 20,350 ratings). This gadget has become such a standby for the star that she says, "it has earned its location on my counter! I've yet to store it since I bought it."
"My 100%, can't-live-without-it kitchen tool is my immersion blender. I had the same trusty one for almost 23 years until I bragged about it to my co-hosts of the Food Network show The Kitchen. Then, the very next time I used it, it died on me! I laughed because it was too silly to cry," she says.
"That immersion blender gave me smooth sauces, easily chopped veggies, milk shakes and smoothies for almost half my life! I had to replace it immediately because I use it so frequently. I could've bought the same brand because it was so trusty, but I also wanted to try something new with an updated look."
Sunny has owned this "beautiful cream-colored baby" from Drew Barrymore's line, Beautiful (a Yahoo editor-favorite!), for almost a year. "It's great," she says. "I love the cord better — the other one would get in the way and this one is easy to tame. The speed and power are what you would expect and the attachments are very easy to connect."
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"I'm a coaster and trivet person," says Sunny. "I want most everything on the counter resting on one, from the hot water kettle, to the pitcher we use to fill the dog's bowls."
And she knows a way to get them for free!: "Go to your local countertop store that does the cutting on sight and they will either have samples to share with you or a quick peek in their open-air scrap bin, ahem, aka garbage. There are usually plenty of cut squares or circles of various stones like granite, quartz, marble etc. ... for free. I take them home, clean them and then affix felt pads or non-slip pads on the dry side and voila!"
If you get new countertops installed, she also recommends asking kindly for the scraps to be cut into squares. "I have done this and even though they didn't want to charge me, I still tipped the cutter because he beveled the edges for me as a surprise and it took time whether he beveled or not," she explains.
If you don't have a countertop store near you, there are several stoneworkers on Etsy who sell coasters and trivets, like Landmark Stoneworks, who makes the coasters show here.
Sunny loves turntables so much, she has five — yes, five — on her counter alone. "A lazy Susan of any kind is my friend. I keep them to the left of my range, and they are filled with categorized cooking utensils in crocks as well as my most-used oils, seasonings and vinegars," she says.
And she's not alone in her adoration of these handy tools: They're also a must-have for many professional organizers. She adds, "It's perfect because I can spin right to what I need and it also makes it easier to clean the counters. Instead of moving tons of bottles or containers, I just pick up the entire turntable and clean under it."
Sunny may be a professional chef, but she loves a good dinner hack just like the rest of us. "My most-used pantry item has to be pouches of flavored beans or rice of all kinds that you can microwave, and in 60 to 90 seconds be on your way to an easy side dish," she says.
"I discovered these shortcuts during 2020 when I moved most of my shopping online. Before, when I grocery shopped in person, nine times out of 10 I would get exactly what I needed and it would take effort to slowly scan each aisle for new products. But going online and typing in a keyword gives you so many options and can open your eyes to things you walked right by in the store."
She'll eat these microwaveable pouches of beans as is, or she'll mix in other ingredients like sausage or roasted vegetables. It doesn't get easier!
When it comes to rice, Sunny likes Ben's Original microwavable pouches — she just gives them a little zhuzh. "I toss fresh herbs with basmati rice or even toasted walnuts and dried cranberries into wild rice," she says. This cilantro lime flavor is another fave.
"My absolute favorite piece of kitchen decor is an art piece from legendary folk artist Dr. Bob of New Orleans. I have a few of his one-of-a-kind treasures, but the one in my kitchen is my absolute favorite. It is a scene from New Orleans, a beautiful original three-dimensional depiction of another local legend, Mr. Okra, and his roadside fruit truck. The art is made of wood and local finds. Carved, cut, painted and constructed by the genius of Dr. Bob. It also came with a key fob that plays several different sound files of Mr. Okra chanting out the pick of the day to would be customers. Sometimes I just stand and stare at it and I see a different detail every time. If you're not familiar with his art, he's had his work featured in the Smithsonian and is still in residence at his art yard in New Orleans. Tell him I said 'hi,' if you see him!"
If you can't make it to NOLA, Louie's Juke Joint on eBay sells hundreds of his pieces, and is approved by Dr. Bob himself.
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"Last year out of the blue, my coworker Geoffrey Zakarian sent me a full set of non-stick pots and pans! Talk about cool!" says Sunny.
"Geoffrey's gift had almost perfect timing. Thing is ... I'd just finally decided to move on from the last of my old non-stick pans, and I bought a new set. So now I have two new sets!" She says Zakarian's are better: "I love the size and weight of them, but mostly the groundbreaking pot lids. The top handles fold flat and make for easy storage without an avalanche. Very smart and I would expect nothing less from GZ!"