One of my favorite ways to ring in the New Year is to light a fire in the backyard, roast some chestnuts, watch the fireworks downtown, and have a champagne toast at midnight. If you want to try it, try to get chestnuts that are plump and still feel a bit pliable/moist. Score the papery shell on the round side with an X so steam can escape and the nut is easier to peel. Build a fire and get a good bed of coals from it. You can either put the chestnuts in a covered cast-iron pan, or you can make a packet of at least 4 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil; either way, you’re going to set that directly on the coals and shake/flip every minute or so. It’ll take 10-15 minutes for them to get roasted and soft inside (try one after 10 minutes, and if they’re still crunchy, go another 3-5 minutes). Then, peel and eat with your champagne, armagnac, or ginger tea like the Koreans do it! This year my friend Jen took some great pics of the operation with her phone–my phone camera is definitely not that good!
The Rookery 