Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

Every Christmas we would sing along with Perry Como... chestnuts roasting on an open fire... kids dressed up as Eskimos... everybody knows...

Well, actually NOT everybody knows...I never knew...that’s for sure... Why would anyone in South Louisiana dress up like an Eskimo, except maybe for Halloween or Mardi Gras?

And what the heck was a chestnut? And why roast it over an open fire??

Yesterday we went to the Christmas market. It was really charming with lots of little booths. They were selling the strangest things… hot wine (vin chaud), sausages, fois gras, perfume, pens, toys, soap, bread, etc. etc. Not what I expected at a Christmas Market, but it was good. They were playing Christmas carols too... IN ENGLISH!!

As we were walking along, I saw a guy with some kind of cooker who was selling whatever it was he was cooking. As we got closer... it hit me... It was “CHESTNUTS ROASTING ON AN OPEN FIRE!”. So I had to get some. You could buy a ‘mini’ for 2 euros so I got a mini. He took a piece of old newspaper and rolled it up to form a cone, then filled it with hot chestnuts. They smelled pretty good. So I started eating... first one… pretty bad. Chewey, mushy.... OK, try again.. not any better. I ended up eating nearly all of them and they never got to tasting any better.

So... what’s all the fuss about? And do you have to roast them? Do they taste better un-roasted? Oh well, they make a nice song.

Oh, and lastly...
Maybe the American Chestnuts were better. Click here to read about what happened to the American Chestnut Tree and how they are working to bring it back