The Thanksgiving Hack Sunny Anderson Swears By
Beyond following Ina Garten's leveled-up classics and Ree Drummond's cowboy cooking, Food Network fans may also appreciate Sunny Anderson and her "easy food" approach. While the outspoken culinary star has been serving up recipes with healthy doses of pure honesty and laughter since 2007 (per Food Network), she's also cultivated a following over a few simple food hacks she's shared through social media.
Last year Anderson blew minds on Instagram over an easy cheeseburger hack. She also received a ton of feedback after sharing her unique method for upgrading store-bought mashed potatoes (per Instagram). In 2020, she revealed to Parade that her purpose in being an on-screen chef was to inspire people to "simplify things," noting that she strives to "show people easier ways to get things done in the kitchen."
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, apart from following Martha Stewart's t-shirt technique when cooking a turkey, Sunny Anderson is serving up tips of her own for this year's food-filled celebration.
Anderson's creative solution for warming Thanksgiving sides before mealtime
Among the assortment of Thanksgiving sides cooked for the big day, how do you keep it all warm while you prep everything else? Sunny Anderson has quite the creative solution for this all-too-common problem: a "camper cooler" (via Insider). Anderson suggests storing whatever you need to keep warm in a cooler while you get everything else in order. Then your entire Thanksgiving meal can be served up nice and warm.
Last year Anderson sat down with Mashed and delved into the ways to save money during holidays, suggesting the smaller cornish hen as a more affordable meat option instead of a large turkey. As far as affordable side dishes, she recommends finding what works in your pantry and getting creative.
Anderson shines best when she uses what's available and that was proven when she created new mouth-watering dishes out of leftovers on the Rachael Ray Show in 2015. Last year she also shared a way to use leftover Thanksgiving turkey in a pot pie recipe on Instagram. She even admitted to followers that she had no shame in buying a store-bought crust. There will always be more Thanksgiving dinner hacks out there you wish you knew sooner, but if you're looking for ways to maximize your space and on-hand ingredients this holiday season, you might want to stick with tips from Sunny Anderson.