Sautéed Chestnuts, Onions, and Bacon

Please welcome guest author, the inimitable David Leite of Leite’s Culinaria. Looking for a good side for Christmas dinner? David shares one of his favorite recipes from his fabulous new cookbook, The New Portuguese Table ~Elise

I know within two bites whether a holiday side dish is truly spectacular. considering I’ll have a nearly uncontrollable urge to elbow the turkey or ham off the table, pull the bowl to me, dunk my face in, and not come up for air until I’m finished.

Growing up, the object of my lust was my

grandmother’s recheio com chouriço—a kicky bread stuffing studded with piquant chunks of my aunt’s homemade sausage; it was one of the few Portuguese dishes I would eat. Fending off cousins on both sides of my twisted family tree (there were so many of us we could’ve started our own touring Christmas chorale) wasn’t easy. But I did it, and I have the pictures of me as a corpulent fourth-grader with a self-satisfied grin to prove it.

Continue reading “Sautéed Chestnuts, Onions, and Bacon” »