Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire, It’s A Wonderful Life

by Paige Donner

Few things say Winter Holidays like the appetizing aroma of roasting chestnuts on an open fire.

I remember, several years ago now, as I walked into the Tuileries from the Place de la Concorde entrance, buying a cone of still-hot roasted chestnuts from one of the street vendors who post themselves out front there just as the leaves start to turn golden, orange and brown. The warm nuts were enough to abate my hunger for the afternoon and provide a good base for a wine tasting of reds.

Some Autumns I am tempted to gather up some of the millions of chestnuts that fall haphazardly from the trees all around Paris – throughout all of France, actually – and try to roast them myself or figure out how to cook them to add to roasted chestnut stuffing. Or perhaps even make that favorite of delicacies, sugar-glazed chestnuts. But I still haven’t found the courage to do this. Or perhaps it’s just a question of finding the recipe or the proper cooking equipment. One day…

It is usually about now, too, when the crispness of the air starts to get downright cold that California Dreamin’ descends upon me and stays rooted until, oh, about May of the next year.

If any of you feel the same, here is a good getaway excuse…

And, honestly now, how many of you actually knew that this is where Frank Capra wrote It’s A Wonderful Life ?!

“Chestnuts & Capra” package which features guest room accommodations, dinner for two at acclaimed Morgan’s in the desert, breakfast for two at TWENTY6 and the ultimate pre-dinner perk – roasted chestnuts and cocktails (including the George Bailey, Mary Bailey and Poinsettia) for two.

Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
Every Friday evening, visit the lobby for fresh roasted chestnuts

“It’s a Wonderful Life”
This famed holiday movie was written at La Quinta Resort – and is honored every year. Watch the silent version as it is projected on the Fiesta Wall.

Fudge Demonstration in Lollipops
Morgan’s famous Pastry Chef Patrick demonstrates how to create home-made fudge

Holiday Movie Showing
Enjoy a classic holiday movie in the movie theatre located behind the Main Pool.

The only question that remains is, do roasted chestnuts taste as good under the warm California December sunshine as they do in the Tuileries in a Paris Autumn?

Here’s their contact info anyway: La Quinta Resort & Club, A Waldorf Astoria Resort — a quintessential desert gem sporting five iconic golf courses, 41 pools and enough Hollywood nostalgia to make a scriptwriter spin.