‘Windy City Weekend’ celebrates Mother’s Day 2025 early with flower, Nothing Bundt Cakes giveaways

CHICAGO (WLS) — It’s Mother’s Day weekend, and, on “Windy City Weekend,” Val Warner and Ryan Chiaverini welcomed in a studio audience to celebrate all the mothers out there.

They started with a series of giveaways.

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First, Chiaverini presented Warner with a bouquet of flowers from Flowers for Dreams. Audience members also got free flowers from this online store, which offers up same-day deliveries. A portion of all sales go to various charities.

Then, they handed out mini-bundt cakes to the audience, from Nothing Bundt Cakes. Nothing Bundt Cakes is celebrating moms with the #NothingBundtMomSweepstakes, giving fans the chance to win a $3,000 Visa gift card or one of ten $100 gift cards, now through May 12. To enter, guests can post a photo with their mom, download the app, or follow and engage with Nothing Bundt Cakes on social media: all easy, sweet ways to boost chances of winning. Entries can be submitted at nothingbundtcakes.com/nothingbundtmom.

Finally, Warner and Chiaverini handed out two gift cards to select members of the audience for a spa visit to AIRE Ancient Baths. Nestled in the heart of River West, AIRE Ancient Baths Chicago, located at 800 W. Superior St., transports guests to a serene world inspired by ancient bathing traditions. Gift cards are available for all experiences, making it easy to share the magic of AIRE, whether through an instant digital card, ideal for last-minute gifting, or a beautifully packaged gift box. This Mother’s Day, AIRE invites guests to show their appreciation for the incredible women in their lives. Whether it’s a mother, mother-in-law, aunt or a cherished friend who embodies that nurturing spirit, AIRE offers a meaningful way to honor them with a moment of peace, beauty and renewal.

Chiaverini then shared taped Mother’s Day greetings from Warner’s two children, Max and Zoe. Warner then shared an old clip from “Windy City Live,” where Chiaverini was surprised in-studio by his mother.

Just Nesh

Warner and Chiaverini then welcomed comedian Just Nesh to the studio. This Chicago comedienne has a new Amazon Prime special out, called “Self-Served.”

She also was in the news this week, for great reasons. On Wednesday, while guesting on the national radio show “The Breakfast Club” with Charlemagne Tha God, she was surprised in-studio by her boyfriend, who proposed to her. Nesh talked about this moment, and she also talked about being a mother to a 17-year-old son. They concluded the interview by promoting Just Nesh’s Mother’s Day show at Riddles Comedy Club in Alsip. That show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Tony’s Fresh Market

Warner and Chiaverini then introduced a segment from Tony’s Fresh Market store, where Chef Dino showed us how to make Pork Chop Vesuvio with Fresh Dandelions.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

6/ 1inch thick center cut pork chops
1 Tbl. Sea salt
2 tsp. crushed black pepper
2 Tbl. Olive oil

Sauce:
1 tsp. each chopped fresh basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
4 cloves chopped garlic
2 rbl. Chopped shallot
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice.

Finishers:
2 cups rough chopped fresh dandelions
3 rbl. soft butter
15 pcs. pitted Italian dried black olives
2 tbl. grated Pecorino Romano
1/2 a lemon for squeezing

Instructions: Season porkchops with salt and pepper and let rest approximately 1 hour till they reach room temperature. Heat skillet hot and add oil. Pan sear chops, each side approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Remove chops from pan and set aside. Add all of your sauce ingredients and bring to a boil; turn down to a low simmer and return chops to pan and cover. Slow simmer for 1 hour, turning chops every 15 minutes. Remove lid and let sauce natural reduce till lightly thickened. Add butter and dandelions and cover to wilt; stir to mix all

Plating: Serve on large platter over a bed of fresh pasta, grilled polenta cakes or risotto; squeeze fresh lemon over all. Sprinkle Romano cheese and garnish with olives, best served with family, friends, crusty bready and a cold bottle of white wine.

Roeper’s Reviews

Film critic Richard Roeper then reviewed three new releases, in theaters and on streaming devices:

“Rust” (streaming on multiple platforms) – After a long delay in the wake of the tragic on-set shooting accident, the Alec Baldwin Western has been released via Prime Video, Apple TV+ and other streaming services. Roeper called this one a “spend.”

“Summer of 69” (Hulu) – Chloe Fineman from “Saturday Night Live” plays an exotic dancer who becomes a mentor to a high school girl who wants to hook up with her longtime crush. Roeper called this one a “save.”

“Forever” (on Netflix) – Judy Blume’s iconic novel from the 1970s about first love gets a modern-day update in this limited series. Roeper called this one a “spend.”

Jayme Nicholas

Warner and Chiaverini closed the show by paying tribute to Jayme Nicholas, a longtime press and publicity manager for ABC7 Chicago.

Nicholas, who also spent time in the same role at NBC 5 Chicago and CBS 2 Chicago, also worked as a producer at ABC7 Chicago.