Délicieux - Mussels Steamed in White Wine

Can you smell the garlic and white wine yet?  I can...  délicieux!

What you'll need:

1 bag of Mussels (I got mine at Whole Foods)

1 & 1/4 cup White Wine (Sauvignon Blanc)

5-6 Garlic cloves

2 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tbsp Butter

Ground Black Pepper

Handful of Flat-leaf Parsley

3 sprigs of Thyme

3 Shallots 

1 tbsp Dijon Mustard

1/3 cup Flour

 Take the mussels out of their bag and into some very cold water with the 1/3 cup of flour.  Give it all a stir and let it sit for about 20 minutes.  This helps the mussels to release any sand or grit they are holding. You will be happy you've done this step when you want to use a spoon and lap up that broth like it were soup... (I seriously just finished doing that).

Once they have soaked long enough, rinse them well and scrub them if need be.  You'll want to get rid of any "stuff" on the shell and the beard.

Thinly chop up your shallots - in a large pot over medium high heat, melt the butter with olive oil.  Add the chopped shallots and cook for a few minutes (4-5 about).  Then use a garlic press on the... you guessed it - garlic...  Add that to the pot and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Don't burn the garlic - it's easy to do and you'll hate yourself forever.

  Lastly, Chop the parsley & thyme leaves and add those in with a good amount of ground black pepper, dijon mustard and white wine.  Crank the heat up to high and add the rinsed mussels.

 Give the mussels a quick stir and cover the pot for 6-8 minutes.  Check to see if the shells are opened.  Cover the pot one last time and hold the lid and handles with a cloth - shake the pot a little to give everything a good mix.

 Plate in a large bowl with some crispy slices of ciabatta .  (Don't forget to have an empty bowl too - you'll need something to put all those shells in as you eat!)

Tazzy didn't even need a spoon to finish all that goodness!!!