Welcome to Barbecue Nation with JT and Leanne After Hours, the conversation that continued after the show was done.

Okay, everybody, it's time for After Hours here, the Christmas Edition 2025 with Meathead from AmazingRibs.com and Leanne from Florida today, co host of this show for this, what, five years and rolling along.

Yep, rolling along and hall of Fame.

Both of them.

Okay, I'll give you some easy ones up front.

Okay, these are.

Now you're gonna make us look stupid because we can't answer the easy ones.

Always dread this.

What's your favorite Christmas song?

I.

Years ago, I was supposed to be cooking the prime rib for Christmas when I had kidney stone.

Oh.

And it flared up and it was Christmas Eve, and I was getting everything organized, and they hauled me down to the hospital to have my kidney stone removed.

And they tell me that as I was going under, I was singing I'll Be Home for Christmas.

So I guess that has to rank as my I'll be home for Christmas.

Leanne, I like the twelve days of Christmas.

That's always a fun one.

People like to sing that together.

I think I like Silent Night.

Course, Jingle Bells.

Well, that leads me to another question, because you just led us into that little.

Well, I gotta.

I gotta insert.

At both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, my wife's family insists on doing 12 Days of Christmas, and I hate it.

Now.

Speaking of which, on the sixth day of 12 days, what is giving?

What.

What is given on.

Is that 6 Gieseling, 6 Geese Lane?

There you go.

Very good.

That was one of the easier.

Well, I get it twice a year.

Yeah.

You should know it by now.

Yeah.

What?

Sure.

With the listeners, if you have a favorite memory from.

From Christmas, can be the dinner, could be just the gathering of the family, could be something under the tree, whatever, it doesn't matter.

But do you have a favorite memory as a kid?

And I know, Leanne, it has to be when you got your little cowgirl outfit.

No, no, it was my sister and I. I will never forget it.

We were really young.

Gosh, probably under 10.

But I remember it vividly.

We got those little handheld transistor, like, radios.

Radios.

And I just remember listening to it, like, all night long.

We just love those little radios.

That stands out.

Not that it's funny or anything, but.

I just remember that that brings back great memories.

I used to have one, too.

It was pink.

And I had a little earbud and I'd listen to Yankees games.

No, my.

My.

My.

My favorite.

You said as a kid when I, when, when you said favorite memory, I.

My memory popped right into mine.

It wasn't when I was a kid, early in my marriage, I used to have a pretty big beard and I would spray paint it white and slip out the back door and put on the Santa suit and stuff.

A pillow, I needed a pillow in those days.

Donated now.

And, and, and I'd wait for the signal to go in and ho, ho, ho.

And the kids would sit in my lap and I give out presents.

And it was dragging on and dragging.

I was cold.

And my wife's family lived in a classic blue collar neighborhood.

And there was a bar right across the street.

So I wandered into the bar and I discovered something powerful in Chicago.

It.

If Santa walks into a bar, he drinks for free.

Drinks for free.

And I'll tell you, every year after that, I made sure to slip out early.

And then, you know, fortunately, none of the kids say, mom, why does Santa smell funny?

But that was, that was my, I would always slip out and, and hit the bar across the street.

I, I, evidently I was told this, that one of my uncles would do that at our home.

And I was probably about 4 or 5.

And we actually had fireplaces, but they made sure there were fire in the fireplaces.

So, you know, Santa had to come through the back door, but you could see him walking down the driveway.

We had big picture windows in the front of the house.

And he'd walk by and he'd tap on the windows and he'd wave and he came in and did all this stuff.

And when he got ready to leave, I said, bye, Uncle Walt.

That kind of ruined it.

That kind of ruined it.

Something strange, a memory that is strange about a Christmas dinner.

Any, it doesn't matter which dinner it was, but maybe something happened.

Maybe Uncle Wilbur, you know, passed out on the Christmas goose.

Whatever.

You've asked me that before and I didn't have one.

I should have thought of one.

I've got one I can't repeat.

But there was just awful, awful family, awful family fight one year.

There's, there's, there's a member of this family who is just very contentious and argumentative.

And she and her mother went at it and it was just embarrassing to everybody.

But was it related to politics?

Usually that gets, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And, and, and other things, you know, mother, daughter stuff.

And it was just, it was terrible.

That's not good.

And it, it went outdoors.

Yeah, I'm not gonna go there.

What was the question again?

Something strange or odd at a Christmas dinner.

I can Tell you one while you're thinking.

Yeah, yeah, go ahead.

I said it on the golf show yesterday.

I said it was Thanksgiving, and I remember now was actually Christmas.

When my dad got older, he had a little dachshund.

He just adored that little dog.

And now they call them companion animals and all that.

And fine, you know, and her name was Misty.

M I S, T Y.

But Everybody called her Ms. T for Ms. Tracy.

Right.

So the dinner's over.

My dad's sitting down at the end of the table like that, and he's holding the dog, and he gets kind of this reflective look on his face.

And my dad was really quite a character.

And he said, you know, I'm getting up there.

And so when I die, he goes, we should probably put Misty to sleep and have her buried with me.

And my sister looked up from the other end of the table and said, what happens if the dog dies first?

Right.

That's a good question, actually.

And.

And everybody just busted up, laughing and dancing.

Yeah.

No.

So anyway, that was it.

Okay, Meathead, did you come up with something there?

No, they've.

They generally run, you know, and there's two meals.

There's Christmas Eve, which is the feast of seven fishes, and there's calamari, there's squid, there's salmon.

There's pasta with salmon in it.

And they all, you know, except for the occasional squabble.

And we're getting pretty good about keeping politics out of the conversation, so nothing.

Nothing really disastrous that I can think of.

They're always just really a lot of fun.

My wife has two brothers, and so Christmas eve is at 1, and Christmas dinner is at the daughter of one.

So we see both halves of the family, and they're both huge.

So it's just really important family gatherings.

That we've got a.

A benchmark.

This year, our daughter is hosting Christmas Eve for the first time.

Oh, wow.

That's a big deal.

Her partner, Oliver.

So, yeah, it is a big deal.

I'm very proud.

That is.

The pressure is on.

How old is she?

She's 32.

Oh, she can handle it.

Yeah, she can handle it.

She's been.

She used to work with me in the catering biz.

And, I mean, she can cook.

Oh, she'll be fine.

She'll be fine.

But I'm just so proud of her that she stepped up, with no prompting, and said, we' to host Christmas Eve.

I'm like, yes, yes.

One meal.

I don't have to cook.

Okay, here's the fun part.

Go ahead.

Oh, I was just Thinking.

Keep trying to.

There's exchanges of gifts at both events, right?

And.

And, and there's now this tradition.

It actually is now.

It's been going on for a while.

Nobody knows what to buy me, so I get the gag gifts, right?

And I've had some funny gag gifts.

I mean, some.

Some really crazy ones, you know, and so I always look forward to that.

I've got a very special one coming your way, by the way.

Oh, no.

Oh, yeah.

No, you'll think it's appropriate.

By the way, that book that you requested for one of your followers went in the mail last week.

Oh, thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

Okay, here's the fun stuff.

When is National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day?

Ooh, I'd say it's right around the 20th.

Well, it's actually a day of the week.

It doesn't have a.

The date changes every year.

Okay, so it's kind of like Christmas Eve.

This year, I believe is on Wednesday and Christmas is on Thursday.

So give me a weekday in the calendar month.

That's as close as I'm going to give you the hint.

No looking it up on.

No, I'm not looking.

I'm looking something else up.

It's gotta be Monday or Tuesday because you gotta wear it all week.

Me?

Dad, you know, I have no clue.

It is the third Friday every.

Okay, here's it.

I got one for you.

All right.

When is Festivus?

Leanne, you have a blank look on your face.

You know that come from the Seinfeld Show?

Yeah, yeah.

Festivus for the rest of us.

Yeah.

Oh, I don't know.

It was.

It was George's father who started the holiday and Kramer was in on it.

It was.

It's a.

It's.

It's a holiday for airing of grievances.

Oh, yeah.

Yes, it's a Christmas alternative.

Okay, well, maybe you should.

We.

I have some relatives, too, and.

Sounds like you do, too, meathead.

That we could send them and we could even cook for them, but not attend a Festivus dinner.

It's a decent.

It's on December 23rd.

Okay.

All right.

Which department store introduced Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?

Oh, I know this marketing campaign.

I know this.

What.

What year and what company?

Don't know what year, but you can take a shot.

Leanne.

What department store?

Yeah, what department store?

I'm gonna.

I'm gonna say Macy's just because you're.

You.

You.

You are close.

Yes.

That was Marshall Fields here in Chicago, which is now Macy's.

Oh, okay.

So that counts.

Marshall Fields.

And it was just a little promo, and it blew up.

And Marshall Fields is now Macy's.

Actually, it was Montgomery Ward in 1939.

Oh, you may be right.

Which is also in Chicago, wasn't it?

Yeah, yeah.

Are you sure?

Yeah, I verified all these.

Okay, well, I stand corrected.

I think you're right.

I think I've read that.

But it, like so many things, one store did it, and then all of a sudden, you know, a bunch of them do it.

In which ocean is Christmas island located?

Well, that's Pacific.

Leanne.

Is it.

Well, he seems pretty.

Or is it the Indian.

It's not the Indian Ocean.

I'm gonna say Atlantic.

Oh, it's the Indian.

It's the Indian Ocean.

Really?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, they kind of.

You know, that's one of those things, like, where's the line between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean?

Where's the line.

Okay, where.

Where's the town of Christmas?

There may be more than one, but I'm thinking of one in.

Is it in Oregon?

Is it in your state?

We have.

We have a.

We have a town here.

There's one in one.

There's, like 17 of them.

Are there really?

Yeah.

Yeah, I know.

There's one in Indiana.

Indiana, right.

Yeah.

What does the word Noel mean?

N, O, e, L. It's easy.

1.

I'm trying to make up a joke about the Alphabet real fast, and it's not working.

Just think of the song.

First thing that popped into my head was Sleepy.

I don't know why.

Means Christmas.

Oh.

Remember the song, the Furs?

Noel Angels did sing during Christmas season.

How many Lego sets are sold every second?

Oh, my God.

You know, Legos were really big when I was a kid, and then they kind of fell off the radar, and now they're back.

Back on it.

So I would say two.

He did.

How many sets are sold every second?

A thousand.

28.

Okay.

You know, and they replaced the fire and brimstone in hell, and they put Legos on the ground there.

So you should know this.

In A Wonderful Life, the movie A Wonderful Life, Jimmy Stewart and all that.

What happens every time a bell rings?

Oh, Zuzu.

An angel gets his wings.

Yeah.

Yes.

Yeah.

Okay, we're all.

Of this age bracket.

What Christmas song was written during the Cuban Missile Crisis to promote peace?

Ooh.

You know, I think I heard this once, and I haven't.

I can't remember.

I have no idea.

Do you hear what I hear?

Really?

Yep.

Okay.

Okay.

We already did Six Keys of Lane.

What holiday song Was.

Was the first one played in outer space.

I'm going to say jingle bells.

You are correct.

Oh, good work.

And it was in 1965.

Yeah.

Why was.

Why was the snowman rummaging through a bag of carrots?

He was looking for the right nose.

He was picking his nose.

Oh.

How many points does a snowflake traditionally have?

Is it six or eight?

I say six.

Six.

Six.

What does the X stand for when somebody writes Xmas instead of Christmas Christ?

I've heard this, too, because I once on social media abbreviated Christmas Xmas, and a bunch of religious fanatics jumped down my throat and told me how disrespectful that is, and I forget what the answer.

Actually, it's.

It's not disrespectful if they know the history of it.

Is it to symbolize the crucifix?

No, but you're close.

It's the Greek letter chai.

Chi.

And that represents Christ, isn't it?

Chi.

Pronounced Chi.

Chi Omega.

It was a chi.

Omega.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Which U.S. president banned Christmas trees from the White House?

Really?

Yep.

Roosevelt?

Yep.

Which one?

Theodore.

Which one?

Franklin.

Teddy.

Teddy.

Wow.

I'm on a roll.

Really?

Teddy, go play the lottery.

Yeah.

What color was Santa's suit before red became popular in the images?

I've seen lots of pictures of him in.

In Europe, and I thought.

I thought he was always.

And red, orange, brown.

Yeah, yeah.

Which.

Now, meathead, you should.

You should get this.

And so should you, Leon.

Which we only got a couple left here.

Which country believes Santa enters through a window instead of a chimney?

Oh.

And is across the pond.

And you've both been there?

Oh, you've both been there.

London, England?

No, I'm guessing France or Italy.

Italy.

Oh, really?

I never knew that.

Yeah, really.

And the last question in this year's trivia for Christmas.

Oh, I got two more.

This one and one.

The last.

This and not the last one.

What company invented the electric Christmas lights?

General Electric.

Edison Electric.

Oh, of course, Edison.

And finally today, for your listening pleasure, the first artificial Christmas tree was made of what?

Plastic.

I'll go with that, too.

Goose feathers.

Really?

Yeah.

Goose feathers.

How on earth would they get.

I get it for the.

The little leaf thing.

The little.

And it's kind of fluffy, you know?

Yeah.

I mean, it would look cool, but what's the base of it?

I mean, what do you do?

Just, like, you don't want to put candles on it?

Because I. I often go to antique stores.

I love shopping in antique stores.

I buy furniture in antique Stores, rather than buying new furniture.

And they have the most beautiful.

Many of them have all these old ornaments, and a lot of them have these candle holders.

They.

The little clamp that clips onto the tree and candle in it.

Yeah.

And I believe they were the source of many house fires.

House fires.

Yeah, probably so.

Yeah.

Well, that's going to wrap up our after hours for Christmas.

2025.

Meathead from AmazingRibs.com by the way.

You see over his right shoulder, camera left here, the Meathead Method, his latest book, available.

Everywhere.

Everywhere and great Christmas present, Leanne and.

I thank you for saying so.

Yeah, it's very good.

And if you have any cooking questions about everything we talk about the regular show.

I was gonna say call me dad.

You can definitely email him.

Yeah.

I think any one of us can help, but my guess is, is that Leanne is probably the best cook among us.

Oh, that's so sweet.

Yeah.

Really.

I would guess that you're.

You've been.

Well, I mean, you.

You've run restaurants, you've won every competition.

I appreciate that a lot.

I love to cook.

So when you.

When your heart and soul's in it.

So do I. I think all three of us love to cook.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, absolutely.

What I can't figure out, me dad, is why you and I look like we do.

And she's a little tiny toothpick.

Well, no, the other thing is, is.

And she likes to eat, too.

I know that in this day and age, this is probably inappropriate, but she's always been gorgeous and she's never aged a day.

Wow.

You're after something, me pet.

I'm wondering, do I owe you a gift?

No, you recall.

I.

Know.

She's.

She's really a special lady.

Yeah.

And from Leanne, pig powder makes a great stocking stuff.

It does.

And as we've talked many times on the show, I've used it.

Of course, Leanne and her dad invented I cannot Wait.

And I want honest opinions.

When this spicy pig powder hits and you guys try it, I really.

I'll get some to you all, too.

I really want your honest opinion.

Yeah.

And really it's pig powder.

But just amped up because people love the base of pig powder.

I mean, they love pig powder, but this just makes it a little.

People wanted spicier, so that's what I did.

And I'll tell you what I did last night.

I trying to finish production this week, and we're all busy and this and that, and I was trying to make a quick meal and I had Some pork left over, just a little pork roast.

And so I dice that up, and I brought out a couple of cans of Campbell's chicken gumbo soup, and I had some rice left over.

So I'm always doctoring things up, just messing around.

So I. I did that.

I put it in there, and it was okay.

It was not that.

And I used pig powder in it, and that brought it to life.

Oh, that's good.

We had to add in some homemade biscuits for dinner last night, and it worked really well.

Spices and herbs bring everything to life.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And.

And I got to tell you, folks, I went over running over here, but if you have the.

Any kind of property behind your house, in front of your house, alongside your house, it's easy to plant rosemary.

And it's a beautiful bush, too, and it's very hardy, and even I can grow rosemary.

And you walk.

You walk past a rosema bush, and you just touch it, and.

Oh, it smells so good.

I agree.

And.

And.

And.

And.

And basil and oregano.

It comes back almost every year.

Oh, yeah.

You can't hardly kill it.

And.

And.

And if you want to put them in pots and put them on a windowsill, time.

Time grows like crazy.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Thyme is my favorite.

All purpose.

I mean, we throw it in everything.

My potato leek soup last night and threw some thyme.

Yeah, perfect.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

I'm a. I'm a. I like them all.

I think basil is probably my favorite.

Go to just because of the way I cook.

But I. I do rosemary, I do thyme.

I use oregano.

I use all those things all the time, and that just elevates things.

Anyway, so.

And.

And make your own spice rubs.

I mean, pig powders of special rub.

I have recipes on my website that you can start with and customize them to your own taste.

Favorite flavors in the recipe, and try it.

Yep.

So we want to wish everybody listening and all that a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

And on my heartfelt wishes, go out to, of course, Leanne and Meathead for their holiday and with their family and friends.

And remember our motto here, turn it, don't burn it.

Have a great Christmas, everybody.

Yes.

Take care.

Holidays, everyone.