On a recent trip to Italy I dropped into a temporary shack set up just like a Christmas tree lot but this one featured all things "chestnut." You could sit down to eat some freshly roasted chestnuts and drink a glass of wine before moving on for your evening. There was also a variety of prepared chestnut products as well as raw chestnuts you could purchase. The place was quite packed and the warmth from the roaster was comforting in contrast to the cold wind blowing outside.

At this time of year across Northern Italy you'll see roasted chestnut stands on street corners of cities large and small. These businesses are the Italian version of pumpkin patches and Christmas tree lots, completely seasonal and a reminder of more modest times. The vendors take up their position on corners and piazzas, roast chestnuts over an open fire and sell them for a few bucks in paper cones. You'll see the skins strewn across cobblestone streets as people munch while strolling. Chestnuts are omnipresent this time of year in Northern Italy on menus, in markets and in the orchards that carpet Piedmont.

This encounter got me thinking about why we don't see chestnuts as publicly available in the Bay Area. I had a minor eureka moment and remembered that years ago the Chronicle had mentioned that you could collect chestnuts somewhere in San Mateo County. Upon my return I took a quick trip down to Skyline Chestnuts and did some gathering. Apparently, the chestnut season is fairly brief. It started mid-October and ends this weekend before Thanksgiving so if you are interested in DIY chestnut collection don't delay!

The drive down is a great experience unto itself. In less than an hour from San Francisco you enter into a completely rural landscape. Should you take the quick route down 280 you turn west on Sand Hill Road and climb through the economic strata: Massive houses, equestrians hugging the road and packs of people on really nice bikes. Then you reach the redwoods and classic coastal California. Hairpin turns pull you onto ridges that yield pristine views of the entire bay one minute, then rolling hills descending into the Pacific the next. Along the way you can stop to pick up a picnic or even a glass of wine because Thomas Fogerty winery lies directly in your path.

Once you arrive at Skyline Chestnuts the process is easy. You show up and the proprietors, Hans and Donna Johsens, give you a bucket and some heavy leather gloves and then point you down the trail where you'll find a series of chestnut trees and the ground carpeted by nuts and the bristly pods that contain them known as burrs. Most of the nuts are already nude on the ground so the collection process is pretty straightforward. Occasionally you'll find some that haven't completely emerged from the burrs so you'll need to pry them out with your securely gloved hands. Collect until you're content and enjoy San Mateo County's open space because it's quite amazing. You might also want to gather some of the burrs as well -- they make great table decorations for Thanksgiving.

Now what do you do with your bounty? Roasting is by far the easiest and most traditional way. Skyline Chestnuts sells chestnut knives which makes the process easier. They also sell classic roasting pans and recipe books. To roast them score each chestnut with an X on the flat side and place a bunch in a roasting pan at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. Check them periodically and once the corners of the X point upwards they should be done. Take them out and place the chestnuts in a towel, twist it so that they all crack and then serve. It will still take some work to peel them but it's a great post prandial event or even a great early evening event for kids.

The process of skinning chestnuts can be rather laborious but if you have a few people gathered around a table it can be a pleasant social activity and the rewards are worthwhile. As an ingredient, chestnuts are an excellent addition to many types of dishes. There's nothing quite like the taste of truly fresh chestnuts tossed into salads, sauteed with Brussels sprouts or in cakes and soups. Recipes abound and stretch across all meals and courses so dive into that cookbook collection or search online resources. I've included a few recipes to get you started. With Thanksgiving a week away I urge you to consider adding chestnuts to your feast because they add a completely different flavor to the mix.

• Chestnut Gnocchi with Robiola Cheese Sauce
• Marrons aux Oignons et Quetsches (Chestnuts, Onions and Prunes)
• Stewed Chestnuts With Ricotta
• Chestnut Stuffing
• Sauteed Leeks and Chestnuts
• Celery Root and Chestnut Soup With Brussels Sprouts

I'll admit it: I'm fickle. Sure, I've been swearing my undying pumpkin love these last few weeks. But sometimes, you reach perfection, and then you can let go and move on.

Walking down 18th Street with a little time to kill last week, I found myself--hey, how did that happen?--strolling right past Bi-Rite Creamery and its adorable soft-serve sidekick. Which just happened to be serving pumpkin soft-serve.

Well, OMG, as the kids say. Utter heaven, even better than the regular pumpkin ice cream at Scoops in Fairfax and Mitchell's in the Mission, my previous two standard-bearers for frozen pumpkin joy. Monday is their designated pumpkin day. Don't miss it!

So now, onto the other joys of autumn. Pomegranates! Red Starkrimson pears! Poached quinces! Shredded Brussels sprouts sauteed with pancetta! And chestnuts, lovely, shiny brown chestnuts.
Chestnuts, like quinces, take some dedication. These are not easy-munching foods. Quinces, cement-hard and astringently tannic in their raw state, need a long slow simmer in a nicely sugared bath to reveal their true mellow deliciousness. Chestnuts are rock-like and double-wrapped, with a glossy shell outside and a clingy, monkey-furred layer inside. You cannot eat them as is; they must be boiled or roasted to release the shell and soften the nut into delectable, sweet crumbly pastiness. And once cooked, you've got to work fast; getting the nut clear is only possible while it's still warm. You will shred the tops of your thumbs and end up with bits of chestnut meat caked under your nails.

So, by all means, spend the extra dough and buy them already peeled and jarred or vacuum packed at your favorite gourmet store. Me? Well, I'll be roasting and peeling, because can't resist the seasonal beauty of the nuts in their raw and shiny state, found at this time of year at both farmers' markets and in the supermarket. Also, because it just doesn't feel like the holidays without a sacrifice made to the demanding chestnut gods.

And while Thanksgiving at my house demands chestnuts in the stuffing, I do sometimes regret burying all that work in a panful of bready mush.

Last year, housesitting in a gorgeous Victorian complete with formal dining room, I decided to throw an elegant sit-down dinner for 12 for New Year's Eve, a party with complete with champagne and crab hors d'oeuvres in the living room to start, and popovers and chestnut soup as the first course. The inspiration was the Viennese-inspired, velvety-rich chestnut soup served at New York City's Cafe Sabarsky. Kurt Gutenbrunner, the chef at Sabarsky (as well as at its sister restaurants, the elegant Wallse and the bier-und-wurst Blau Gans), takes his soup to an elaborate extreme, making a woodsy mushroom-stock base, dropping in a surprise depth charge of brandy-soaked prunes, and topping the whole with a frothy cloud of steamed milk seasoned with nutmeg and dried porcinis smashed to powder.

But you know, with a multi-course meal, something (or your sanity) has got to give, and so I created a stripped-down version, minus the prunes and porcini, that still managed to capture the essence of a late autumn tramp through the woods.

You can make it several days ahead of time and heat up at the last minute (always useful when entertaining). It's intriguing without being weird, and elegant without being overly rich or madly expensive to make.

In weight and presentation, it's similar to a lobster bisque, but without the whole squirming-crustacean-dying-at-your-hands issue, which, frankly, is just too much to deal with when you're running out at the last minute for more butter, trying to find the guest towels and wondering whether you need to iron the napkins.

Chestnut Soup

Serves: 6, as a first course

Ingredients:
25-30 fresh whole chestnuts, or 1 cup peeled chestnuts
3 tbsp butter, divided
2 shallots, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 branch thyme, a bay leaf, and 4 or 5 sprigs of parsley, tied together
4 or 5 sprigs of parsley, minced
1/2 cup dry sherry or Madeira
3 cups chicken broth
½ cup heavy cream or half-and-half
3 tbsp crème fraiche
Freshly grated nutmeg
4 or 5 crimini mushroom caps, sliced, or 6 whole black trumpet mushrooms, halved lengthwise

Preparation:
1. To prepare whole chestnuts, cut a shallow "x" in the rounded side of each chestnut with a sharp knife. Roast at 325F until the meat is tender and the skin dries out and curls back. Peel chestnuts while still warm, otherwise skin will stick to the nut. Discard any discolored or wormy nuts.

2. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a saucepan. Saute shallots, carrot, and parsnip, stirring, until tender but not browned, approximately 5 minutes.

3, Add chestnuts. Sprinkle in a few pinches of salt and maple syrup, and cook, stirring, until chestnuts are golden-spotted and lightly caramelized, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sherry, and cook, stirring, over low heat for another 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Add herbs and chicken broth, and simmer gently for 20-25 minutes, partially covered. Remove herb bundle.

5. Let cool for a few minutes, add cream, then puree in a blender. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, or sherry as needed. For extra smoothness, crank through the fine disc of a food mill or pass through a fine-mesh strainer.

6. Melt remaining tablespoon of butter over medium-low heat. Add mushrooms and cook until lightly browned on one side. Using a spatula, turn mushrooms over and brown remaining side. Remove from heat and set aside.

6. Return soup to the pan and warm gently. To serve, top with a spoonful of crème fraiche and a few slices of mushroom. Grate a little fresh nutmeg over crème fraiche.

Fri, November 21, 2008
The California Report
Host: Scott Shafer

Butchery 101
Thanksgiving cooks will be brining, stuffing and roasting their way into next week's turkey feast. Foodies looking for a bigger culinary challenge can find it at a San Francisco market where home cooks can learn to be their own butcher.

Reporters:
• Lisa Morehouse

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Pick Your Own Chestnuts
If you're into eating locally grown food and plan on including roasted chestnuts with your holiday meals, we have good news for you. California is one of the few places in the U.S. where you can still find American chestnut trees. Four types of them grow on Skyline Chestnut Orchard -- a grove perched above the Northern California town of Woodside.

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