What Makes Sunny Anderson's Italian Seasoning Blend Unique

TV personality Sunny Anderson has appealed to many viewers and fans through TV shows like "Cooking for Real" and "Home Made in America." According to the Food Network, she considers herself an omnivore and loves working with all kinds of ingredients. As reported by Pop Sugar, what helps Anderson make an impression among her fans is that she tries hard to be relatable and has tips that are easy to adopt.

She has a very active Instagram account, where she's constantly sharing helpful cooking hacks for her followers. For instance, she wrote about adding peanut butter spread, unsalted peanuts, a chocolate hazelnut spread, and bananas on toast for breakfast, embracing a refreshingly simple dish. She calls it "centaur toast" and writes, "there's no hard rule as to what goes on it, just make it mostly brown, earthy, and muted colors; not green, verdant, and vibrant colors."

She is also a huge fan of seasoning blends. In her column for O magazine, she revealed that she particularly likes using spice mixes. She said, "My goal in the kitchen is to create something that's both familiar and a bit surprising, and spice mixes make it easy to pile on deliciousness without filling your cabinets with a hundred jars."

Anderson doesn't really like doing things in a half-hearted manner. She wrote on Twitter that her Italian seasoning mix can be customized — she uses things like dried garlic, red chili flakes, and lemon peel for impressive results. Also, a fan wondered about the difference between minced and dried garlic. Anderson's response was interesting.

Turns out, Anderson has an entire process dedicated to the seasoning mix. She explained, "I make thin slices of garlic and take the peel off a lemon (no white pithy parts), and I dry them in the oven. On parchment, lowest temp, with the door cracked. When dry, I hand crush or use a mortar & pestle." Wow. Plus, as Anderson wrote for O, these spice mixes can make life a lot easier when you want to ramp up a dish quickly and easily. She said, "Toss them into a dish or two, and you'll see just how versatile they can be." As she tweeted, making your own blend, as she does, means you can add or subtract ingredients to create your own personal blend.