Holiday Cooking & Culinary Gifts Show! Airs Live November 7, 2008 11 AM - 1 PM PST. Your hosts Nancy & Lisa, Blend Magazine editors, will co-host with Maralyn D. Hill – co-author of ‘Our Love Affairs with Food & Travel’ and ‘Cooking Secrets – The Why and How’. Special guests include Brenda C. Hill - our co-host Maralyn Hill’s writing partner; Andrea Peterson – Innkeeper of Blue Heron Farm B&B and Peterson Specialty Produce; Rich Sherman - Myrtle Creek Nursery, Fallbrook CA; Jim Walsh – CEO of Intentional Chocolate; Kent Callaghan – Callaghan Vineyards; Debbie Mansheim - Basket Creations and More & Bard Date Company; Donna George – The Peanut Patch, Yuma, AZ; and Kelly Alexander, author of ‘Hometown Appetites: The Story of Clementine Paddleford, the Forgotten Food Writer who Chronicled How America Ate’. MEET OUR SPECIAL GUESTS: Maralyn D. Hill – Author & Special Co-Host Maralyn Dennis Hill says she was born to travel and tell the story. From flight attendant, copywriter, incentive program creator, conference planner, motivational speaker to writer, all have fed her love of travel and writing. Maralyn learned early that food and travel are intimately entwined and symbolize the culture and geography of each destination. Maralyn is a Board Member, Conference & Press Trip Co-Chairman for the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association. Together, Maralyn and Brenda Hill have successfully written and published ‘Our Love Affairs with Food & Travel’, ‘Cooking Secrets the Why and How’, and their new book '$uccess, Your Path to a Successful Book'. They also have a food & cooking column on Blend Magazine called ‘Culinary Secrets with the Hills’. Kelly Alexander – Co-author ‘Hometown Appetites: The Story of Clementine Paddleford, the Forgotten Food Writer Who Chronicled How America Ate’ Kelly will join us to talk about her new book ‘Hometown Appetites: The Story of Clementine Paddleford, the Forgotten Food Writer Who Chronicled How America Ate’, that revives the legacy of the most important food writer you have never heard of. Kelly was an editor at Saveur magazine for many years; her article for that publication on Clementine Paddleford won the James Beard Journalism Award. Her work has also appeared in Food & Wine, New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, New York, Slate, Real Simple, Travel + Leisure, Newsweek, and many other publications. Alexander is also a regular contributor on the subject of food to the NPR program “The State of Things,” which airs daily on WUNC, North Carolina Public Radio. Currently she teaches food writing at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. Brenda C. Hill - Co-Author of ‘Our Love Affairs with Food & Travel’ and ‘Cooking Secrets the Why and How’ Brenda Colley Hill published her first book with Random House while attending graduate courses at Columbia University in New York City. Brenda writes articles and books and conducts seminars with her writing partner Maralyn Hill. Together they have written ‘Our Love Affairs with Food & Travel’, ‘Cooking Secrets the Why and How’, and their new book ‘$uccess, Your Path to a Successful Book’. Brenda will join us to share how to prepare a holiday dinner with some short cuts which will enable you to join in and enjoy the dinner. Recipes include Spiced Pecans, Roasted Turkey, Sweet Potato Stuffing, Tequila Gravy, Green Bean Casserole, Green Chili Corn Bread and Cranberries, Cheesecake, PAMA and Champagne! Andrea Peterson – Blue Heron Farm B&B and Peterson Specialty Produce Blue Heron Farm Bed & Breakfast is situated on twenty acres of rolling hills devoted to organic farming in the quaint community of Fallbrook, located in Southern California. The farm's main product is baby lettuce which is produced all year. In addition, a bounty of fruits are grown, including many kinds of citrus, pomegranates, figs, apples, cherimoyas, macadamia nuts, sapotes, jujubes, pears, mangoes, bananas, avocadoes, raspberries, strawberries, and several varieties of guavas. Breakfasts feature whatever is in season, and salads are always available! Andrea will join us to share her secrets on using seasonal and organic produce in your holiday menu. Rich Sherman – Myrtle Creek Nursery, Fallbrook CA Rich Sherman will join us to talk about delicious holiday gifts and culinary products for the holidays including preserves and jams, scone mixes, salad dressings, fruit spreads, honey and syrup, fruit butters and more! Located on a turn-of-the-century farm in beautiful Fallbrook, California, Myrtle Creek Nursery is a family owned nursery that has been owned and operated by the Sherman family for the last 22 years. Jim Walsh – CEO of Intentional Chocolate™ Holy Cocoa! Research shows chocolate infused with good intentions by Monks increases well-being by an average of 67%. Jim Walsh, CEO of Intentional Chocolate will join us to talk about their new holiday gift boxes. Jim founded Intentional Chocolate in 2007. He has been CEO and Chairman of the Board of Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate, the first company to successfully grow and produce chocolate in the United States named by The New York Times as “the best chocolate in the world.” He brings his extensive knowledge of food and science to the unique challenge of creating and delivering the world’s first intention-enhanced product. Considered one of the world’s leading experts in chocolate, he is widely published and quoted in newspapers and journals. He serves as the Company’s Chairman of the Board. Kent Callaghan – Callaghan Vineyards in Southern Arizona Founded in 1990, Callaghan Vineyards produces award winning wines that have been served at White House functions, and featured in the ‘Wall Street Journal’ and ‘The Wine Advocate’. Just an hour south of Tucson, Callaghan Vineyards is a family owned and operated winery located in the rolling oak-dotted hills of southeastern Arizona. They have earned their superb reputation for consistently producing outstanding, rich, complex red and white wines from its 25 acre vineyard. Mediterranean and Spanish varietals - Tempranillo, Mourvedre, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah and Grenache - are the basic building blocks for their red blends, while Viognier and Riesling are blended for their estate white wine. Kent Callaghan will join us to talk about their new releases. Debbie Mansheim – Basket Creations & More, LLC and Bard Date Company, LLC Medjool Dates are delicious and nutrious! Debbie Mansheim will be back on the show to share holiday cooking ideas using Medjool dates, and will share great culinary gift ideas for the holidays. Located in Yuma, Arizona, her company Basket Creations and More, LLC is the distributor for Bard Date Company, and features a fine selection of superb quality Medjool Dates, Medjool Date Products, and their world famous Date Shakes. They offer trays for parties and special events, create custom gift baskets, and carry a variety of fancy foods and culinary gift items. Donna George – The Peanut Patch, Yuma, AZ The Peanut Patch has become a rich tradition in Southwest Arizona. They are know for their Homemade Peanut Butter, Fudge, and Peanut Brittle; Dried Fruit and Dates; Gift Baskets and Boxes; Freshly Roasted Peanuts In The Shell & Shelled; Ice Cream; Nuts & Fine Candy; Gourmet Pickles, Relishes & Syrups; Raw Honey; Olives; Christian Books, gifts and more. They also give free tours of their facilities in the months of January, February, March and November. Donna George will join us to share some holiday cooking ideas and gifts featuring Peanuts – besides, November is National Peanut Butter Month! Read more about our Guests on Big Blend Magazine - http://www.bigblendmagazine.com/Eat-Drink-Be-Merry/Nov7-08.htm Listen to the Live Show - http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Eat-Drink-Be-Merry/2008/11/07/Eat-Drink-Be-Merry-Holiday-Cooking-Culinary-Gifts-Show