It used to be so fun and special to see deer in our back yard. Now there are herds. They eat my hostas and make driving through the neighborhood dangerous. They are sweet creatures and it breaks my heart when they are injured or killed by vehicles.
Linda, thank you for another enjoyable video. Your content, filming, and music selections are great. Looking forward to your Christmas Eve video. You make ordinary tasks extraordinary. God bless, Robert.
Linda-since my grandparents had a chesnut tree, we grew up roasting them. A fireplace popcorn popper works best to keep the chesnuts moving so they don't get scorched or burnt.🎄
The corn popper worked pretty good for us too whereas the official chestnut roaster seem to let them burn easier for some reason or overheat. It could be because I had to set it down on the coals a few times because I got too hot.🥵 🤣
I have roasted chestnuts once in a popcorn popper over the fired in the fireplace....they were rubbery in texture. What should they be like? We did not like them and never did them again.
I have the last Chestnut Tree on Chestnut Street in my City. I love watching them develop during the year. I have Portuguese neighbors who come to collect them
I bought my chestnuts just prior to Thanksgiving for use in my dressing....what I don't use I place in the freezer to use at a later date for Christmas or New Year's Day dressing. I always remove my book covers (for a more harmonious look) and catalog them on index cards and placing them in a wood recipe box in case some one wants to borrow them....just like the public library.
I watched another chestnut roasting (how to) and tasting on the “Townsends” historical colonial channel. They said if cooked chestnuts are allowed to cool they are hard to peel. European chestnuts are different! Good to know, I will buy them thank you! (It probably wasn’t your cooking). The Townsends also mentioned the “texture” and had a funny face. The verb interesting” doesn’t usually translate to delicious in our house 😂😂😂😂.
I had to laugh: 2 days ago I took my "painting clothes" out of my closet and placed them in storage.....gardening clothes are next as they take up a hole drawer! We roasted chestnuts only once in the fire place with an old fashioned popcorn popper. They were rubbery...what went wrong? I will look for roasted ones in the produce dept when I next shop. I am so enjoying these videos that you are doing. I have temporarily stopped my home clean out and reorganization until after the holidays...then I am going room by room. I dread it! Merry Christmas
I have no fire. 🙂 so I 'roast' them in a microwave. One min for four large or 5 small. After I score them, as you do. The kind from Italy. Nice music.👍
Ah, roasting chestnuts! Every year we had chestnut stuffing for turkey and had to get up early! Having been to the Chestnut festival in Italy watching them roasting hundreds at a time, they just used an open fire and a basket type round cage that they cranked, turned like a roasting spit. Some peeled easily, some not. But I love them. The American Chestnut tree was wiped out by a blight but thanks to some remarkable people, they are coming back!
Good morning Linda I love to eat chestnut, but they’re too hard for my teeth , but thank you for sharing. You gave me a great idea I always like to paint around my house and put my painting clothes inside all over my drawers . It’s very hard for me to find them I have all my drawer stuff with clothes thank you for giving me that great idea. Well have a blessed weekend and God bless and have a beautiful Merry Christmas with your beautiful family.🙏🏻❤️🎁🎄🎉🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎁🎁🎁🎁😘
I don't think anyone has mentioned yet the classic French confection known as "marrons glacé" (pronounced "MAR-ohn GLASS-ay"), or candied chestnuts, a sweet treat of chestnuts candied in sugar syrup and glazed. They are very popular whether eaten on their own and used in other recipes. I picked some chestnuts up at the grocery store the other day and will be trying the oven roasting method (low and slow) and see how it goes, so thank you for sharing the various methods you tried, and to your readers who added to the suggestions on how to prepare them most easily.
Loved the great ideas on organizing clothes and books. Made me want to gather all our yearbooks. BTW...don't sweat "drawing a blank" because it happens to the best of us! 😂 ❤
I loved seeing your painting clothes. I have a similar bunch too. I just love my painting pants that have all the paint colors of two houses on them. I wouldn't think of throwing them out. Willow sure enjoys herself outdoors. She is a beauty. Happy Holidays to you Linda.
Fun to see you playing with Willow. I love chestnuts. We usually cut a cheek off the shell to see if its rotten then cut a crosss in it. Then roast in the oven. Its a good idea to soak them first. I love them. You can also buy them shelled for snacking in Korean groceries. In my area in Queens, NY i often find them in the Jewish section by a company called Galil.
Love chestnuts, we do ours on top of the stove yummy! Your woods are looking great, what a wonderful place to walk & play with dear Willow without having to travel. Lovely time of the year & exceptionally dryer as well, Nice coffee in the morning, Mulled wine & Stollen cake, late afternoon, you can’t beat Christmas!.. Great video Linda..🎄🎄
I think you better frame those painter pants lol I have a similar pair , won’t part with them . Southern Ontario years and years ago had many wild chestnut trees , until some disease went through . Right now it’s the ash boar , killing all the ash trees . So sad 😢
Linda.. you organizing video was great. In my 70 years I’m a magazine/book/journal “hoarder”!! My love of reading has started to overwhelmed.. I think of my collection as learning, entertaining & for projects. I’m trying to think of thinks out but everything I put my hands touch is special. They bring me so much joy but there are moments that clutter brings on tears! But loved your videos so much.
Yes, my Italian Grandpop (from Abruzzo) would roast chestnuts for me every Christmas when I was growing up. I try to continue the tradition with my children. Btw, they lived in South Philly for years before moving to the suburbs. Buon Natale ladies🇮🇹
I need not know that deer liked chestnuts love the video l also have books to get rid of as soon as the holidays are over major clean up merry Christmas and happy new year
Linda, I love your channel. When you mentioned that you and Ben went to high school together it made me want to know y’all’s story. I’d love to hear that.
Linda we just planted two American Chestnut trees by our barn in Kentucky . In several years I hope to “roast chestnut on an open fire”!!! Thanks for showing us how to roast them. I have a stack of painting/gardening clothes too! Makes for an easy reach! Thank you !
My Mom always roasted them in the oven. She cut an x in the flat side first, then roasted them in the oven. I wish I knew how long, and at what temperature. I love roasted chestnuts!
Ahhhhh I never covered mine while peeling them. Noted.! I to cut them on the rounded side. I actually have a scoring tool that is made to cut them on the rounded side, so I couldn’t mess that up. I cut them by hand the first batch.
Merry Christmas Linda to you & your family! Hope you get some time to unwind after the busy year you have had. Thank you for all of the weekly videos you have slipped in for us. Give Willow a big hug for me! 🌲 ✨
I'veI never eaten chestnuts - not a thing in the area of the US that I live in. Someone brought me a bag of them a couple of years ago when they came for Christmas dinner but I'm ashamed to say I put them in the pantry and forgot about them until several months later. I ended up throwing them out for whatever woodland creatures happened to discover them so maybe not a total loss. If I ever get any more, I'll try the oven method since you and some of your other commenters had luck with that method. Fun video.
We had chestnut trees around where I grew up. One of the main activities we'd do, presumably so that I got to move and my mother got to sit in some peace and quiet, was to go to the park and have me pick up and gather as many chestnuts as I could while she sat and watched lol. It was an activity I enjoyed, it felt like a treasure hunt for a little kid. I have a picture of me as just a little 3 or 4 year old with a huge bag of chestnuts under the trees. So your video brings back some of my first memories!
I love that! We had one chestnut tree on our property. And it was super spiky before they opened up and we used to throw them at each other as kids. Nice. 🥴🤣
Our local Italian market sells those bags of chestnuts at Christmas time. I use them to make chicken and chestnuts with slivered onions, an easy recipe I found online. Always love watching Willow having fun!
When I made sausage chestnut stuffing this tip was from my mother inlaw was to cut a cross into the chestnut before boiling/steaming for the stuffing. I would imagine it would work the same way regardless of the method just speeding up the process a bit.
I did that for one of the batches. I might have to try one more time if I can find some fresh chestnuts. The ones I’ve been finding recently are old and stale, which I think is what was my issue with all of the other tests.
Hi Linda capecod girls here..well my friend and I tried the cinnamon applesauce orniments DONT know what wedding wrong but they fell apart we had ablast though..have a wonderful xmas .
I think the best thing to do with the chestnuts is to give them to the deer. I was happy to try some that someone gave me and all I could think of was sawdust. 😂 How special that you have the old Stuart Little book. I've always been interested in what other people have in their bookshelves. ❤️Willow.
I moved to So Cal to be near my grandchildren. You brought back so many wonderful holiday memories of our big Italian family in Chicago roasting chestnuts at the holidays! As you said, so much laughter and fun whether you like them or not! 🎄💕🎄
Personally, I think the oven toasted are much better than the packaged. I didn’t see any in stores this year, but I did finally find them before Thanksgiving (for the stuffing). Costco got boxes of the precooked packaged kind after Thanksgiving.
Loved watching your experiment with the chesnuts. My great grandmother, then grandmother always cooked them and put chopped ones in dressing (stuffing. 😉) i have too and they're delicious. Also, I liked the idea of storing your clothes in the bin. I'm definitely going to do something like this! Thanks! 😊
OMG I am a magazine hoarder. I do not toss my magazines, I keep them for years (many years). I finally, a couple years ago, went through all the house subscription magazines and managed to pass them onto friends. Now I still have my craft magazines. They may take a little longer. 😂
We love chestnuts, and we roast them on top of our wood stove. It’s a timing thing, but I don’t know about you but when we get them from the store and roast them 40-50% of them are bad and you can’t tell from the outside of the nut. Thanks for sharing!😊
Hi Linda thanks for the video. We have a huge Chestnut Tree & the deer eat every last one! They stand on their hind legs to reach it’s something to see. Hope you, your family & viewers have a Merry Christmas! 🎄🦌🎄🦌
My mother would roast chestnuts in the oven to make chestnut filling for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I believe she would place a slice in the chestnut shell before placing them in the oven.
Have never even tasted a chestnut. I will put that on my bucket list. Your experiment was very entertaining. Organizing books is a real task. You have some great shelves. I love children’s books, too. My son has a set of first edition Hardy Boys which belonged to my brother as a child. Remember Nancy Drew? The ring situation was one of those weird happenings that might not occur ever again. When the organizing bug hits it just keeps going, right? I admire your energy. Enjoy the next few days before Christmas. Blessings.
What fun watching you try different methods of roasting! Warms me all over just thinking of eating some. I haven't done it in over 10 years now... but we had them often when growing up. I was taught to cut through the shell just as you did, then we would soak them in hot water for about 1/2 an hour or so... then we roasted them in the oven. I always covered mine loosely with foil for the first 15 minutes in the oven, then uncovered for the remaining 10 or 15. When we took them out, we wrapped them in a towel to let them steam until they cooled down enough to peel. As long as they're slightly warm, they will peel more easily. I found, for me anyway -that the key was to be sure to let them roast slow enough. Otherwise the texture was not nice. They didn't cook all the way through. So a bit of a slower oven for a bit longer may help you. Also, the steaming part in the towel seemed to make them very easy to peel. I have to say though Linda, as I watched you with your bag of nuts from the store... the idea of EASE makes me think I've got to give them a try! Thank you so much for taking the time to share so many videos this Christmas Season. I'm enjoying it very much! 😍
Thank you so much! I’m going to try this exact process the next time I make them. I think I was cooking too high too fast following everybody else on the Internet, who is probably trying to figure it out like me.
Thank you for another uplifting video......your positive attitude and calm spirit is what l so enjoy. Have a wonderful holiday with your family and friends.
I love all nuts, except chestnuts, LOL! My dad was from a big Italian family and handed me a roasted chestnut once when I was a kid. The look on my face must have said it all!! Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas!! 😊
Love watching Willow play! We tried roasting store bought chestnuts out here in California, they were disappointing. They were probably not American chestnuts and may be why the texture was not what I expected. It was fun watching your experiments though!
HI Linda ! I remember my dad putting chestnuts in the fireplace just to hear them pop. Thanks for the taste test because I was wondering . I must not be painting enough or correctly, because my "paint clothes" are no where near that covered in paint , haha!! Hope to see you Christmas eve, if not I understand busy busy !! Christmas blessings Paula
Thanks for the laughs today. Reminded me of my trying to create my own sourdough starter this fall. I decided to stick with purchasing from a local bakery that has it mastered. Glad i tried!
Ben keeps asking me to try to make sourdough bread and the starter always kept me from doing so after watching so many videos. I’d rather buy fresh baked bread from a local bakery for that lol
You have had some great videos - but this one, especially for first time 'roasters', was extremely useful! Bet your deer were also delighted!!! 🦌🦌🦌Happy Holidays to you and yours!!! 🌹🌹🌹
Do you have a glass insert in your gas fireplace in the kitchen? I don't like how the glass looks in mine but we were told it cannot be removed. Thanks!
Lol. I think I am going to pass on roasting the chestnuts!! Linda, I used to get Colonial Homes Magazine for years and years. I have boxes of them. They are so full of history and gorgeous homes. I offered them to my local library and a historic society. No takers. Any suggestions? It is very sad to throw them out as some people like us still love Colonial History so much. Impressive your Dad graduated from Harvard. My Uncle did as well. When my dear Mum passed on fairly young, she said to me, " I left you enough to send a child through Harvard." One of my very favorite books is Harvard yard by William Martin. You would love it if you have not read it. he wrote Back Bay as well.
That is a great magazine to have. I used to get magazines from libraries after they did not want them any more, due to storage. Maybe a consignment store? I purchase other old magazines that way.
My husband cuts a slit in them and I roast them in 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until they open up and test them by squeezing one then I follow my mother in law’s way of wrapping them in a wet dish towel for about 10 minutes or so. I don’t eat them but my husband does and thinks they come great.
That is one way I did them. It was the texture on all that were different from the package. I did find out most likely old stale ones at the grocery stores.
Would you kindly remind me of the beautiful color you used for the bookcases in your living room? I remember watching the video of this project, but didn't write the name of the color, which I love. Merry Christmas! Love your style!
I’ve always wanted to roast chestnuts. We have a wood pellet stove, so I’m wondering if I can make that work🤔. I’m also wondering if once you get them out of the shell if you can toast the nut only some more and how that would work out? I’m very curious about this now. 😂 Heading to the store now…
The first time I went to Europe in winter I couldn’t wait to try chestnuts for the first time and they were so blah. We bought some from the store recently to try. Blah. Nothing like walnuts or pecans. We threw them away.
Thank you. I looked that up and the tree we had at my childhood home was most likely a horse chestnut tree and probably the reason my parents had no interest in roasting them 😁
It used to be so fun and special to see deer in our back yard. Now there are herds. They eat my hostas and make driving through the neighborhood dangerous. They are sweet creatures and it breaks my heart when they are injured or killed by vehicles.
Linda, I grew up eating chestnuts, my family is from Italy and chestnuts were a staple on our holiday table. Enjoy!
Roasting chestnuts reminds me of the street vendors in 80s NYC.
I laughed as I had the same thoughts grocery store here I come.
That "Stuart Little" 1946 edition is a first edition. It's got some value other than nostalgia!
Hi, I took a peek and ours says it's a fourth in the front.
I can remember my Dad roasting chestnuts-but don’t remember eating them🤣. A fun Christmas memory.
Oh yes, drawing a blank, I do that more often than I like to admit !!
Ms Linda, you should get Ben some trail cameras and get some awesome pictures of your Deer and other wildlife on your property.👍
Linda, thank you for another enjoyable video. Your content, filming, and music selections are great. Looking forward to your Christmas Eve video. You make ordinary tasks extraordinary. God bless,
Robert.
Thank you Robert.
Thank you. That would be lovely.
Linda-since my grandparents had a chesnut tree, we grew up roasting them. A fireplace popcorn popper works best to keep the chesnuts moving so they don't get scorched or burnt.🎄
The corn popper worked pretty good for us too whereas the official chestnut roaster seem to let them burn easier for some reason or overheat. It could be because I had to set it down on the coals a few times because I got too hot.🥵 🤣
I have roasted chestnuts once in a popcorn popper over the fired in the fireplace....they were rubbery in texture. What should they be like? We did not like them and never did them again.
@@newenglandfineliving I understand! 😂 They do have to be shaken around while roasting. Merry Christmas to you, and your family. 🦌🎅
I have the last Chestnut Tree on Chestnut Street in my City. I love watching them develop during the year. I have Portuguese neighbors who come to collect them
@@karenstairs8273 That's great. Theyre beautiful trees, in any case!
We slit them and boil on top of stove, so delicious!
I have never come across boiling them! Hmmmm! I might give that a try too!
I bought my chestnuts just prior to Thanksgiving for use in my dressing....what I don't use I place in the freezer to use at a later date for Christmas or New Year's Day dressing. I always remove my book covers (for a more harmonious look) and catalog them on index cards and placing them in a wood recipe box in case some one wants to borrow them....just like the public library.
Great idea!!
I watched another chestnut roasting (how to) and tasting on the “Townsends” historical colonial channel. They said if cooked chestnuts are allowed to cool they are hard to peel. European chestnuts are different! Good to know, I will buy them thank you! (It probably wasn’t your cooking). The Townsends also mentioned the “texture” and had a funny face. The verb interesting” doesn’t usually translate to delicious in our house 😂😂😂😂.
Ahhh, a library book shelving!
I had to laugh: 2 days ago I took my "painting clothes" out of my closet and placed them in storage.....gardening clothes are next as they take up a hole drawer! We roasted chestnuts only once in the fire place with an old fashioned popcorn popper. They were rubbery...what went wrong? I will look for roasted ones in the produce dept when I next shop. I am so enjoying these videos that you are doing. I have temporarily stopped my home clean out and reorganization until after the holidays...then I am going room by room. I dread it! Merry Christmas
I have no fire. 🙂 so I 'roast' them in a microwave. One min for four large or 5 small. After I score them, as you do. The kind from Italy. Nice music.👍
Ah, roasting chestnuts! Every year we had chestnut stuffing for turkey and had to get up early! Having been to the Chestnut festival in Italy watching them roasting hundreds at a time, they just used an open fire and a basket type round cage that they cranked, turned like a roasting spit. Some peeled easily, some not. But I love them. The American Chestnut tree was wiped out by a blight but thanks to some remarkable people, they are coming back!
Good morning Linda I love to eat chestnut, but they’re too hard for my teeth , but thank you for sharing. You gave me a great idea I always like to paint around my house and put my painting clothes inside all over my drawers . It’s very hard for me to find them I have all my drawer stuff with clothes thank you for giving me that great idea. Well have a blessed weekend and God bless and have a beautiful Merry Christmas with your beautiful family.🙏🏻❤️🎁🎄🎉🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎁🎁🎁🎁😘
Love your videos…we grew up boiling our chestnuts in salt water….
Merry Christmas! This is one of my favorite channels! Blessing’s from Bethlehem, New Hampshire! ❤
Thank you! Merry Christmas!
Thank you for sharing!
Make a fire in a garbage can~ stand out in the cold weather and roast in roaster from England over the fire in the can
I don't think anyone has mentioned yet the classic French confection known as "marrons glacé" (pronounced "MAR-ohn GLASS-ay"), or candied chestnuts, a sweet treat of chestnuts candied in sugar syrup and glazed. They are very popular whether eaten on their own and used in other recipes. I picked some chestnuts up at the grocery store the other day and will be trying the oven roasting method (low and slow) and see how it goes, so thank you for sharing the various methods you tried, and to your readers who added to the suggestions on how to prepare them most easily.
Thank you for the information on the candied chestnuts! I have never heard of it.
Yes! We were given several at the Chestnut festival in Italy. A little sweet for me, but a treat nonetheless.
Loved the great ideas on organizing clothes and books. Made me want to gather all our yearbooks. BTW...don't sweat "drawing a blank" because it happens to the best of us! 😂 ❤
I loved seeing your painting clothes. I have a similar bunch too. I just love my painting pants that have all the paint colors of two houses on them. I wouldn't think of throwing them out. Willow sure enjoys herself outdoors. She is a beauty. Happy Holidays to you Linda.
Merry Christmas Linda!😇
Never roasted chestnuts or eaten them…but enjoyed watching you.
Everything looks beautiful! Merry Christmas! jd
Fun to see you playing with Willow. I love chestnuts. We usually cut a cheek off the shell to see if its rotten then cut a crosss in it. Then roast in the oven. Its a good idea to soak them first. I love them. You can also buy them shelled for snacking in Korean groceries. In my area in Queens, NY i often find them in the Jewish section by a company called Galil.
Love chestnuts, we do ours on top of the stove yummy! Your woods are looking great, what a wonderful place to walk & play with dear Willow without having to travel. Lovely time of the year & exceptionally dryer as well, Nice coffee in the morning, Mulled wine & Stollen cake, late afternoon, you can’t beat Christmas!.. Great video Linda..🎄🎄
Merry Christmas Linda 🎄and God bless your New Year 💫
I think you better frame those painter pants lol I have a similar pair , won’t part with them . Southern Ontario years and years ago had many wild chestnut trees , until some disease went through . Right now it’s the ash boar , killing all the ash trees . So sad 😢
I love chestnuts, my mom boils them, and then she freezes the leftover ones that aren't peeled for a few months.
You're the second person to mention boiling them. During all of my research that never came up. I love the idea. I will be trying that too!
Merry Christmas to you and your family
Same to you!
It's fun watching you roast the Chestnuts. I've never done it.
Linda.. you organizing video was great. In my 70 years I’m a magazine/book/journal “hoarder”!!
My love of reading has started to overwhelmed.. I think of my collection as learning, entertaining & for projects.
I’m trying to think of thinks out but everything I put my hands touch is special. They bring me so much joy but there are moments that clutter brings on tears!
But loved your videos so much.
I love my magazines too. I pretty much save the articles and toss the pages and pages of ads.
You have to be really, really hungry and hard up for food to enjoy chessnuts. There are so many good foods that I would much rather enjoy.
🤣
Oh Linda this brings back memories of my Dad roasting chestnuts 🌰.And on corners of South Philly you could buy small bags of them .
Me too! Love being able to buy roasted chestnuts on Philly street corners. Not as many vendors these days. A very special memory.
Yes, my Italian Grandpop (from Abruzzo) would roast chestnuts for me every Christmas when I was growing up. I try to continue the tradition with my children. Btw, they lived in South Philly for years before moving to the suburbs. Buon Natale ladies🇮🇹
@laurapieri6315 Philly is a special place. Happy to find someone with Philly memories.
Have a blessed Christmas
Linda...I tell everyone about you! I love seeing Willow. Your home is always so cozy!!
Thank you Karen!
I need not know that deer liked chestnuts love the video l also have books to get rid of as soon as the holidays are over major clean up merry Christmas and happy new year
What a good idea with the painting and gardening clothes. I think I will also put the suggestion into practice. Thank you. 😊
Linda, I love your channel. When you mentioned that you and Ben went to high school together it made me want to know y’all’s story. I’d love to hear that.
I’m pretty sure it’s somewhere in one of my old videos, but I can do something in the question answer I’m planning for the new year.
WOW, Yearbooks! I love looking through my mom and dad's with my kids. It's so fun.
It really is!
Make a small cut into them.
Put in air fryer with kosher salt.
I do cut them, but never heard of trying the air fryer! My oven has that, I wonder if that would have worked. Something for me to try next time.
Organizing is such an adventure. I have had many in my day. Someday I will succeed! Good luck with yours and Merry Christmas!
I organize then I look behind me and it's undone. LOL
Linda we just planted two American Chestnut trees by our barn in Kentucky . In several years I hope to “roast chestnut on an open fire”!!! Thanks for showing us how to roast them. I have a stack of painting/gardening clothes too! Makes for an easy reach! Thank you !
I love hearing that!
My Mom always roasted them in the oven. She cut an x in the flat side first, then roasted them in the oven. I wish I knew how long, and at what temperature. I love roasted chestnuts!
I do that too, about 15 minutes. I cover them with a towel while peeling so they stay warm and are easier to peel. Delicious!
btw, I cut the x on the rounded side, so they can sit flat on the tray in my toasteroven.
Ahhhhh I never covered mine while peeling them. Noted.! I to cut them on the rounded side. I actually have a scoring tool that is made to cut them on the rounded side, so I couldn’t mess that up. I cut them by hand the first batch.
When I was a child my mother boiled the chestnut and became soft.
Love it! Several have mentioned this and I never came across that during my research. I will try next time.
Merry Christmas Linda to you & your family! Hope you get some time to unwind after the busy year you have had. Thank you for all of the weekly videos you have slipped in for us. Give Willow a big hug for me! 🌲 ✨
I'veI never eaten chestnuts - not a thing in the area of the US that I live in. Someone brought me a bag of them a couple of years ago when they came for Christmas dinner but I'm ashamed to say I put them in the pantry and forgot about them until several months later. I ended up throwing them out for whatever woodland creatures happened to discover them so maybe not a total loss. If I ever get any more, I'll try the oven method since you and some of your other commenters had luck with that method. Fun video.
We had chestnut trees around where I grew up. One of the main activities we'd do, presumably so that I got to move and my mother got to sit in some peace and quiet, was to go to the park and have me pick up and gather as many chestnuts as I could while she sat and watched lol. It was an activity I enjoyed, it felt like a treasure hunt for a little kid. I have a picture of me as just a little 3 or 4 year old with a huge bag of chestnuts under the trees. So your video brings back some of my first memories!
I love that! We had one chestnut tree on our property. And it was super spiky before they opened up and we used to throw them at each other as kids. Nice. 🥴🤣
@@newenglandfineliving LOL
Our local Italian market sells those bags of chestnuts at Christmas time. I use them to make chicken and chestnuts with slivered onions, an easy recipe I found online. Always love watching Willow having fun!
Sounds great!
When I made sausage chestnut stuffing this tip was from my mother inlaw was to cut a cross into the chestnut before boiling/steaming for the stuffing. I would imagine it would work the same way regardless of the method just speeding up the process a bit.
I did that for one of the batches. I might have to try one more time if I can find some fresh chestnuts. The ones I’ve been finding recently are old and stale, which I think is what was my issue with all of the other tests.
Hi Linda capecod girls here..well my friend and I tried the cinnamon applesauce orniments DONT know what wedding wrong but they fell apart we had ablast though..have a wonderful xmas
.
Oh no! they fell apart? Maybe too dry? Well I'm so glad you have fun doing it and I hope you will give them another go in the future!
I think the best thing to do with the chestnuts is to give them to the deer. I was happy to try some that someone gave me and all I could think of was sawdust. 😂 How special that you have the old Stuart Little book. I've always been interested in what other people have in their bookshelves.
❤️Willow.
I moved to So Cal to be near my grandchildren. You brought back so many wonderful holiday memories of our big Italian family in Chicago roasting chestnuts at the holidays! As you said, so much laughter and fun whether you like them or not! 🎄💕🎄
I love that!
Cast iron pan works really good too
Personally, I think the oven toasted are much better than the packaged. I didn’t see any in stores this year, but I did finally find them before Thanksgiving (for the stuffing). Costco got boxes of the precooked packaged kind after Thanksgiving.
Loved watching your experiment with the chesnuts. My great grandmother, then grandmother always cooked them and put chopped ones in dressing (stuffing. 😉) i have too and they're delicious. Also, I liked the idea of storing your clothes in the bin. I'm definitely going to do something like this! Thanks! 😊
MERRY christmas to you, dear friend.
Kudos to you for trying out those different ways to roast the chestnuts 👍🏻😁. Wishing a very Merry Christmas to you and your family.🎄🕊️
OMG I am a magazine hoarder. I do not toss my magazines, I keep them for years (many years). I finally, a couple years ago, went through all the house subscription magazines and managed to pass them onto friends. Now I still have my craft magazines. They may take a little longer. 😂
I mainly take out the articles, but them in binders or file away and toss the ads. LOL
We love chestnuts, and we roast them on top of our wood stove. It’s a timing thing, but I don’t know about you but when we get them from the store and roast them 40-50% of them are bad and you can’t tell from the outside of the nut. Thanks for sharing!😊
I’m a little confused as to why I didn’t think of using the top of our wood stove lol 😆
Hi Linda thanks for the video.
We have a huge Chestnut Tree & the deer eat every last one! They stand on their hind legs to reach it’s something to see.
Hope you, your family & viewers have a Merry Christmas! 🎄🦌🎄🦌
That is awesome!
My mother would roast chestnuts in the oven to make chestnut filling for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I believe she would place a slice in the chestnut shell before placing them in the oven.
Yes or else they will explode! 🤣
Have never even tasted a chestnut. I will put that on my bucket list. Your experiment was very entertaining. Organizing books is a real task. You have some great shelves. I love children’s books, too. My son has a set of first edition Hardy Boys which belonged to my brother as a child. Remember Nancy Drew? The ring situation was one of those weird happenings that might not occur ever again. When the organizing bug hits it just keeps going, right? I admire your energy. Enjoy the next few days before Christmas. Blessings.
What fun watching you try different methods of roasting! Warms me all over just thinking of eating some. I haven't done it in over 10 years now... but we had them often when growing up. I was taught to cut through the shell just as you did, then we would soak them in hot water for about 1/2 an hour or so... then we roasted them in the oven. I always covered mine loosely with foil for the first 15 minutes in the oven, then uncovered for the remaining 10 or 15. When we took them out, we wrapped them in a towel to let them steam until they cooled down enough to peel. As long as they're slightly warm, they will peel more easily. I found, for me anyway -that the key was to be sure to let them roast slow enough. Otherwise the texture was not nice. They didn't cook all the way through. So a bit of a slower oven for a bit longer may help you. Also, the steaming part in the towel seemed to make them very easy to peel. I have to say though Linda, as I watched you with your bag of nuts from the store... the idea of EASE makes me think I've got to give them a try! Thank you so much for taking the time to share so many videos this Christmas Season. I'm enjoying it very much! 😍
Thank you so much! I’m going to try this exact process the next time I make them. I think I was cooking too high too fast following everybody else on the Internet, who is probably trying to figure it out like me.
@@newenglandfineliving Merry Merry to you and Ben (Willow too)! Aw heck, to everyone you love! ❤
Thank you for another uplifting video......your positive attitude and calm spirit is what l so enjoy.
Have a wonderful holiday with your family and friends.
I love all nuts, except chestnuts, LOL! My dad was from a big Italian family and handed me a roasted chestnut once when I was a kid. The look on my face must have said it all!! Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas!! 😊
Love watching Willow play! We tried roasting store bought chestnuts out here in California, they were disappointing. They were probably not American chestnuts and may be why the texture was not what I expected. It was fun watching your experiments though!
I’m learning that Italian in American chestnuts are ones to try. The one I had in the package were Italian chestnuts.
Merry Christmas Linda and your family.🎄
HI Linda ! I remember my dad putting chestnuts in the fireplace just to hear them pop. Thanks for the taste test because I was wondering . I must not be painting enough or correctly, because my "paint clothes" are no where near that covered in paint , haha!! Hope to see you Christmas eve, if not I understand busy busy !! Christmas blessings Paula
I was also a decorative painters, so my hands got used as painting tools sometimes. LOL
@@newenglandfineliving the hands are amazing tools !!
This was a fun video!I hope you have inspired me to do some serious organizing!!
Thanks for the laughs today. Reminded me of my trying to create my own sourdough starter this fall. I decided to stick with purchasing from a local bakery that has it mastered. Glad i tried!
Ben keeps asking me to try to make sourdough bread and the starter always kept me from doing so after watching so many videos. I’d rather buy fresh baked bread from a local bakery for that lol
I love the color of your bookcase, thanks again for a wonderful video!
You have had some great videos - but this one, especially for first time 'roasters', was extremely useful! Bet your deer were also delighted!!! 🦌🦌🦌Happy Holidays to you and yours!!! 🌹🌹🌹
Glad you enjoyed it
Omg, Linda! You have SOOO much energy!!!🤪😂😂Wish I could even FIT into pants from 20 years ago!! Lol My earrings still fit😂🤪😂
🤗 lol. I didn’t say they fit the same. 🤣
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
Your vlogs are a favorite. Thank you for the time and effort you put into your stories. Happy holidays.
Happy holidays!
Merry Christmas!
😂I love your videos Linda. ❤
Thank you so much!!
I have been admiring the snowflake pillow on your window seat
. Will you share where you got it?
I believe from HomeGoods last year
Do you have a glass insert in your gas fireplace in the kitchen? I don't like how the glass looks in mine but we were told it cannot be removed. Thanks!
yes we do, but then it has a screen over it to cut the glare.
great idea, thank you!!!!
I’m impressed you can wear the same size pants after 20 years. Lol😂
Tighter for sure. lol
Lol. I think I am going to pass on roasting the chestnuts!! Linda, I used to get Colonial Homes Magazine for years and years. I have boxes of them. They are so full of history and gorgeous homes. I offered them to my local library and a historic society. No takers. Any suggestions? It is very sad to throw them out as some people like us still love Colonial History so much. Impressive your Dad graduated from Harvard. My Uncle did as well. When my dear Mum passed on fairly young, she said to me, " I left you enough to send a child through Harvard." One of my very favorite books is Harvard yard by William Martin. You would love it if you have not read it. he wrote Back Bay as well.
That is a great magazine to have. I used to get magazines from libraries after they did not want them any more, due to storage. Maybe a consignment store? I purchase other old magazines that way.
@@newenglandfineliving Thank you Linda, I will look into that.
Maybe you should try making some figgy pudding. 🤪
lol. Maybe next year.
I've never eaten a chestnut
This was my first time !
Merry Christmas!! You always have the best music ❤Would you be able to start listing song/artist in your "more" section? Please and thank you🎄
My mother and grandmother boiled chestnuts for the stuffing at Thanksgiving they taste so dood
My husband cuts a slit in them and I roast them in 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until they open up and test them by squeezing one then I follow my mother in law’s way of wrapping them in a wet dish towel for about 10 minutes or so. I don’t eat them but my husband does and thinks they come great.
That is one way I did them. It was the texture on all that were different from the package. I did find out most likely old stale ones at the grocery stores.
Would you kindly remind me of the beautiful color you used for the bookcases in your living room? I remember watching the video of this project, but didn't write the name of the color, which I love. Merry Christmas! Love your style!
Village Green eek. I am forgetting the vendor. It is listed on my website/blog as colors of Sugarwood
I’ve always wanted to roast chestnuts. We have a wood pellet stove, so I’m wondering if I can make that work🤔. I’m also wondering if once you get them out of the shell if you can toast the nut only some more and how that would work out? I’m very curious about this now. 😂 Heading to the store now…
Someone just mentioned they do it on the top of their woodstove, which I can’t believe I didn’t think of trying as well, so maybe it would!
I too went through the roasting chestnuts,oven was best for me , not to your extent. But not my favorite
U have a beautiful Oven just Beautiful
You should have tried a 6th time. There is always improvement…😉❤️👍
Sixth time will be in 2024! 🤣
❤😊❤
I'm curious, what brand is the double door oven in your butler's pantry?
Cafe monogram by GE
❤❤
The first time I went to Europe in winter I couldn’t wait to try chestnuts for the first time and they were so blah. We bought some from the store recently to try. Blah. Nothing like walnuts or pecans. We threw them away.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️👍🇨🇦🎄
there is a difference between horse chestnuts and edible chestnuts.
Thank you. I looked that up and the tree we had at my childhood home was most likely a horse chestnut tree and probably the reason my parents had no interest in roasting them 😁