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.