Tag Archives: chestnut recipes

Chestnut Sticky Buns

Posted on by February 13, 2015

Chestnut Sticky Buns, Barrett? Why are you messing with perfection? It’s a reasonable question, I agree. I have a reasonable answer though. I really love a good sticky bun, I mean, really, who doesn’t? Despite that, I seldom order them out, because, so often they’re disappointing. And once you know how much butter and sugar goes into the darn things, well, one can’t afford to be disappointed. The sticky bun needs to be really fresh, as in made that day, because they dry out so quickly and the dough loses its tenderness and then you have to microwave it to eat it and then you have to wolf it down really quickly or it hardens back up because microwaving is terrible for heating things. True tragedy, I know. So of course, like so many things in life, I decided that if I wanted it done right, I had to do it myself. So I decided I’d learn to make the perfect sticky bun for Christmas Brunch. And then of course, since I was making it myself, I began tweaking the recipes, because if I have to make it myself, then it may as well be exactly how I want it. … Continue reading →

Chestnut Soup for Anna

Posted on by January 13, 2015

Not only is December chestnut season, and not only do I love them and all excuses to make chestnut recipes, but my dear friend Anna has just given birth to a beautiful son, and the only thing she has ever asked from me (from a culinary perspective) is for Chestnut Soup. Okay, that’s not quite the whole story, she actually said that the soup was so good that it inspired her to want to bathe in it, and gee, could I make that happen? So when her son was born, I knew just what to do, and I bet you have already guessed that it involved this Chestnut Soup for Anna. You know how you’re supposed to bring presents and casseroles etc. when your friends give birth? And then everyone brings lasagnas all at once, right at the beginning while the mother and the mother-in-law are still hovering close by? Well, that’s not when I stop in with food. I wait. I wait until the mothers have left and maybe dad is back to work and then I bring soup. In perfect single serving containers and I fill the freezer with it. So for Anna, it had to be Chestnut … Continue reading →

Chocolate Chestnut Coffee Cake

Posted on by February 12, 2015

‘Tis the season for all things holiday baking, guests popping in and out with little notice, keeping a few extra nice bottles of wine about, and for me this December, all things chestnut, starting with this Chocolate Chestnut Coffeecake. Over the next few weeks, you’re going to see my fall obsession with chestnuts unfold in the form of soup, sticky buns, and perhaps a salad or two, but we start with this dense and delicious Chocolate Chestnut Coffeecake. While of course I have way too many cooking items, pans, utensils and appliances in Dirty Laundry Kitchen proper, I do try very hard to limit carefully specialty items that serve few purposes. One of the specialty pans that I can get behind is a mini-loaf pan. It’s the perfect volume for a 9”x5” coffeecake recipe and it produces four mini loaves that I wrap up tight in foil and keep in the freezer for gifts, impromptu brunches, and pop-in guests. They’re also nice for those Sundays when you don’t have guests, but you want something special none-the-less. The only problem with a Sunday of indulgence is that its supposed to end with Sunday; you really don’t want to indulge all week … Continue reading →