One of my favorite things about FFWD is that it forces me to try recipes that I would never have picked on my own. This is one of those recipes. I have mixed feeling about chestnuts. I've always liked their flavor, but never their consistency. Maybe it's just because I've always bought them in jars or vacuum sealed packages, but they've always seemed mealy to me. Because I was so unsure about this recipe, I decided to pair the soup with salmon and roasted vegetables. That way there would be plenty to eat even if we didn't like the soup. Well, we loved the soup! Paul commented several times on how good it was. I had some homemade chicken broth in the fridge which I think made a big difference in the flavor. I also liked that it was relatively easy to put together, although it took longer to simmer than I expected and we ended up eating dinner at 8:30 again this Sunday. Oh well. Charlotte actually went to sleep early so we got to sit down and eat dinner like actual adults! We both were able to use both hands, and had an uninterrupted (if still unintelligible) conversation.
I agree with you that this was gooood! And what a lovely evening for the both of you! Wishing you more lovely evenings once in a while!
ReplyDeleteMealy. Yes. Mealy is a good word. Wish i thought of it. But this was so good wasn't it? I don't really run across them locally and had to jump through hoops to get them but I would certainly make this again.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you both liked this one...maybe I should have saved some for the hubby :)
ReplyDeleteChestnuts are sort of mealy even when they are freshly roasted. I think that's one reason they worked well pureed in soup. Glad you enjoyed it, and that you were able to share an adult evening together.
ReplyDeleteThe mealy issue definitely gets put aside when you make a soup with chestnuts. I agree the flavor is more appealing than the texture. Glad it was a hit for you.
ReplyDeleteI'm sort of conflicted about chestnuts too. I want to like them but often they seem to not have much flavor. It IS nice to have an adult meal occasionally when you are raising a family!
ReplyDeleteThose uninterrupted adult moments are golden so perhaps letting those chestnuts simmer a bit longer was a good thing. Chestnuts have never been in my Life and I was all set to roast some over the holidays. But if everyone agrees with you that they taste "mealy" I am not so sure! Your soup looks delicious. In fact, your entire meal looks tasty.
ReplyDeleteThat is some gorgeous looking dinner you knocked out. I can assure you that when my kids were Charlotte's age I was not preparing pear/chestnut soup or salmon :) This was a lovely surprise no ? I agree that this is what FFWD is all about.
ReplyDeleteChestnuts can be hit or miss - although, the canned ones that I used this worked out really well, so I was happy.
ReplyDeleteit's so nice when the sleep schedules work out :-)