Instructions: 1. CHESTNUTS: Parboil for ten minutes, and remove the outer and inner skins. Soak the MUSHROOMS in warm water for 1 hour. Reserving the liquid, drain, rinse, squeeze "dry" and mince the mushrooms. Filter the liquid and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. In a heavy 3-quart oven dish that has a tightly fitting cover, heat the oil and saute the mushrooms and onion for 5 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently until the onions are soft and buttery. Stir in the cabbage and Cook for 10 minutes.

Add the wine, broth, vinegar, nutmeg, salt, and a generous grinding of peper. Cover and place in the oven for 2 hours. Make sure that the liquids are not cooking too fast; if so, add more broth.

4. Gently stir in the chestnuts and cook, covered, for another hour or until the cabbage is tender and most of the liquid absorbed. Adjust seasoning and serve.

SERVES 6, after 4-1/4 hours, easy.

MAKE AHEAD: Chestnuts can be skinned 1 day in advance. There are several different kinds of chestnuts (Castanea), at least three of which have edible fruits as fruit or vegetable, as well as in the form of ground flour from which they make cakes, bread, polenta, and crepes.

TIP : Chestnuts are available from October through January. Chestnuts should be firm, smooth, full, shiny and vividly brown. To prepare for this recipe: make a cross on the flat side of each nut with a sharp knife.

Roast, boil, or bake until flesh is tender. To peel, parboil for 10 minutes, remove inner and outer skin.

ANNE-STORY: "True Tuscan connoisseurs (of red cabbage) always wait until school children begin wearing their wool uniforms that ... that presage the arrival of winter. Small wonder, then, that the following recipe so successfully pairs this most colorful of cabbages with the seasonal harbinger, chestnuts. To best capture the mood, serve it in a decorative earthenware casserole with plenty of sturdy bread to soak up the sauce."

SCAN-STORY We "always wait until school children begin wearing their wool unison"

NOTES : Other ways to use chestnuts: Fresh chestnuts can be boiled, roasted

(stovetop or oven), or grilled (Place in aluminum foil packets). Chestnut meats can be combined with vegetable broth and baked until soft, then blended with bechamel and served as a side dish. Dried chestnuts can be boiled until soft, pureed and plated with sauteed greens.

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.