Christmas isn't Christmas without "chestnuts roasting on an open fire" and "Jack Frost nipping on your nose", right?
Wrong.
It had never occurred to me, after years of that song playing thru Christmas pasts, that I'd never actually tried roasting chestnuts. And then, suddenly, this year, during a band rehearsal of "The Christmas Song", it hit me. "I've never roasted chestnuts!".
And then this bag caught my eye a few weeks later at HEB.
And I had to try it.
I enlisted the family for help on this one. Or rather, my 11-year-old sister. Because you have to cut an 'X' into the top of the chestnuts before roasting them, and who better to hand a sharp knife to?
In hind sight, probably not my brightest idea. But she handled it well. There weren't any knife casualties but the whole process was kind of a pain and took ages. Though we were using fairly dull steak knives...
This is my cooking show picture of the week:
We settled for the oven roasting instructions because, well, there just wasn't a fire handy. And I'm pretty sure the Kyoo mom would have forbid the creation of a fire handy. Though I didn't ask her...
So the chestnuts roasted in a conventional oven and fifteen minutes later...
...we were staring at the inspiration of Christmas music lore.
A few tugs at the shell and we were in.
They look like brains.
And the taste verdict?
We weren't impressed. Most of them were moldy? And the ones that weren't moldy didn't taste all that amazing. Definitely not worth the effort! (in my awesome opinion).
Though maybe they taste better after roasting on an open fire. Smokey, perhaps? Either way, they probably won't be a tradition in these parts any time soon.
But still a fun kitchen adventure!
Have a great day :-)
5 comments:
Oh, I'm so sad that you had a not-so-tasty chestnut experience! They are one of my favourite winter treats. The moldy ones are definitely gross...
Adding salt helps, too. Mmmm, salt.
I did not think to add salt...but that probably would have helped! Sorry to hate on your favorite treats :(
It just means more chestnuts for you, right??
Ooh, yeah... salt is definitely needed. :) It makes pretty much anything taste even better, haha. But I do appreciate the fact that a continental chestnut shortage due to Nebraska and Texas taking all the good ones is less likely. ;)
Teags, we are literally roasting chestnuts and eating them as I type this. I am also sitting cozy by the fire. :) The only conclusion I can reach is that you have to come visit in the wintertime! We have a big winter festival in February... you could totally come and eat the maple syrup. And chestnuts. ;)
That would be too fun! Do they have a run then too? That might just motivate me...I need a February run! :)
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