Veronica on Working hard on the cottage Oh ... only just found this! What a wrench to leave your beautiful cottage, I hope whoever moves in loves it as much as you do. Iy's such a special pl… Fiona Nevile on Fiona’s traditional elderflower cordial recipe Hello Angela, The link is to Andy's elderflower chamapgne - https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2011/may/12/gardeningadvice-garden… Chestnut liqueur is the perfect way to finish off an autumnal Italian dinner: one because it’s also a digestivo, and two because it’s not fall if there are no chestnuts on the table, right? With Thanksgiving upon us and then Christmas around the corner, this is the right time to make this liqueur as a gift for friends! Sweet chestnuts, either native or imported, are scandalously under-appreciated by the British. As the 17th century writer and gardener Evelyn laments: "But we give that fruit to our swine in England, which is amongst the delicacies of princes in other countries". Take chestnut flour; it's useful for making chestnut macaroons, florentines and, since it adds flavour instead of taking it away as flour tends to do, I use it in a roux when making sauces and soups.

Veronica on Working hard on the cottage We are still happily settled in our little house in France, but have taken to spending a few months in Spain in the winter. At first we tried differen… While roasting chestnuts in a hot oven or griller works well, cooking them over fire or charcoal yields a more pronounced smoky note which adds flavour to the liqueur. Lila Wiese on Perennial vegetables: Tree cabbage Maybe I missed someone stating this but is it possible to obtain seeds for this in the US? The promise of this had Danny sitting, knife and chestnut in hand, for a good hour and a half last night. Shelling chestnuts is a bore. It’s fiddly. It’s very frustrating if you have bought a batch with a few bad ones as you can’t tell the state of the kernel within from the external appearance of the nut. But if you can tempt someone to help you, and have something distracting to listen to on the radio, it is well worth the effort.Maison Briottet maintains a very high level of quality. It is the selection of the ripest fruit, locally sourced where possible, from the most suitable cultivars that provides for the finest flavours. The first step on the ladder in the process is contracting the right growers to produce the finest, best quality, ripe fruit. Then, at the headquarters, the fruits undergo carefully observed maceration with very pure neutral alcohol and blending with the correct proportion of sugars to achieve the balance between fruit flavour, sweetness, acidity and alcohol to create top of the range crèmes and liqueurs. Fiona Nevile on Perennial vegetables: Tree cabbage Hi Lila, Thanks for your comment. You need to look for seeds on your side of the water, unfortunately :0( Import rewsrictions are tough. Something sim… THE RESULTS: SUCCESS! EVEN THE TINY BIT OF GELATIN ADDED TO THE MIXTURE DID SIGNIFICANTLY DELAY SEPARATION – BUT IT DID NOT PREVENT IT ALTOGETHER. As with many autumn festivals across France – such as Normandy’s apple, cider and cheese festival, the Basque country’s Espelette pepper celebration, and many a grape harvest fete – it’s a chance for locals to don traditional costumes, for bands to ring out ancient tunes and everyone to get merry on the local liqueur. In this recipe, brandy is used as the base alcohol. If using high proof rectified spirit, the maceration time will be reduced.

Peeling chestnuts is one of those things that are good for your karma if you can get through the process without throwing things at the wall. The minimum requirement is a long radio play to keep you sane while you are doing it. Steve Kendall on Working hard on the cottage My heart sank when I read the words "put the cottage on the market", felt very sad for you. Our cottage too will become my wife's pension after I've g… As described in the last chestnut post, use a small bladed knife. Start at the tip and work down towards the base, choosing the flatter side of the nut. The rest of the shell peels away easily if you can remove the base of the nut first. There are two recipes: a more indulgent, creamy variety and a lighter version. Today we’re sharing both, but we can already imagine which one you’ll go for. The creamy, indulgent chestnut liqueur Ingredients Once it has cooled down, add the roast chestnuts to a glass jar, top with brandy, demerara syrup and the scraped vanilla bean. Close the lid tight and give the jar a gentle shake.

Fiona Nevile on Fiona’s traditional elderflower cordial recipe Hi Peta, Yes it does ferment a little = that is what you want. Simmering would kill the brew.