Okay, first let me say that this isn’t even a recipe. Just a method. And I debated with myself a few hundred times after adding it to the list of Sunday Supper posts because Sunday Supper is all about bringing folks back around the family dinner table with good food and I wasn’t sure this qualified. Our theme this week, hosted by the lovely Tammi of
Momma’s Meals, is food inspired by holiday songs or movies. Mine is, of course,
The Christmas Song.
I roasted the first group of chestnuts over coals at a friend’s house, and they were good but, frankly, we were all full from a good grilled lunch and enthusiasm was low for a snack. So, on the verge of removing my name from the Sunday Supper list a couple of weeks later, I roasted the second set, albeit in the oven. I opened the foil packet of the roasted nuts and the steam came up in small swirls from their peeling brown husks. As I worked the hard shell off, then the softer inner shell, I popped that first sweet piece of chestnut into my mouth and, well, I made up my mind. A method is enough. Let me take you back.
It was late fall of 1985 and New York City was
already bitterly cold. There’s a special smell about the city in the winter. Steamy, almost fetid air gusts from tunnels and drains below the streets, the faint eau-de-mothball drifting off the citizens, the exhaust fumes hanging low, trapped by the heavy cold atmosphere, and the chestnuts roasting over coals in big metal barrels. We had arrived on a red-eye from Houston, to visit my father who was living an hour’s train ride north of the city in the bedroom community of Bronxville. The goal: Ordering my wedding dress. Those of you who have watched
Say Yes to the Dress will recognize the name
Kleinfeld, the Brooklyn shop where brides have been buying dresses since 1941. Well, that's where I went to get this little number.
 |
You can't even see how huge these sleeves are here! And the train was six feet long. |
The entire weekend was a whirlwind of action and excitement but one of my fondest memories is warming my hands around the warm brown paper bags full of roasted chestnuts, bought off a street corner vendor in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city. And if you haven’t tried roasted chestnuts, you just need to. There are tons of recipes on the internet
using roasted chestnuts, ranging from soup to stuffing to salad, but I’d like to encourage you to peel them and pop them straight into your mouth, and savor the sweet nutmeat of winter with your family.
Ingredients
1 pound or 1/2 kilo of fresh chestnuts
Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Or light coals in your barbecue pit. The fire is ready when the coals are all grey around the outside.)
Cut a crisscross in the rounded side of each chestnut with the tip of a very sharp knife.
Wrap the chestnuts in a double layer of foil, cut side up.
Roast for around 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven or in your barbecue pit. If using the pit, set the foil packet off to one side, not directly over the hot coals and put the lid on enough to keep in the heat without smothering the fire.
Remove from the oven or barbecue pit and carefully open the foil. Allow the chestnuts to cool enough to handle and then peel and eat!
Meanwhile, at our house, we are dancing to Christmas music, decorating a tree and celebrating a 23rd birthday today. Happy birthday to my precious Victoria!
 |
Woo hoo for almost Christmas birthdays! |
This is such a fun Sunday Supper week! Check out all the songs and movies that have inspired us to cook and bake all these great dishes!
Party Appetizers & Snacks
Festive Main Dishes
Sweet Holiday Treats
Cozy Drinks
Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on
Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over
the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper
hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check
out our
#SundaySupper
Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos.
Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s
easy. You can sign up by clicking here:
Sunday Supper Movement.
I am also sharing this with the lovely bloggers at Foodie Friends Friday for the Recipes that Tell a Story theme.
