Mussels are delicious and very reasonable, especially with garlic bread and a nice green salad for a simple supper. A side dish of spaghetti with pesto sauce and Tapenade is a nice addition

 

Ale-steamed Mussels with Garlic and Mustard

This recipe is from the NY Times:

2 pounds mussels in shells

1 Tablespoon olive oil 4 full sprigs of thyme

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 large shallots, chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

3/4 cup good ale

1-3 tablespoons butter, to taste

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or parsley

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Crusty bread, for serving

Rinse mussels under cold running water. If you see hairy clumps around the shell (called beards) use a sharp knife or your fingers to pull them off, then scrub shells well with a vegetable brush

In a soup pot with a tight-fitting cover, heat olive oil, then add thyme, garlic, shallots and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté until shallots and garlic are softened, 3 minutes. Pour in ale and bring to a simmer, Add mussels and cover pot. Let mussels steam, stirring once or twice, until they open 5-10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer mussels to bowls Discard any that have not opened.

Add butter, herbs and mustard to pan juices and bring to a boil. Whisk until butter melts, then taste and correct seasonings (add more butter if liquid tastes bitter.) Pour over mussels and serve with bread for sopping up juices.

Mussels with Spaghetti Sauce

As served in Pasta Amore, Piermont, NY

Prepare mussels as above.

Simple Spaghetti sauce

Sauté 2 cut-up medium onions with 4 cloves minced garlic, in olive oil till tender. Add 2 cans of diced tomatoes. Add 1/4 cup white wine, 1 teaspoon dried basil, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer sauce and correct for seasoning.

Or use bottled spaghetti sauce, with more sautéed garlic and olive oil added.

Place sauce in a soup pot with tight fitting cover, add drained mussels, and steam, stirring about three times, until they open, about 5-10 minutes. Serve with side dish of spaghetti and garlic bread, and a nice green salad.

Spaghetti as a Side Dish

Nothing is more simple and quick to make than pasta. It's most known way to be served is with a tomato sauce. If it is ready before your main dish, take about a cup of pasta water and reserve it, then drain it. Pasta water can thicken or dilute a mixture that you will add to the dish.

Place the drained pasta back into the pot. For 8 oz of pasta, add it to about 3 Tablespoons of bought Peso Sauce which has been thinned with some of the reserved pesto water. I sometimes add a couple of Tablespoons of Tapenade, (with or without the addition of Feta) Mix the spaghetti with it thoroughly.

You might also add a cup or so of julienne-sliced zucchini that has been quickly sautéed in olive oil with a sprinkling of basil at the end. Perhaps, for color and taste, you might add a handful of grape tomatoes to the pan when the zucchini is almost done. Careful with this, the zucchini sautés very rapidly, you want to serve it while it is still crisp. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan.

When I am serving traditional spaghetti with tomato sauce, I often top it with zucchini prepared as above. It gives a lovely crunch.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Prepared a bit differently than usual :

8 thick slices bacon, cut in strips, crosswise

1 large onion, thinly sliced 1/4 cup dry white wine

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 pound spaghetti or linguine

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

In a medium skillet, lightly brown bacon strips and sliced onion. When brown, pour off all but 1/2 cup of the bacon fat. Add the wine and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

In a bowl, combine the eggs, 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper

Cook the spaghetti in boiling, salted water until "al Dente", still firm to the bite. Drain well.

Toss the spaghetti with egg mixture and then bacon mixture. Supply warm plates for your guests and serve the pasta immediately in a heated bowl. Have the extra cheese at hand. From: Private Collection, Junior League of Palo Alto( a small treasure of a cookbook.) pgg