Roasted chestnuts

[pegkerr]

I stopped by the grocery store yesterday, and along the ingredients I bought for yesterday's disastrous dinner, I bought a few chestnuts. I roasted them under the broiler after dinner and offered them to the girls. Fiona tried one and rejected them (of course) but Delia was pleased by the taste and had several.

They reminded me so powerfully, as they always do, of being back in England, where I tasted them for the first time. I remember buying roast chestnuts from the vendors at the street corners, who would pull them out from steel drums where they roasted them and hand them to you in a paper cone. They kept the hands warm as you walked around that grand old city, and the taste was so warm, so welcome, so sweet and filling and perfect.

Tell me about a food that when you eat it brings back a powerful memory.

Edited to add: since people have asked: Roasting chestnuts is extremely easy. Just make a criss-cross cut on the flat side of the chestnut with the point of a sharp knife and then throw them on a broiler pan and put them under the broiler for five to ten minutes. Yum.

Comments

[sternel.livejournal.com]

Mulled Wine. My semester in Austria, I was there over Christmas. Every street corner had a little stand set up that sold mulled wine (You put a deposit down and got a real, honest-to-goodness mug, not some wimpy paper cup) and you sould get your mugful and wander the streets, stopping for a refill whenever your mug emptied, and pause to chat with people as you walked. No matter how cold it was, everyone would be outside, bundled up tight, because Mulled Wine only happens at Christmas so you better not miss it!

I had some of my dormmates teach me how to make it and brought the recipe home with me. Every time I taste it, for just that one moment, I'm back in Graz with the winter wind biting my nose.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Oh, I adore mulled wine! Thank you for reminding me; I will make my recipe of it tomorrow.