Friday Night Fun

Picture this. It's a Friday night. You're single. You're at home. What does one do? Why cook mussels of course, who wouldn't do that? Well I finally visited a seafood shop in town that I had been eyeing for awhile but never took the plunge and went in. And I was rewarded with some of the freshest and best priced seafood I've ever seen around town. I quickly snatched up some mussels, already knowing what I'd make with them.

One of my favorite things to order in restaurants is mussels. There's something so special and delicious about those tasty bits cooked in a white wine and herb broth. I always knew that it's be so easy to make at home, so I wanted to give it a go.

Go through your mussels and remove the beard and scrub them really well to remove any dirt. Put them in a bowl of cold water with 1/3 cup of flour. Why flour? Because the mussels will absorb the flour and expel any dirt that still may be in them. Let them soak for 30 minutes, then rinse and drain.

Basically to make the broth, you take about 2 TBS of butter and 2 TBS of olive oil and cook until the butter is melted. Add a half cup of shallots (or very thinly sliced onions if you don't have shallots). Add in a half can of chopped tomatoes, a lot of chopped parsely, two cloves of chopped garlic, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and a few sprigs of thyme. Oh yeah, and a cup of white wine. It's okay to have a swig or two for the chef ;)

Bring this broth to a boil.... and it will smell so amazing by this point. Add your cleaned mussels, and cover with a lid. Cook this over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until they are all opened. Discard any that did not open. Stir to make sure they don't burn on the bottom. Once finished cooking, pour the mussels and the broth into a big bowl and serve with a crusty piece of bread to soak up that delicious broth. Make sure you have a glass of wine or three for yourself as well!