Flex Your Mussels with the In-Laws

Meg’s in-laws just returned from a fabulous trip to France (that’s redundant, isn’t it?). Her mother-in-law, Linda, is a gifted photographer and put together a slide presentation to share with us, along with a French-inspired dinner. When asked to contribute an appetizer, I decided it was time to flex some mussels.

While every bistro in Paris has some form of mussels on their menu, usually cooked in a pot of white wine (Moules Marinières), I opted for more of a stuffed and baked approach. It’s ultra-simple and even non-mussel-eating guests enjoy these.

Baked Mussels with Herb Garlic Butter

1 lb. fresh mussels (in shells)

¼ cup dry white wine

1 bay leaf

4 oz. butter

2/3 cup fresh French bread crumbs

5 Tbls. chopped fresh flatleaf parsley (plus extra for garnish)

3 Tbl. snipped fresh chives

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

salt and pepper

lemon wedges

Clean mussels thoroughly, scrubbing shells as needed and making sure to eliminate any “beards” attached to them. Discard any with broken or damaged shells. Put mussels in strainer and rinse well in cold water.

Preheat oven to 400º. Put mussels in large pot and add the white wine and bay leaf. Cook, covered, over high heat for 4-5 min., shaking pan occasionally, or until mussels open up. Drain well and discard any that do not open up. Shell the mussels, reserving one half of each shell. Arrange mussels in their half-shells, in a large shallow baking dish.

Melt the butter and mix in small bowl with bread crumbs, parsley, chives, garlic and salt and pepper to taste; mix well. Let stand a couple minutes to allow butter to set slightly. Drop a teaspoon or so of the bread/garlic butter mixture onto each mussel, pressing down with fingertips lightly to enclose the mussel meat in the shell.

To serve, bake the mussels in the oven for 10-12 min, or until hot and bubbly. Serve immediately, garnished with flatleaf parsley sprigs and lemon wedges.

What a wonderful evening. The in-laws shared a delicious and light white wine they discovered in France, “Lascaux”, to accompany the mussels, moving on to this winery’s Pinot Noir for dinner. Great tastes, lively conversation and the ultimate pleasure of the evening…photos of France.

--The Mother