Castagna

Sorry to have been so remiss in posting. The hustle and bustle of guests added to our normal routine has made for a busy time. Today is Maggie and Greg's final full day with us; we transport them to the airport before the crack of dawn tomorrow for an early AM flight.

Now, castagna is not the name of another romantic, walled, hilltop town in the region although it certainly sounds as though it could be. Castagna are chestnuts. One benefit of always shopping our local fruit and vegetable store is that they pretty much only stock local products and they pretty much only stock seasonally. There are a few exceptions. Bananas from Ecuador are available year round as is a very limited variety of citrus which is imported from places like Israel until it comes in regionally and the selection explodes. Several weeks ago Amy and I noted the arrival of chestnuts. Big baskets of nuts just like the ones you pick up on the ground at various places in New England are sold for a bit more than $3.00 a pound. We didn't buy any as they are sold raw and we had no idea how to deal with them. Then, last weekend when Maggie, Greg and Amy went exploring, they ran across a small "Chestnut Festival" in Bagnoreggio. After an elaborate production apparently involving much signing of paper (fortunately, Maggie and Greg have no first born to mistakenly sign away), Greg was able to procure some which were eaten by all present.

Last night we went out to another of our local enoteca for what is becoming a traditional Friday after work gathering. The Italians have really taken to TGIF (TGIV, mixing Italian and English). In fact, they are willing to add an M, T, or whatever to the end and celebrate pretty much whenever! We learned the hard way that the mixed antipasti served with the aperativo is pretty much all we need to eat to call it a very satisfactory dinner meal. One of the main staples of last night's antipasti were roasted chestnuts so I was able to experience them for the first time. They arrive piping hot and ruptured from the cooking process. You peel off the thin shell and brush off a paper-like covering then pop them in your mouth. They are much easier to get into than a walnut, pecan, etc. and are sweet and chewy. They remind me in some ways of peeling an acorn, only acorns are bitter if you ever eat one. I'm still not sure if it is worth trying to prepare chestnuts at home or even how one would go about it, but they were an interesting treat when combined with olives, breads, mini-sandwiches, and wine.