Sunny Anderson Shares Her Favorite Comfort Foods - Exclusive

Anyone who knows much of anything about chef, TV personality, and generally beaming person Sunny Anderson knows that this lady loves her mac and cheese. As in, she could eat the stuff multiple times a week with no complaints. During an interview with Mashed, Sunny said: "I have to have macaroni and cheese, so much so when I was dating a guy one time and I was invited over to his family for Thanksgiving, I just asked what they were having and they didn't have mac and cheese. I was like: 'Well, I'll be bringing that.'"

So, it was at first surprising to hear Sunny's answer when asked about her favorite comfort foods. The answer? German sausages.

"My ultimate comfort food? I think it would have to be something that I don't cook because that's comforting when you've got the night off," Anderson told Mashed. "I think it would be spaetzle and Jaegerschnitzel at a German restaurant. That would be so comforting. ... It warms you up. It makes you feel so cozy. And then [comfort food] brings you back to your youth, which is probably why I think Jaegerschnitzel and spaetzle is comforting because it reminds me of my youth. It's a close tie between not cooking and eating something German out or cooking and making macaroni and cheese at home."

So, why does German food remind Anderson, who was born in Lawton, Oklahoma, of her youth? As a "military brat" and then a member of the Air Force, Anderson was on the move in her childhood and early adult years, which helps explain her varied palate.

Sunny Anderson is a fixture of countless American households today, thanks to her work on Food Network TV shows like "The Kitchen" and "Cooking for Real," along with her appearances on programs ranging from "Good Morning America" to "The Wendy Williams Show." But it was her global youth that informed her palate and her cooking. 

As noted, German food is perhaps nearest and dearest to Anderson's heart, but it's hardly the only foreign cuisine for which she holds an affinity. "I also love Korean food," Anderson said to Mashed. "I love the funky, fermented flavor that it has. And surprisingly tart, tangy, and spicy. They really know how to balance out a meal. I guess those, [German and Korean], would be my two favorites. But every food is like a child, you hate to say one because the other one will get jealous, because Tex-Mex is pretty much right after all those."

Fortunately, living in New York with her itinerant lifestyle behind her for now, Anderson can eat her way around the globe without boarding a plane. But even with the many types of foods discussed, the chat came around again to Deutschland once again. "I would have to say I love German food because it's meat and potatoes and it holds a special place in my heart: We lived there for three years. From the Jaegerschnitzel to, obviously, bratwurst. And all of the things in between, like Kartoffel, which is like a potato cake. I love German food, and now that I'm an adult, I love German beer."

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