| wff_ng_7 |
You all know the song... "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..." but how
many of you have actually done it? I tried it for the first time this
weekend, using a somewhat novel method, and they came out wonderful.
I haven't had roasted chestnuts in over 30 years... we used to get them when
we went into Manhattan from our suburban NJ house. The street vendors
selling them this time of year were quite numerous back then. I've been told
they're still around these days, but I haven't been up there in many years
myself.
I don't know what exactly inspired me to get some chestnuts and try roasting
them over a fire myself... I guess part of it was wanting to recapture some
of the old traditions of the Christmas season after my father passed away a
couple of years ago.
I ended up getting some fresh chestnuts, along with a couple of associated
tools, and got to it. The first tool is something called the "Chestnutter",
an interesting little device that looks like a garlic press but is meant to
score the traditional "X" in the chestnut shell so it doesn't explode
while roasting. This gizmo makes quick work of scoring a bunch of chestnuts,
but may not work so well if you get the giant chestnuts. More common is the
standard chestnut scoring knife. Here's a picture of the Chestnutter:
http://tinyurl.com/848mr
The second tool I got is more traditional: the perforated black steel
chestnut roasting pan. I got one with a long handle, about two feet, to
better hold it over a fire. Here is a picture of some chestnut roasting
pans, including the long handled one I got:
http://tinyurl.com/beb6r
Now for the somewhat harder part... FIRE!... I live in a rowhouse in the
city and don't have a fireplace, but I do have another solution. I've got a
chiminea out on my patio that I've used for the past 8 years. I thought it
might work for roasting the chestnuts, and I was right. I will note that
just like in deep frying turkeys, you have to be very careful with chimineas
so as to not overheat and crack them. Anyway, by making the fire a little
larger than I normally do, a significant flame reaches the top of the
chiminea's stack. Holding the perforated chestnut roaster over over the top,
the flames play through the holes in the pan and roast the chestnuts. It
only takes a few minutes. Shaking the pan frequently so the chestnuts roll
around, they are evenly "browned"... or maybe more correctly "blackened" on
all sides. Then dump them into a (damp) warm towel, wrap them up with it,
and place them in a bowl or basket for several minutes.
The chestnuts so cooked were very easy to peel by first squeezing them
gently all around with my fingers.Often the outer shell just fell off doing
this. The inner shell also came off with not too much effort peeling.
Definitely no nutcrackers or other tools required. The chestnuts were moist,
somewhat sweet, nutty, and slightly smoky. A great eating treat while
watching the fire in the chiminea. No additional entertainment required... I
don't need an iPod stuck in my ear to enjoy this! ;-)
Here's a picture of a chiminea for anyone who is not familiar with what they
are:
http://tinyurl.com/bu6xm
I also tried roasting the chestnuts over the flame on my gas stove. This
also worked very well, but is a little messy with charred bits on the
stovetop... and it is definitely not as romantic! Make sure to have the
exhaust fan turned on.
A note on chestnuts... unlike other nuts, they are low in oil and high in
water. A chestnut is about 2% oil and 50% water, while a walnut or pecan is
about 65% oil and 3-5% water. Because of this chestnuts really have to be
fresh and stored properly (cool and sealed) so they don't dry out. That's
why I mail ordered mine direct from the grower. They were cheaper than the
supermarket, but I did have to pay shipping.
Here are some sources of things...
I originally saw the Chestnutter in a Williams Sonoma catalog. But I found I
could get it much cheaper elsewhere (so what else is new? ;-) ), and got
mine from: www.chestnutter.com
The traditional chestnut roasting pan is made by a few companies. I see
VillaWare ones on eBay and they are probably available elsewhere. The one I
got is from the French company DeBuyer (www.debuyer.fr). Bridge Kitchenware
(www.bridgekitchenware.com) and La Cuisine (www.lacuisineus.com) carry their
product. I got my long handled one at La Cuisine's physical store in
Alexandria, VA, but it may have been the only one they had. A funny note on
the DeBuyer label of my chestnut (marrons) roaster... it has the standard
graphic symbol indicating it is "induction capable"! ;-)
I got my chestnuts from Correia Chestnut Farm at www.chestnut.us. They were
very prompt in communication and shipping, and sent me some very good
chestnuts (I got their medium size). There are other growers if you do a
google search.
--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )
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| wff_ng_7 |
"wff_ng_7" <nosuchuser@invalid.gov> wrote:
> I got my chestnuts from Correia Chestnut Farm at www.chestnut.us. They
> were very prompt in communication and shipping, and sent me some very good
> chestnuts (I got their medium size). There are other growers if you do a
> google search.
Make that: www.chestnuts.us
You never know where you'll go if you mispell something!
--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )
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| Pixmaker |
Wow! I always thought it was "...Chipmonks roasting on an open
fire..."
Pixmaker inFLL
==========================
It's not the heat, it's the humidity!
==========================
(Think the humidity's bad?
You should watch us vote!)
==========================
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| Nancy1 |
wff_ng_7 wrote:
>
> The second tool I got is more traditional: the perforated black steel
> chestnut roasting pan. I got one with a long handle, about two feet, to
> better hold it over a fire. Here is a picture of some chestnut roasting
> pans, including the long handled one I got:
You can also find vintage or antique ones at auctions and flea markets.
N.
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| Pixmaker |
Wow! I thought it was "Chipmonks roasting on an open fire. . ."
Pixmaker inFLL
==========================
It's not the heat, it's the humidity!
==========================
(Think the humidity's bad?
You should watch us vote!)
==========================
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| Lynn from Fargo |
I've been doing chestnuts in my oven for years (they take a
looooooooooooooooong time to roast ha ha ha )
No, really, I cut the X and stuff some butter in there. then I put them
in a baking dish/pan with some more butter (just a few tablespoons).
Roast them in a 350 to 400 degree oven until they get lind of brown &
bubbly looking. Baste them occasionally with the butter from the bottom
of the pan. Take them out and let them cool just till they won't burn
your fingers (or your mouth). Eat.
I have no idea if this method is correct but my mom and I started doing
it this way here in the wilderness of North Dakota about 30 years ago
and it works.
I'm open to suggestions and I have a pound of fresh chestnuts in my
fridge,
Lynn from Fargo
Recovering from three days in Sandy Eggo and way too much seafood!
Sorry, I missed you, Charlie! It was a healthcare conference with NO
free time!
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| Sheldon |
Lynn from Fargo wrote:
> I've been doing chestnuts in my oven for years (they take a
> looooooooooooooooong time to roast ha ha ha )
>
> No, really, I cut the X and stuff some butter in there. then I put them
> in a baking dish/pan with some more butter (just a few tablespoons).
>
> Roast them in a 350 to 400 degree oven until they get lind of brown &
> bubbly looking. Baste them occasionally with the butter from the bottom
> of the pan. Take them out and let them cool just till they won't burn
> your fingers (or your mouth). Eat.
>
> I have no idea if this method is correct but my mom and I started doing
> it this way here in the wilderness of North Dakota about 30 years ago
> and it works.
>
> I'm open to suggestions and I have a pound of fresh chestnuts in my
> fridge,
Hmm, interesting, never heard of your roasting in butter method.
Good info here: http://www.chestnutsonline.com
Sheldon
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| Shaun aRe |
"wff_ng_7" <nosuchuser@invalid.gov> wrote in message
news:FRmgf.5567$kw2.167@trnddc05...
> You all know the song... "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..." but how
> many of you have actually done it? I tried it for the first time this
> weekend, using a somewhat novel method, and they came out wonderful.
Yup - done it several times, the usual way being to place a shovel onto the
hot fire coals, with the chestnuts on top of that, pulling the shovel for
checking or when done.
Also, our living room enclosed stove fire - we put them on top of the metal
casing when the fire is on and cook them like that.
> I haven't had roasted chestnuts in over 30 years... we used to get them
when
> we went into Manhattan from our suburban NJ house. The street vendors
> selling them this time of year were quite numerous back then. I've been
told
> they're still around these days, but I haven't been up there in many years
> myself.
There will be freshly roasted chestnuts sold in Whalley village (where I
live in the UK) on Pickwick night, which isn't long off!
> I don't know what exactly inspired me to get some chestnuts and try
roasting
> them over a fire myself... I guess part of it was wanting to recapture
some
> of the old traditions of the Christmas season after my father passed away
a
> couple of years ago.
>
> I ended up getting some fresh chestnuts, along with a couple of associated
> tools, and got to it. The first tool is something called the
"Chestnutter",
> an interesting little device that looks like a garlic press but is meant
to
> score the traditional "X" in the chestnut shell so it doesn't explode
> while roasting. This gizmo makes quick work of scoring a bunch of
chestnuts,
> but may not work so well if you get the giant chestnuts. More common is
the
> standard chestnut scoring knife. Here's a picture of the Chestnutter:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/848mr
Heh, never heard o these before, thanks.
> The second tool I got is more traditional: the perforated black steel
> chestnut roasting pan. I got one with a long handle, about two feet, to
> better hold it over a fire. Here is a picture of some chestnut roasting
> pans, including the long handled one I got:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/beb6r
Hey - nuttin' wrong with an old shovel!
> Now for the somewhat harder part... FIRE!... I live in a rowhouse in the
> city and don't have a fireplace, but I do have another solution. I've got
a
> chiminea out on my patio that I've used for the past 8 years. I thought it
> might work for roasting the chestnuts, and I was right. I will note that
> just like in deep frying turkeys, you have to be very careful with
chimineas
> so as to not overheat and crack them. Anyway, by making the fire a little
> larger than I normally do, a significant flame reaches the top of the
> chiminea's stack. Holding the perforated chestnut roaster over over the
top,
> the flames play through the holes in the pan and roast the chestnuts. It
> only takes a few minutes. Shaking the pan frequently so the chestnuts roll
> around, they are evenly "browned"... or maybe more correctly "blackened"
on
> all sides. Then dump them into a (damp) warm towel, wrap them up with it,
> and place them in a bowl or basket for several minutes.
>
> The chestnuts so cooked were very easy to peel by first squeezing them
> gently all around with my fingers.Often the outer shell just fell off
doing
> this. The inner shell also came off with not too much effort peeling.
> Definitely no nutcrackers or other tools required. The chestnuts were
moist,
> somewhat sweet, nutty, and slightly smoky. A great eating treat while
> watching the fire in the chiminea. No additional entertainment required...
I
> don't need an iPod stuck in my ear to enjoy this! ;-)
I love ours, too, but in our tiny yard, it scorches everything around it if
one doesn't take HEAPS of care such as surrounding it with metal sheeting
and tin foil, heheh...)
We sometimes set candles out all around the yard, then fire the chimnea up,
and just sit there with glasses of wine for the evening, Kath and I...
Shaun aRe
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| wff_ng_7 |
"Pixmaker" <pixmaker@comcast.net> wrote:
> Wow! I always thought it was "...Chipmonks roasting on an open
> fire..."
If the squirrels don't watch it, it's going to be squirrels roasting on an
open fire! ;-)
Squirrel Central is right behind my house. A neighbor insists on feeding
them... in fact, it's perpetual self service for the squirrels... she's had
a bucket of peanuts on her deck all the time for the twelve years I've lived
here. I've given up trying to do anything with my garden; with all the
squirrels digging, it's hopeless.
On Sunday I set the chiminea up with kindling wood before sunset, and a
squirrel had the audacity to go inside it, as if he was going to steal the
twigs in my kindling for a nest. I guess it wasn't up to his standards! ;-)
--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )
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| wff_ng_7 |
"Lynn from Fargo" <lynngiff@i29.net> wrote:
> No, really, I cut the X and stuff some butter in there. then I put them
> in a baking dish/pan with some more butter (just a few tablespoons).
>
> Roast them in a 350 to 400 degree oven until they get lind of brown &
> bubbly looking. Baste them occasionally with the butter from the bottom
> of the pan. Take them out and let them cool just till they won't burn
> your fingers (or your mouth). Eat.
>
> I have no idea if this method is correct but my mom and I started doing
> it this way here in the wilderness of North Dakota about 30 years ago
> and it works.
Sounds like an interesting way to prepare them. I might give that a try in
addition to roasting over a fire. But first comes putting some in the
stuffing on Thanksgiving.
--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )
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| wff_ng_7 |
"Shaun aRe" <shaun_are@zenlunatics.co.uk> wrote:
> Hey - nuttin' wrong with an old shovel!
Probably not! Many years ago we used a plain old cheap steel frying pan.
Seems those are long gone... even the stuff found in the thrift shops are
nonstick these days.
> I love ours, too, but in our tiny yard, it scorches everything around it
> if
> one doesn't take HEAPS of care such as surrounding it with metal sheeting
> and tin foil, heheh...)
>
> We sometimes set candles out all around the yard, then fire the chimnea
> up,
> and just sit there with glasses of wine for the evening, Kath and I...
Could your back yard possibly be smaller than mine? My patio is 10 feet by
12 feet, and the whole "yard" including the planting beds around the patio
is maybe 15 feet by 16 feet.
I have my chiminea about a foot or so from a wood privacy fence behind it.
The fence gets quite warm, but never so much that I can't comfortably keep
my hand there.
I don't use candles outside, but I do put other flaming things out there for
mood light. I've got a small collection of cast iron industrial lights from
the late 1800's that I use. One is a furnace lamp used for leak testing on a
brick furnace, another is a shop torch used in the roundhouse in the days of
steam locomotives, and yet another is a derrick lamp used for night time
drilling in the early days of the oil business.
There's something about watching a flickering flame that is so entrancing
and comforting... of course, a little wine (or something stronger) helps!
;-)
--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )
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| Shaun aRe |
"wff_ng_7" <nosuchuser@invalid.gov> wrote in message
news:1zHgf.18116$tT1.9607@trnddc01...
> "Shaun aRe" <shaun_are@zenlunatics.co.uk> wrote:
> > We sometimes set candles out all around the yard, then fire the chimnea
> > up,
> > and just sit there with glasses of wine for the evening, Kath and I...
>
> Could your back yard possibly be smaller than mine? My patio is 10 feet by
> 12 feet, and the whole "yard" including the planting beds around the patio
> is maybe 15 feet by 16 feet.
Our yard is about the size of your patio, maybe more like 8 x 12 feet LOL!
It's also quite a big bellied chimnea, burns very hot (uhhm, especially if
I've lit it, 'cos I uhhhmm, kinda like fire... heh...), often shooting
flames out the 4 open sides of the capped chimney to a distance of 12", that
can scorch things at up to 3 x that distance.
> I have my chiminea about a foot or so from a wood privacy fence behind it.
> The fence gets quite warm, but never so much that I can't comfortably keep
> my hand there.
>
> I don't use candles outside, but I do put other flaming things out there
for
> mood light. I've got a small collection of cast iron industrial lights
from
> the late 1800's that I use. One is a furnace lamp used for leak testing on
a
> brick furnace, another is a shop torch used in the roundhouse in the days
of
> steam locomotives, and yet another is a derrick lamp used for night time
> drilling in the early days of the oil business.
Oh they sound gtreat ',;~}~
We like to tuck little tea lights in nooks and crannies all around, and have
some candle lanterns hanging too.
> There's something about watching a flickering flame that is so entrancing
> and comforting... of course, a little wine (or something stronger) helps!
> ;-)
Oh heck yeah! Ever sat and just stared at the charcoal blackened and cracked
side of a big burning log, as the heat and flame ripples all over the
surfaces, little glows as the carbon monoxide further burns to dioxide etc?
It looks like it is constantly melting and reforming, over and over -
fantastic ',;~}~
Shaun aRe
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| wff_ng_7 |
"Shaun aRe" <shaun_are@zenlunatics.co.uk> wrote:
> Oh heck yeah! Ever sat and just stared at the charcoal blackened and
> cracked
> side of a big burning log, as the heat and flame ripples all over the
> surfaces, little glows as the carbon monoxide further burns to dioxide
> etc?
> It looks like it is constantly melting and reforming, over and over -
> fantastic ',;~}~
It is all pretty amazing... but I guess you have to be the right kind of
person to enjoy it! ;-) I've always been fascinated by fires since I was a
little kid.
This reminds me of a passage in a book called "The Timeless Way of
Building", in a chapter called
"The Quality Without a Name":
--
"The word which we most often use to talk about the quality without a name
is the word "alive"."
....
"A well made fire is alive. There is a world of difference between a fire
which is a pile of burning logs, and a fire which is made by someone who
really understands a fire. He places each log exactly to make the air
between the logs just right. He doesn't stir the logs with a poker, but
while they are burning, grasps each one, and places it again, perhaps only
an inch from where it was before. The logs are so exactly placed that they
form channels for the draft. Waves of liquid yellow flame run up the logs
when the draft blows. Each log glows with full intensity. The fire, watched,
burns so intensely and so steadily, that when it dies, finally, it burns to
nothing; when the last glow dies, there is nothing but a little dust left in
the fireplace."
--
I don't know what you are using for "firewood", but I don't actually ever
have to buy any even though I live in the city. Part of the wood is pine
that I get from wood scraps people in the neighborhood throw out from
various projects. That's good to get the fire going. Then I found I could
get an infinite supply of "driftwood" along the shores of the river. In this
case the city is Washington, DC, and the river is the Potomac River, between
the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. I guess in this case taking wood from
the park is more like cleaning up the area than stealing anything. So much
debris gets washed downstream. This wood is certainly "well seasoned", and
burns very well and for a long time. I cut it up with a chain saw into
little logs up to a couple inches in diameter and six to eight inches long.
--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )
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