Mussels In White Wine

Hi there... I hope you had a great holiday weekend. My weekend was just fab. Work has been super busy lately, so the weekend was fab in the sense that I watched hours of Sex And The City in my pj's, napped, shopped online, ate some fabulous food and watched my college football team trample their opponent (Roll Tide!). Those are the important things in life ya know...

Speaking of eating good food, I made my most favorite dinner in the world (at the moment), Ina's mussels in white wine. I made it while watching the movie Julie and Julia, which somehow made the whole process somewhat even more enjoyable...

This succulent, delicious, one-pot meal only takes about 20 minutes to make. That includes prep time. That makes this hard-working girl happy, which means I make it often. :) I eat it straight out of the pan with a glass or three of wine. I also eat my weight in crusty Italian bread dunked in the sauce, but it's fine. Finger-licking fine. :)

And yep, those are orange mussels. I didn't do it. The saffron did. The flavor it gives this dish is amazing, so saffron now has a permanent place in my pantry.

Here is what you need and what to do:

3 lbs of cultivated mussels

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup of chopped shallots

1 1/2 tablespoons of minced garlic

1 can of diced or chopped whole tomatoes, drained

1/2 teaspoon of saffron threads

1/3 cup of chopped parsley

1 tablespoon of fresh thyme

1 cup of good white wine (this is my favorite)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Add the mussels to a large collar and throughly rinse them. Make sure all of the beards are trimmed and that they are all closed. Discard any mussels with chipped shells and those that don't shut when you attempt to close them. Set aside. In a large pot, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 3 more minutes or until the shallots are translucent. Add the tomatoes, parsley, wine, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.

Add the mussels to the pot, cover the pot and cook on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes or until the mussels are open. Discard any mussels that didn't open.

Serve hot and don't forget the crusty bread. Or the wine. :)