Often, fresh nutritional food is spoken of as "fresh from the garden".  I want to bring to your attention that there's food in "them there woods".  On one of our trips to France, I have a fond memory of going out looking for chestnut trees on the side of the road with my husband, Chef Roland, and his parents.  It was a wonderful experience for all of us and a great reason to go for an outing.  They are in their late 80's and you could tell they really enjoyed being our guides to a choice spot and that they were able to "pass down" part of their food culture to me, their American daughter-in-law who had never harvested chestnuts in the wild.  It was beyond a Kodak moment.  After we located and gleened the chestnuts from a quaint country French farm road, we took them home where Chef Roland's mother cooked up a scrumptious chestnut soup for part of our evening meal.  That experience beat out anything else France had to offer!  Since I've not been diligent to post anything for the holidays, I will make this my contribution because ,really, it's about family and memories.  So, I've posted a link for a nice chestnut recipe.  Unfortunately, they are a little expensive in the store.  However, you can contact the Missouri Department of conservation and purchase a bundle of chestnut trees for a nominal cost and start your own chestnut orchard!! 

http://frenchfood.about.com/od/soupsandstews/r/chestnut.htm


Merry Christmas & Bon Appetit!

I've already admitted to you all that I'm the food/cooking novice in the family.  Maybe that's a good thing?  You know, they say that "too many cooks spoil the broth" and I know that for sure, I don't want to have to compete with Chef Roland in the kitchen.  But, I decided that this year, I'm going to put it on my "list" to start trying my hand at various dishes, with the intention of cooking Christmas Dinner for my family (if any are brave enough to come) next year.  I've been reading over some recipes, seeing which ones I'll try first and have found one for my soup and one for my first course that I'm not going to reveal until I know I can succeed.  I'll keep you posted as to my progress!

One of the recipes calls for sultanas and when I come across a food word that is new to me, I like to pass that information on to those of you who are Gourmet Beginners, like me.  The new word is "sultanas" and even if you know what they are, I think you will find the link I'm using to be informational and entertaining.

I did manage to make a couple of different kinds of cookies for the holiday that I am gifting to others (if I can manage not to eat them all up) and think they are a bit different than the usual fare I see others preparing.  I made chocolate shortbread and thumpprint cookies with apricot preserve centers.  They are delicious, if I may say so without bragging.  They're simple enough and I found the recipes in a magazine.

If you would like to share stories or comments about your christmas cookie experiences this season, please submit them via our blog comment box and I'll be happy to post them.  Sometimes the stories are just as good as the cookies, if not better!

Definition of Sultanas:  http://www.ochef.com/676.htm

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year & Bon Appetit!