By Lisa Green If you’re reading this the day it’s posted — which happens to fall on Thanksgiving — well, then, good for you. You’re probably not hosting the feast. Or maybe you’re taking a little breather from basting. Either way, you might happen to have some chestnuts on hand, because it’s that season. Honestly, I feel roasted chestnuts are a bit overrated. That might stem from my years living in New York, where the biting aroma of charred chestnuts wafting along Fifth Avenue enthralling tourists just made my throat itch. But ever since my husband and I moved into a house with a fireplace, he’s been seized with the romantic notion of roasting chestnuts on an open fire, and despite that acrid smell, I appreciate the sentiment. If he wants to get all romantic beside the fireplace, I’m not going to argue with that.
Still, it seems to me that the crackling chestnuts, once painstakingly peeled, could use a little boost in the flavor department, so I went looking for some kind of topping or sauce. Google never fails. It turned up Oven-Roasted Chestnuts with Spiced Melted Butter from Serious Eats, and everything is better with butter, right? I’m not going to give directions for the actual roasting (they're in the link below) — we chose the fireplace route over the oven, and we haven't completely got that method perfected yet. Either way, however they’re roasting, make a potion of some unsalted melted butter, a cinnamon stick, salt, sugar and a little nutmeg. Voilà — a dipping sauce that gilds the chestnuts in their holiday finest. You’ll find the full recipe here. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
