angel_UK, you know that these mashes are best the second day fried with a little butter.

jody, the home made creme fraiche is much better. Have you tried using the buttermilk instead of heavy cream?

Jody, I've noticed the same thing about turnips (also in the south) I grew up eating the bulb, raw, thin sliced with salt. At the local produce market here, turnips are sold as "greens", with the turnips still attached! I have grown to like the greens, but still like fresh, raw turnip.
Now, how do you make creme fraiche?

My Irish family always has cauliflower, too, steamed whole. We serve it sliced down just to the core, with a white sauce over it.

As no one in the entire family wanted turnips yet again on Christmas, we dispensed with them in the mash; however, my mother always served her mash with minced onion in it.

I usually cook goose for Christmas, if I can find a good fresh one. I stuff it with a stuffing made of rye bread and chopped figs and walnuts and currants and onions and a bit of honey and caraway seed, and salt and pepper to taste.

For side dishes I roast butternut squash that I've peeled and cubed with garlic and olive oil and shallots and nutmeg. You can serve the roasted cubes as is, or mash them into a purée.

I also love a gratin of wild mushrooms, which I make by sautéeing whatever wild mushrooms are looking good at the market with some shallots or spring onions, then making a béchamel sauce laced with goat cheese and covering the mushrooms in it and baking it in the oven for about 20 minutes at 350.

Heads up chestnut afficionados! I bought a 14 oz. package of frozen whole chestnuts today at Trader Joe's, imported from Italy, no less, for $3.99. If they're acceptable quality for cooking, they'll be a lot more convenient to use than steaming and peeling the fresh ones. I've never seen frozen ones before and bought these as a little experiment. I plan to use them in a soup recipe, Zuppa di Castagne e Cavolo Nero, that I found on Epicurious. Here's the URL:
www.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=108875

St. Cirq, I'm watching our mailbox for the map to your house for Christmas dinner. I'll bring the soup (see post above) and dessert!

MzPossum,

Just use 2 TBS of buttermilk to each cup of heavy cream, put it in a glass jar and shake for about a minute, then set it aside in a warm place for 8-24 hours till it thickens. DON"T stir it after you shake it, just leave it sit quietly. Then refrigerate..it will keep about 2 weeks. You can also do it with 1/2 and 1/2 for a slim version.

The only problem I have with making my own is I have to think about it a day ahead of when I want to use it!

Betsy..let me know how you liked the soup! I made it awhile ago when Whole Foods had Cavolo Nero, which I hardly ever see here.

I don't understand why just about every state in the union EXCEPT Fl has a Trader Joe's. People are always telling about the great goodies they find there. Maybe I 'll write them a letter and beg!

Thanks, Jody! And, we're the same in LA--no Trader Joe's! They're only on the West coast, I think. I'm also 60 miles away from the nearest Whole Foods!Fortunately, some of our local markets are ok. Sometimes I see chestnut products (usually puree) at TJ Maxx--Williams Sonoma, of course. We can get raw ones here in the winter. I roasted them on the charcoal grill for my step-grandkids when they were here--didn't know I should have cut an "x" in them--one almost put my eye out when it exploded! (that one was roasted to perfection, however.....)

I love reading about everybody's favorite holiday dishes, especially since I just bought my first fresh chestnuts (such exotic things rarely show up at our small town grocery stores. I saw these at a supermarket in Birmingham Saturday and couldn't resist)

And now I have some idea of how to roast them. The recipe on epicurious.com (November Gourmet Entertains) calls for "roasting" them in a heavy (preferably cast-iron) skillet with a lid on the stovetop.

Have any of you ever used this method?

Byrd

Byrd, we've always had more success roasting them in the oven. Once they're cooked, wrap them in a dishtowel and let them sit for a couple of minutes-- this makes them easier to peel.

The microwave works too: Slash chestnuts with a sharp knife, place in shallow dish with a tablespoon or two of water, and cook on high in 30 second increments until you can peel them. You'll see the shell sort of curl a little where you've slashed it.

Speaking of soup, Betsy, there's an amazing soup served in certain parts of France, including the Lot and Auvergne, that's a cream of cèpes and potimarron (a kind of pumpkin - smaller and more flavorful than the ones we get here). It's absolutely divine. If I could get my hands on a potimarron, I'd make that for Christmas, too.

Also, one of the best soups I ever had in my life was at a restaurant called Henrietta in London, years ago - a cream of chestnut, almond, and garlic. I can still taste it!

God, I'm hungry!

For those who can't find fresh chestnuts, William Sonoma sent a "secret sale"newsletter and a jar of fresh chestnuts is $3.99. I'll forward it to anyone who is interested.

Thank you, mvor and Betsy.

We always have a crowd of friends and family over on Christmas Eve, and I can't wait to surprise them with roasted chestnuts, even if they aren't strictly from the "open fire".

I think I'll put them on the hearth in front of the fire and let everybody draw their own conclusions!

I hope our house will have that wonderful fragrance of the chestnut street stands in Europe. I especially remember the stands in Lucerne along the river.

Thank you again, and happy holidays!

Byrd

To lurch off on a slightly different tack, is anyone familiar with the homemade chocolate-coated, butter-cream filled candies called "jets"? Indigenous to the South, I think. I've made them by the dozens every Christmas since I was about six years old for family and friends.

I was whipping up a double batch this morning when my mixer simply stopped. One second it was working fine and the next second, nothing! So I'm off to Costco to replace it. Bad timing!

Unfortunately, St. Cirq, I've never seen a potimarron here in CA, either!

Betsy, a potimarron is like our winter squash. The name is potiron, squash, marron, chestnut, hence the name.
This soup is served in Provence too
This winter squash has a chestnut like taste.

http://216.239.37.104/translate_c?hl...UTF-8%26sa%3DN
here's a photo

Sorry that link is not working.