Steve and Johnnie

The countdown to Christmas begins! The show goes by fast with Johnnie Putman and Steve King, and so will December, so consider this your last call for those Christmas gift lists! Joel Paterson kicks off the show right away and he is in the studio to play some selections from his new Christmas album, The More the Merrier and promote some upcoming shows around town! Then, Patrick Crispen is on for your regularly scheduled tech talk and this time we’re looking at some… interesting AI Christmas songs, as well as a hefty serving of tech talk covering Google’s account purge, the evolution of currency in a digital age and your reminder to enable Facebook’s two-factor authentication.

Steve King and Johnnie Putman are here for the coziest show yet! Make yourself warm and tune in as Gino Salomone fires up the showbiz train for the latest in movies and juicy celebrity gossip, including the new Bradley Cooper movie and Dick Van Dyke’s latest award. Writer Dan Callahan delights us with the tales from his latest book, Bing and Billie and Frank and Ella and Judy and Barbra, a story passionately delivered in tribute to some of the greatest American singers in the last century. Then, half of The Empty Pockets are in-studio in the form of Josh Solomon and Erika Brett for some more music, tales from the tour and a tease at what is to come including a new fan club and a December 17th show at the Chicago City Winery. We slam the trunk on the show with your friendly, neighborhood car guru Tom Appel Publisher at Consumer Guide Automotive and we’re covering common EV troubles, potential auto show dropouts, and an extremely urgent recall on the latest Hondas due to seatbelt malfunctions.

Break out the stretchy pants, have antacids close by and raid your fridge because this stuffed show will make you crave more! Johnnie Putman and Steve King come back to Chicago with a cornucopia’s worth of guests and recipes! Chicago Tribune’s Rick Pearson stops by the studio and leaves the politics in favor of his green bean casserole recipe. Muriel Anderson brings a slew of surprises including some upcoming shows, a brand new board game and the debut of her brand new album Sailing Dreams featuring a cast of talented artists. Then, esteemed mystery writer Max Allan Collins tags in to regale us with tales from his lengthy writing career and iconic body of work and to talk about a number of new projects across numerous mediums, including the latest book from Max and his wife, Barbara Antique’s Foe. Patrick Crispen is on a break from tech talk spending it across the pond in London, England with his family and with us. Throughout the show, be sure to help yourself to some Thanksgiving recipes from the Steve & Johnnie WGN crew!

Over the past few weeks, as we close in on the holidays, the subject of favorite Thanksgiving/holiday recipes has frequently surfaced among our Saturday night show’s family. We shared some of them on the air and, since many of you asked if we could post them in our blog, we invite you to grab your appetites and start scrolling.

S&J Show’s Thanksgiving/Holiday Recipes

*** All of these recipes are gluten free except where noted.***

We’ll start with our show’s producer, Julian Saldierna, who shared the secrets behind his mom’s (Green!) spaghetti.

Mom’s (Green) Spaghetti

1 pound spaghetti (save pasta water for sauce) **Barilla makes a great gluten free pasta**

5 poblano peppers, roasted peeled

16 oz sour cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Salt and Pepper

Directions

1 Cook pasta, do NOT dispose of water

2 Blend peppers, sour cream, heavy whipping cream, salt and pepper

3 Add blended sauce to pasta and stir

4 Add pasta water. If pasta water is too thick, stir until smooth

5 Serve

Next, we move to the newsroom and Ron Brown, who shares a family favorite.

Ron Brown’s Family Sweet Potato Casserole

1/3 cup milk

3 cups cooked sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 stick or half a stick or margarine softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:

1 cup pecans

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour **Gluten free flour is readily available at all grocery stores**

1/3 cup softened margarine

½ cup coconut

Combine milk, sugar, vanilla, eggs and margarine with sweet potatoes.  Spread potatoes in baking dish or pan.  Mix pecans, brown sugar, flour and margarine till combined add coconut.

Place topping mixture over the sweet potato mixture.

Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes

Staying in the newsroom, we turn to Gabe Salgado for a must have at their large Thanksgiving dinner!

Gabe Salgado’s Egg Salad dish

Boil 30 eggs and peel

Mash eggs and add loads of chopped celery

Add real mayo till the eggs are creamy

Serve in a large bowl surrounded by Town House crackers **Schar’s Entertainment crackers, available at most grocery stores, are a wonderful Town House crackers substitute that is Gluten free**

We also asked one of our guests, our long-time friend, the Chicago Tribune’s Rick Pearson, to gather ’round our holiday table and chime in with one of his favorites.

Steve King and Johnie Putman have one more show down in Panama City before returning to Chicago and it’s a good one! We start off with Jason Hedden, Executive Director of Recruitment at Gulf Coast State College kicks off the roster to tell us about Public Eye SOAR, a unique projection art festival taking place every year in Panama City and a special exhibit that recognizes veterans. Next up, Mike and Maggie McKinney are Lucky Mud, another musical duo from Florida and they bring their fun “swampytonk” sounds to the studio. Then, Ron Romero, Founder of the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 talks about 2024 Hall of Fame nominees and what Illinoisans can do to get their favorite hometown radio and music heroes inducted. The show closes with the our tech and social media master Patrick Crispen for a chat on why Facebook might be on the fritz, addressing AI in light of the new deal struck with SAG actors and a number of helpful sites for those in need of tech support.

Johnnie Putman and Steve King bring you a friendly reminder to turn those clocks back one hour! Steve Bernas, President & Chief Executive Officer at BBB of Chicago & Northern Illinois kicks off our show by answering some scam questions and telling the class to check your credit report on Annualcreditreport.com, which is the only website you should ever go to. Then, we hitch a ride with Consumer Guide Publisher Tom Appel and learn a little about some hidden Uber features, some differences between EV and ICE vehicles and an update on the auto workers on strike. Before we close out the show, our favorite TV historian, author, analyst, media planner and Beatles expert, Wally Podrazik analyzes the massive global reaction and backstory of the brand new Beatles song, “Now and Then” and he clears up the confusion around the AI that was used to put the song together.

The midnight hour is close at hand, Steve King and Johnnie Putman come to you from Panama City Beach in Florida lands. It is a show full of spooky spirit and tales of those we mourn, along with modern tech horrors and music to make you feel reborn. Mike Marschalk, formerly with Novak Construction, shares the story of Novak Construction’s festive displays for all to see on the darkened highways. We then take a trip back in time with the late Richard Crowe and his iconic story of the Resurrection Mary many Chicagoans know. Jessica Radloff, senior West Coast editor from Glamour Magazine, with a heavy heart she carries, tells us stories following the passing of Matthew Perry. Patrick Crispen continues his password safety seminar to put your heart at ease and we learn that Twitter/X competitor Pebble is gone with the breeze. Eli Ingram and Sandi MarLisa are in-studio as Jack and Gin, a Florida musical duo, to perform their new album The Salty South and close out the show.

Johnnie Putman and Steve King roll into the studio with one more spooky Chicago show before they hit the road to spend November in Florida. It’s another musically inclined show and to kick this one off we have Illinois native Jonelle Carter, one third of the group River Road Trio, to update the gang on their tour and give a little behind the scenes of their music video “The Ride” which is nominated for Josie Music Awards IMPACT Video of the Year in Nashville. Then, Consumer Guide Automotive Publisher Tom Appel returns with some electric vehicle news, Steve and Johnnie’s recent cameo on the Car Stuff Podcast and a few detours for music and food talk. Along the way, keep your ears peeled, pull your blanket up tight and listen at your own peril as we bring you a terrifying tale in the form of… Steve’s Halloween Poem. Enjoy, little ghouls!

On this especially short show, in addition to the usual tomfoolery, Steve King and Johnnie Putman dedicate the night to Tommy Emmanuel, hailing from Australia, as one of the world’s finest guitarists. In studio, we are treated to a very special performance and experience as we learn about the man behind the guitar, his inspirations and we take in his talent firsthand with hopes that a fraction of his skills might reach our fingers. Listen below to expand what you thought was possible on a guitar.

Johnnie Putman and Steve King bring you a shortened show this week at the start of… ‘Falloween’ and we’re getting a bit serious in between the fun, spooky stuff. Annette Prince, Director of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, swoops in to talk about the nearly 1000 migrating birds that died crashing into the McCormick Place Lakeside Center and what we should be doing to address the problematic architecture that contributes to these fatal bird collisions. In the next segment, we revisit the story of Facebook hijacking on last week’s show and bring back Patrick Crispen to dive deeper on the steps to lock down your social media presence and what you should do to secure your passwords and browse safely.

The last show of September is here! Join the class and listen in for more laughs, learning and lunacy with a cast of returning characters. The show starts as we celebrate WGN’s own Jack Heinrich on his first live broadcast on Blackhawks Live. Next up is Max Armstrong taking a stroll up the farm and down memory lane before talking about his new book More Stories From The Heartland. Then, it’s time to get serious about cyber safety with Anthony Uraius and Patrick Crispen in light of Anthony’s recent Facebook hijacking and the steps you should take to protect yourself, such as two-factor authentication and having master passwords. Last, but certainly not least, Consumer Guide Automotive’s Publisher Tom Appel weighs in on the latest events in the automotive industry surrounding the UAW strikes, how consumers and dealerships may be affected and his usual roundup of reviews. Hop on down below for a listen with these two radio rabbits!