Raise a glass and join the fun on Big Blend Radio’s Annual Holiday Happy Hour Party 2025, a festive roundtable celebration filled with cocktails, travel tales, holiday foods, music, and meaningful conversations about gift-giving and community.

In this spirited holiday episode, an all-star lineup of Big Blend Radio guest experts share their favorite holiday traditions, memorable travels, and seasonal culinary delights. The conversation also explores sustainable celebrations, thoughtful gift-giving (including the art of re-gifting), and why experiences and connections often matter more than material gifts.

The episode wraps up with a joyful and creative collaboration as everyone comes together to design the perfect Christmas card — a heartfelt reflection of shared experiences, gratitude, and community during the holiday season.

Featured Big Blend Radio Friends: * Author & Food Writer Jeff Spear: https://spearwrites.com/ * Travel Writer & Photographer Sharon K. Kurtz: https://sharonkkurtz.com/ * Author & Editor Cliff Garstang: https://cliffordgarstang.com/ * Writer & Book Industry Expert Eva Eldridge: https://evaeldridge.com/ * Singer-Songwriter Johnny Schaefer: https://hearjohnny.com/ * Author & Environmental Activist Cheryl Leutjen: https://cherylleutjen.com/

🍸 Cheers to holiday happy hours, shared stories, and celebrating the season together!

Chef Ivan Flowers—5-Star Chef and Culinary Instructor—returns to Big Blend Radio’s “Eat, Drink & Be Merry” Show to share a festive, crowd-pleasing appetizer: Holiday Ham Spirals. Perfect for entertaining, this recipe highlights how simple techniques and creative flavor combinations can elevate holiday cooking.

In this episode, Chef Ivan breaks down the versatility of roulades, the role of pickling in enhancing flavor and texture, and how using unexpected ingredients can make a dish memorable. The conversation also explores cultural influences in cooking, budget-friendly meal planning, sustainable kitchen practices, and the joy of cooking together during the holidays.

Whether you’re hosting a holiday gathering or looking for an easy appetizer with wow factor, this episode proves that anyone can cook—and have fun doing it.

Holiday Ham Spirals Recipe (Substack): https://open.substack.com/pub/bigblendfooddrink/p/holiday-ham-spirals

On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio’s "Food, Wine & Travel" Show with the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA), we’re joined by Andrea Lemieux, author of "The Essential Guide to Turkish Wine – Edition 2: An Exploration of One of the Oldest and Most Unexpected Wine Countries."

Andrea shares her journey from Michigan to Turkey and how she became immersed in one of the world’s most ancient wine cultures. The conversation explores Turkey’s 8,000+ years of winemaking history, its astonishing 1,400+ native grape varietals, and the modern renaissance shaping today’s Turkish wine industry.

From evolving wine tourism and export challenges to food pairings and legendary hospitality, this episode offers a fascinating look at why Turkish wine deserves a place on every wine lover’s radar.

🌐 Learn more about Andrea’s writing, books, and wine experience services: https://thequirkycork.com/ 🌐 Learn more about IFWTWA: https://www.ifwtwa.org/ 🌐 Follow this podcast: https://food-wine-travel.podbean.com/