Best Sunnys Easy Red Wine Peppercorn Sauce Recipes

CHICKEN IN PUMPKIN-ANCHO MOLE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine 6 cups water, salt, sugar, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, and cloves. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring gently. Once the sugar and salt have dissolved, remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to a large bowl, add the chicken, and refrigerate, covered, at least 2 hours or overnight. Bring the remaining 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. In a medium heatproof bowl, add the ancho chiles and cover with the boiling water. Weigh down with a plate so the peppers remain under water and let them soak for 15 minutes. Remove and discard the stems when the peppers have softened.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. On a sheet tray toss the jalapenos, onion, tomatoes, garlic and cumin with 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Roast until nicely caramelized with good color, 25 to 30 minutes. Add the pumpkin seeds to a dry, hot skillet on high heat. Stir often, until the seeds are golden and begin to pop. Transfer to a food processor along with roasted vegetables. Add the soaked chiles, about 2 tablespoons of chili soaking liquid, the cilantro leaves and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to the processor. Puree until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed.
• Remove the chicken from the refrigerator, blot dry with paper towels and put into a large Dutch oven. Pour in the mole sauce and bake, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 55 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the chicken to a cutting board to cool. When cool to the touch, shred the chicken and add it back to the sauce. Spoon the mole into corn tortillas and serve with lime wedges, avocado slices, shredded lettuce, red onion, and radishes. Garnish with cilantro leaves and enjoy.

GRILLED FENNEL WITH GRILLED JALAPENO SAUCE

Steps:

• For the fennel: Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat.
• Slice a thin layer off the root end of each fennel bulb. Cut each fennel bulb into 8 wedges, keeping the root end intact. Chop 2 tablespoons fennel fronds and reserve. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the fennel wedges until crisp-tender, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from the water and set aside so the water evaporates and the fennel cools slightly.
• Brush all sides of the fennel with the olive oil. Season with a sprinkle of salt and a grind or 2 of pepper. Place the fennel bulbs on the grill, 1 cut-side down. Grill the fennel until golden and caramelized, about 4 minutes. Flip and grill 4 minutes more on the other cut side.
• Meanwhile, for the sauce: Brush the jalapeno with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the jalapeno on the grill and grill on all sides, turning while grilling, until some charring occurs, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the jalapeno from the grill, remove the stem and chop the pepper very well. Place in a medium bowl with the honey, vinegar and reserved fennel fronds. Whisk to bring together and season with salt and pepper.
• Remove the fennel from the grill and drizzle the sauce over the top. Serve warm.

RED CHILE FIRE AND ICE SAUCE

Steps:

• Add 4 cups of water to a medium pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Put the ancho chiles in a medium bowl and pour in the boiling water. Use a plate to weigh down the chiles so they remain submerged. Soak until softened, about 20 minutes. Add the chiles, garlic, 2 tablespoons of the chile soaking water, and the sour cream to a blender and blitz until smooth. Add more of the soaking water, if needed, for consistency. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a bowl or jar and store covered in the refrigerator.

SHRIMP IN GARLIC PEPPERONI SAUCE

Steps:

• In a medium saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat and saute the diced pepperoni until it releases some of its oil, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining oil and garlic and lower the heat to medium-low. Let flavors infuse over the low heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix together the adobo, paprika, and cayenne. Add the shrimp and coat them evenly with the spices. Let rest for 15 minutes on the counter to come to room temperature. Add the shrimp to the garlic oil, raise heat slightly to cook, stirring and turning to cook the shrimp evenly, 6 to 8 minutes. Serve as an appetizer with toothpicks and crusty chewy bread, for sopping.

SUNNY'S CORNBREAD-STUFFED AND FRIED PORK CHOPS WITH HONEY CRANBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• For the chops: Insert a knife at the top end of each chop with the blade facing away from the bone and towards the fat rim. In a sweeping motion, make a pocket inside each chop without carrying the knife completely through the rim of fat, leaving about a 2-inch hole. Season the chops on both sides with a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.
• For the stuffing. In a large bowl, gently combine the crumbled muffins, celery, cranberries, onion, parsley, butter, paprika, sage and enough stock to moisten it. This should not be drippy wet or cakey dry. Taste and season with a pinch salt if needed and a few grinds of pepper.
• Put the stuffing in a piping bag with the largest tip (or use a plastic bag and cut a corner). Squeeze the stuffing into the center of each pork chop and secure the hole with a toothpick.
• For the dredge: Set up a dredging station with the flour in one shallow dish and the buttermilk in a second shallow dish. Season each with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Dredge the chops in the flour first, then in the buttermilk and finally back in the flour. Rest the chops in the flour or on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
• For the sauce. In a small saucepot on medium heat, add the jellied cranberry sauce, chicken stock and honey. Cook until the cranberry dissolves and the liquid reduces and becomes slightly thicker, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and stir in the butter until it melts. Taste and season with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Keep warm.
• To fry and serve: Using a Dutch oven, your heaviest pot or a deep fryer, bring at least 4 inches of oil to 370 degrees F. Gently place the chops into the oil without overcrowding; you may need to do this in batches. The temperature will lower while frying; hold it at 350 degrees F. Cook until the chops reach an internal stuffing temperature of 150 degrees F, 10 to 14 minutes. Remove to a wire rack, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and gently cover with aluminum foil, allowing for air to escape so the chops don't steam. Rest the chops 5 minutes like this.
• Serve with a drizzle of the sauce.

SUNNY'S SWEET 'N SPICY POPCORN

Steps:

• In a heavy pot on high heat, add the oil and 1 kernel of popcorn; then cover. When the kernel pops, add the rest of the kernels and cover. Pop while gently sliding and shaking the pot back and forth to move kernels around inside. Cook until the popping slows dramatically to 1 or 2 pops per second. Remove the popcorn from the pot and pour on top of a wire rack in a parchment-lined baking sheet. Lightly salt. Using the same pot, add the butter, maple syrup, cayenne, cumin, cinnamon and chili powder and stir to combine. Cook over medium-high heat until it bubbles. Gently pour over the popcorn, allow to cool slightly, then tranfer to a bowl, toss with tongs, and serve immediately.

SUNNY'S EASY BACON, PEPPERS AND CHEESE HOME FRIES

Steps:

• Leave the potatoes in the bag and cook them in the microwave for 2 minutes less than the package instructions so they aren't too soft (they will cook in the pan, plus, you'll need to break them down further). Remove from the bag and let cool until cool enough to handle, then cut the larger potatoes into sixths and the smaller ones into fourths.
• In a mid-sized pan on the stovetop or on a grill on medium heat, add the bacon and cook until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. Roughly chop the bacon and set aside. Add the butter to the bacon fat. Once it has melted, add the potatoes in one layer if possible. (If not, do the potatoes in batches.) Cook the potatoes on one side until a peek beneath reveals a golden crust, 10 to 15 minutes, then toss and repeat. Do this a few times; if doing in batches, you can pile the cooked potatoes on the side of the pan while the new ones get attention. Once the potatoes are almost done, push them all to the sides of the pan.
• To the center of the pan add the peppers, onions, steak seasoning, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Cook the veggies, stirring, until the peppers and onions are tender but still have some crunch, about 5 minutes. Add the bacon back to the pan and toss everything together. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the scallions.

SUNNY'S RED FIRE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• On a large baking sheet with sides, add the jalapenos, serranos, bell peppers, onions and tomatoes. Place the garlic under the cavities of the peppers to shield them from direct heat. Roast in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
• In a medium pot set over high heat, add the vegetables from the roasting pan, the vinegar, and enough water to just cover the vegetables. Bring to a hard boil, and boil until the liquid is reduced by half, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove the pepper stems from the pot. Pour the remaining vegetables and liquid from the pot to a blender, and blend until smooth. Wet a paper towel with water and squeeze out as much water as possible. Line the bottom of a fine mesh sieve with the paper towel in one layer. Place the sieve over a large bowl. Pour in the puree from the blender and let the puree slowly drip into the bowl beneath, about 30 minutes.
• Discard any remaining pulp. Add the sugar and stir. Taste the hot sauce and add salt, if needed. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.