The actual recipe title is Mussels Marinière but it appears Dreamweaver has a hard time with the special characters. From the Washington Post. Mussels are an interesting shellfish, turns out the majority of them are farm-raised and considered a sustainable and clean seafood cultivation. Even here in Nebraska live ones are fairly easy to find and really inexpensive compared to other seafood (like I said - in Nebraska). On top of that I love them.
For storing live mussels after purchasing, the writeup says "First, keep them cold and damp, but with plenty of air flow — they need to breathe and, ironically, do not want to be submerged in water. A good method is to put them in a colander set into a larger bowl and set a bag of ice on top, then put the whole arrangement in the refrigerator; use within two days, the sooner the better."
Ingredients
1 pound mussels
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) chopped shallot or onion
3 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt, if needed
Instructions
1. Rinse the mussels, scrape the exteriors of any that have little barnacles on them, and pull or cut off any beards. Check over the mussels to look for “gapers” — mussels that are open. Tap or gently squeeze any open ones and see if they start to close; the movement might be subtle. If there is no response, the mussel is probably no longer alive, so toss it out.
2. In a large pot with a lid over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft and fragrant but not browned, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to high, add the wine and simmer until the wine is reduced by about half, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the mussels to the pot, cover and cook, shaking the pot every few moments, as though you’re making popcorn (if you're cooking a lot of mussels you can just stir them with a big spoon). Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until most of the mussels have opened. If there are many mussels still closed, cook for another 30 seconds or so; don’t worry too much about overcooking the mussels, as they are fairly forgiving. You could also remove the open mussels as you go.
4. Toss in the parsley and stir the mussels a bit to distribute the herbs. Lift out the mussels with tongs or a big slotted spoon and divide them between two big bowls. Taste the broth and season with salt, if needed. If the flavor is concentrated and delicious, swirl in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and pour it over the mussels. If the broth seems a bit bland, simmer it for a few more seconds to reduce and concentrate the flavor, and then add the butter and pour it over the mussels. Taste, and season with more salt, if desired. Serve warm.
VARIATIONS:
Mussels in Curried Cream: While cooking the shallot and garlic, stir in 1 tablespoon curry powder (hot or mild). After the wine has reduced by half, add 3/4 cup of heavy cream and boil until it has reduced by a little more than half, another 5 minutes or so. Finish with slivered fresh basil along with the parsley.
Mussels in Ginger-Chile Coconut Broth: Substitute a neutral oil, such as vegetable or grapeseed, to cook the shallot and garlic and add 1 tablespoon each finely chopped fresh ginger and finely chopped fresh chile (hot or mild). Instead of the white wine, add 1 cup of full-fat coconut milk and 3 tablespoons of fresh lime juice. Finish with roughly chopped cilantro instead of parsley.