To prepare the cups of amaretti, chestnuts, and mascarpone, start by selecting and scoring the chestnuts, then boil them in a pressure cooker for about 15 minutes or in a regular pot for 30 minutes.

When roasted, they're the essence of Christmas, but chestnuts are far too versatile to be just a festive fixture.

On a perfect pumpkin-carving afternoon many years ago, my Swiss father taught me to use a knife on a much smaller, less colorful canvas: the chestnut. My lesson started at a local farm stand, where ...