Fresh Mussels

So we were walking down the driveway this morning on a little home towards the water when an old man in an old Ford two-door compact car (of a model not available in the US to my knowledge) rolled down the road. We waved and he slowed down and in his lively thick Irish accent asked if we might be interested in any fresh mussels he collected "dis mornin" I quickly agreed and before we knew it, Jackson and I were loaded into his car to head back up to the house to put some in the fridge. 

Since Joe had the money, we hopped back out, measured them and paid. In the meanwhile, Molly and Lilly decided they wanted to go, too. So we rolled up the driveway to the house and put them in the fridge. Along the way, I got to chat with  Michael and hear about his family, how the German lady down the road rang him to ask for some so he went out today to get them. I learned that Ireland had been using English since the 60's but you still had to learn Irish in school and had to speak it in the Guard or Military. We talked about how to prepare the mussels. He said we could steam them for a couple minutes and could boil them in white wine, Guinness, salt water or fresh water. And if we didn't eat then today, we could just dust them in some flour and cover them in water and they'd feed on the flour.  He was charmed and asked "how is it that some American kids all ended up with Irish names?! Are ye Irish?"

10 Euro bought us a little over 2 kilos of mussels, but I think I would have paid that for his company. 

I looked up a quick recipe for guidance to make sure I did it right- but I went for the Guinness preparation of course. And scrubbing these Atlantic mussels with all their barnacles and beards was a small labor of love.  

Here was the recipe used for guidance. 

The Guinness-y garlic and onion Mussel broth was amazing and we of course ate them al fresco in the afternoon sun with the salty Atlantic sea breeze in the air.

Cooking action shots by Molly. 

The eating pictures to follow. 

Creamy French Mussels

Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4 as a main or 6 as an appetizer

Ingredients

• 2 lb. fresh mussels, scrubbed and beards removed
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, very finely minced
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Directions

1. Scrub the mussels well under cold running water and remove their beards. Place them back in your fridge while you prepare the sauce. 

2. Place a medium sized pot over medium high heat. Add the butter and, when it has melted, add the shallots. Sauté the shallots for 3 minutes then add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.

3. Add the white wine and bring the pot to a boil.

4. Add the mussels all at once to the pot and give them a stir. Put the lid on the pot and let them cook for 3 minutes.

5. Stir the mussels and remove any from the pot that have opened wide and place them in a serving dish. Continue to remove the mussels from the pot once they have opened.

6. Discard any mussel that remains tightly shut after 6 minutes.

7. Remove the pot from the heat, stir though the heavy cream, fresh cracked pepper and chopped parsley. Pour the cooking liquid over the mussels in the serving bowl and serve immediately.

Mussels are great served with a side of crusty bread and a couple of spoons for sopping up all the tasty broth.

Sent from my iPhone