Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire....

Warning:this post contains nuts and references to nuts. Do not continue if you cannot handle references to your nuts. Yes I am 12 in my head sometimes......

This is the time of year when a woman's thoughts turn naturally to...nuts. No, get your mind out of the gutter. Chestnuts. Roasting chestnuts to be exact. Roasting chestnuts is an activity I remember doing with my parents as a small child. Mom would peel them for me since they were hot. As an adult, I still have trouble peeling them. My sister blames it on my fingernails. I blame it on the chestnuts!

I had always roasted the chestnuts in a frying pan. with a lid. Every so often you would have to open one to see if they were done. This was a major pain. Recently my sister told me about an easier way she had discovered on the intartubes. This method makes them MUCH easier to peel.

I will now share it with you.

Step 1. Cut an 'X' in the shell of your nut.(snerk) A small paring knife works fine. I prefer one with a slightly 'hooky' tip like this:

Step 2: dunk your nuts (giggle) in a bowlful of water. Turn on oven to 425F

Step 3:When the oven is preheated, fish your nuts out of the water (tee hee) and put em on a cookie sheet. I like to lay em cut side down.

Step 4: Set the timer to 20 minutes and walk away. I am afraid I did not take a picture of this step. Use your imagination

Step 5: When the oven timer tells you that 20 minutes has elapsed, take your nuts out of the oven. (snicker) They should look something like this:

Step 6: You need to peel your nuts while they are hot. (that's what she said) Do so. I find a cutting board is helpful. Sometimes if you give them a smart slap with the palm of your hand they peel easier. Sometimes they don't and you have to pry. This step is significantly easier because of the soak them in water trick.

Step 7: EAT!!