Cozy chestnut soup: a recipe to vanquish the cold

And lots more about chestnuts - stuffing's just the start

Bonjour! Bonjour!

I promised myself that I wouldn’t start this story with the lyric, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.” But just saying that I won’t use the line, doesn’t stop it from playing in my brain. In fact, the melody skips through my head almost daily as I walk around Paris, turn a corner and come upon a chestnut vendor standing behind his pushcart, the brazier glowing, the rack above it covered with chestnuts, their mahogany-colored shells curling where they were cut, their aroma promising warmth. Who wouldn’t break into song!