Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire

Well not exactly.  I don't have a fireplace to roast them, so we baked them.  But let me back up a bit for a second.  Every year around this time, Rebecca and I get the urge for some roasted chestnuts.  Something about the cold air and the hot shell that makes it all that much more appetizing.  Plus, you get a nice reward for peeling back chestnuts with a large amount of nut meat (saying the word "nut meat" is funny), whereas you don't get much reward with other

 nuts like peanuts or pistachios.  Chestnuts are worth the effort.

So on an unseasonably hot day (60 degrees), Rebecca placed a whole bag of chestnuts in the ove

n to bake.  Some minutes go by and we heard a popping sound to go check it out.  Everything looked fine, so we went back to watching tv.  Then a few minutes later, we heard it again.  Rebecca took the chestnuts out of the oven.  Within seconds, 3 chestnuts exploded all over the kitchen.  Rebecca ran and ducked for cover, while I watched in amazement of the fireworks going on in the kitchen.  Then another one blew up and nearly hit me, and I was standing a solid 8 feet away!  We both stood in defense for the next minute or so until we could be assured that the fireworks show was over.  Finally, we surveyed the damage: A whole lot of nut meat (there 

I used it again) was splattered all over the kitchen and a few chestnuts were lost in the

 explosions.  

In all, the loss of a few was worth the excitement of the whole ordeal.  

Once they cooled, we finally enjoyed cracking them open.  Can't wait to cook the next batch!