moules flambé

Some of the items on our list, we’re afraid of because of the techniques (see yeast rising, frying, etc.). Other items are on the list because we’re afraid of the ingredients. That’s definitely the case here: mussels. They’re weird looking, they come in shells, and if you don’t cook them right everyone could die of salmonella, or something. Plus, she might not want to admit it but up until a few years ago Turk claimed not to like mussels. (Until she tried them, ahem.) [ I'll admit it . . . though really, if you were from a land-locked state, would you have tried mussels before you moved closer to the ocean? - Turk]

Mussels are pretty tasty – briny, chewy, what’s not to like? But honestly, the best part of eating mussels is the broth in which you cook them. You can go traditional, with white wine and garlic, or more modern, with a saffron cream or even beer-based broth. Either way, sop that stuff up with some crusty bread and you are in heaven.

 

Luckily, we had a very generous hostess – Ann, my best friend, Abi’s, mom – who offered to teach us how to make them. And even better, Abi was in town from California! And, not only did she offer to do some wine pairings for our mussel adventure, but she also got us these awesome chef’s jackets, so now we are totally official:

We decided on two recipes: a classic moules à la marinières, and a Thai curry broth. We were going to make the frites in the first recipe, but instead Ann decided to make artisanal bread. And stuffed mushrooms, at the last minute, as you do. Turk and I helped to “shape” (and I use that term loosely) the loaves, and then we got to cooking.

Turns out? Mussels: not that hard. Granted, we didn’t actually purchase them ourselves (Ann took care of that, thank you very much) but I feel like I could whip up a broth again pretty easily. [I was always afraid of how to get them to the point where you cook them ... like rinsing them off and removing their beards. Turns out rinsing is not hard, and a lot of the time the beards are already removed. - Turk] The only tricky part is making sure the mussels are cooked properly – don’t cook them long enough and they won’t open; cook them too long and they’ll be all stringy and gross.

So I threw the butter, shallots, and garlic into the pot along with the parsley and other herbs. Ab had some sauvignon blanc for us to use, but when we ran out we used this . . . off brand (is there such a thing as off-brand wine?) my mom had brought. It was called Avia, it was from Slovenia. Enough said. I poured that in, put the top on, and a few minutes later – FIRE! Flames were shooting out the sides of the pot! I pulled the top off (why? to see the fire close up? I don’t know). Obviously I didn’t know what to do; Abi’s dad’s suggestion to blow on it seemed unwise. Turk maintains that the instructions to "evaporate the alcohol" implied that the top should have been left off; I contend that when you boil water you cover the pot and any deviation from that norm should have been noted by the recipe. It's the recipe's fault! For future reference, the proper reaction was: turning the heat down.

Anyway, presumably at this point the broth had come to a boil, so I threw in the mussels and let them cook until the shells had swung open, and ta da:

Um, then Turk did some stuff with hers . . . different ingredients, same process, lalala. [No, really, after the first batch, it was kind of like that. - Turk] Luckily there were no pyrotechnics. We piled them up in bowls, and sat down with our crusty bread and carefully selected wines for a lovely late-spring outdoor feast:

Comments

[Sini]

I (who does not eat seafood) am clueless about the beard reference.

[Court @BLK]

I should have covered this part a little better, but luckily the mussels we got from Costco were already de-bearded. Here's a little explanation/tutorial: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Cleaning-Mussels/Detail.aspx

[Ann Thompson]

Ummm, yum. Fun evening! BLK-on-the-road can come to my kitchen any time.

[Abigail]

Crap, I can't remember where I put the pairing notes, but as I recall the Chablis went best with the mussles in cocoanut curry, and the NZ SB went best with the traditional recipe..

That night was tons of fun!

[Rollator rolling walker]

These recipe are awesome.Absolutely delicious! I've made this twice for birthday parties.I love this recipe.

[Hot Penny Stock]

Its really tasty and delicious recipe. I doesn't try that before and I eagerly want made at home.