Roasted Chestnuts

When I was at the grocery store, I saw a big bag of chestnuts. Dino's dad and uncle were going to be coming over to make cookies, and I know that they grew up with chestnut trees in Italy, so I thought it would be a nice addition to dinner. I've never tried chestnuts before, so I figured this would be a great chance to try roasting them. I did a little research online, and found that you should roast them in an oven at 425°F for 20-30 minutes. A very important step is to use a knife to cut an X in the shell. My father-in-law said that his mother used to cut one small slice in each, and that was a lot easier, so I did that. The slit lets the steam escape. If you skip this step, they'll explode in your oven! So just to be safe, I roasted the chestnuts, turned off the oven, and left them in there while dinner cooked. The end results were delicious! Chestnuts are very rich, chewy and almost meaty, and it was a fantastic treat to snack on throughout the evening.