Easy Steamed Mussels

So I've been seeing these beautiful photos of a bowl full of mussels that have been steamed to perfection and are sitting atop what looks like a lovely broth and thinking...man, I'd love to try that!  But in restaurants, it's usually just a bit too pricey for something I'm not sure I'll like, so I've always put off actually trying it.  Well, I finally decided to throw caution to the wind and just get it over with...but at home, where you know, I can fix myself a pb&j if it's really that awful.  As it turns out, not only was it delicious, but it was easy, too!  The whole dish was cooked in one big pot...which is a big plus for me!

I tried to find fresh mussels, but I guess it just wasn't in the cards for me...so I had to settle for frozen ones.  Which, as it turns out, saved me even more time because they were already cleaned.  For less than $2 a pound, I grabbed two pounds and a bottle of white wine...the rest was already in my pantry!

First things first, mince four or so cloves of garlic and about a quarter of a sweet onion.  In a stock pot/dutch oven, melt two tablespoons of butter.  Over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic for about 30 seconds.  Add the zest of one lemon and stir for another 30 or so seconds.  Add two cups of wine and some fresh ground black pepper.  Bring to just a boil and add the mussels.  Cover and let steam.  Since mine were frozen, it took about 10 minutes for them to thaw and open...discard any that don't open.  I poured the whole pot into a big serving bowl and served them family style with grilled, garlic-rubbed bread slices.  My husband ate his with a little shake of Tabasco on top but I ate mine as-is.  Just sop up that tasty broth in the grilled bread and put the mussel meat on top...makes for one tasty bite!

Ingredients:

2 lbs mussels, cleaned and debearded

1 lemon, both zest and wedged

2 tbsp butter, softened

1/2 c. parsley, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 yellow onion, minced

2 cups white wine

1 loaf of crusty bread

extra garlic for rubbing on the bread

optional: Tabasco for serving; parsley for garnish

1. Melt butter in pot.  Add onion and garlic, saute for 30 seconds.  Add lemon zest, stir and saute for additional 30 seconds.

2.  Add white wine and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil.

3.  Add mussels and steam until most have opened.  Discard unopened shells.

4.  Add chopped parsley and stir (optional).  Serve with grilled bread.

Basic Roast Chicken and Potatoes

So here's the "sitch"...my husband is allergic to poultry.  Not sure if I've ever mentioned it, but it's weird and worth noting before I go into this recipe and why it's such a big deal for me.  I haven't cooked chicken in YEARS because I was always so afraid of cross-contamination and frankly, not willing to make two completely different proteins for one meal.  As of late, our work schedules are pretty opposite of one another, so my son and I find ourselves having dinner sans Daddy.  Which sucks.  Big time.  I miss our family meals and I really lost my passion for making nice dinners since my sole dining companion is 2 and isn't a very...appreciative diner.  We've been getting by on quick pasta dishes, loaded baked potatoes, soup, etc...you know, easy one-pot type stuff.  That is, until I had an epiphany...since I'm not cooking for the hubs, I can make chicken!  Woohoo!  I know...small victory...just give me this one, mkay?

Some of the basics...

Since I'm all grown up now, I figured I should master how to roast a whole chicken.  It's a basic recipe and easy to pull out for company...everyone loves it.  If you don't already have this one in your arsenal, read on, and if you already do...read on anyway, because this isn't your average roast chicken ;-)




Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Chop some red potatoes into bite sized chunks and toss with a splash of olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme.  Toss 'em in a baking dish and set aside whilst you prepare the bird!

Mmmm butter...and other stuff.

Grab yourself some buttah' and let it soften...if you're like me and wait until the last minute to get it
out and start cooking, zap it in the microwave for about 10 seconds...that should do it.  Chop up a handful of parsley, zest a lemon, and mince 2 cloves of garlic.  Mix well and set aside.

Now, the important difference between your average roast chicken recipe and this one is the butchering of the chicken.  Some call it butterflying, others call it spatchcocking...whatever you call it, it helps the chicken cook more evenly and it can even cook faster.  Get yourself a nice, whole chicken.  Rinse and pat dry (both inside and out....and remove all the...innards).  Flip it over and, using poultry shears, cut out the spine.  Then you cut notches in the cartilage on either side of the breast bone and yank that out.  But do it nicely...you don't want to tear up your chicken.  Then you flip it over and voila! You have a beautifully butterflied chicken.  Check out this helpful video that I used to learn this technique.

Awaiting the oven...

After.  Look at all that crispy skin!

Splay out that bird on a baking sheet (rimmed, of course) and
retrieve your butter mixture.  Slather that stuff all over the top of the bird...make sure you get all the exposed skin with it...trust me.  Season with a little salt and pepper.

Both the potatoes and the chicken can go in together.  In about 30 minutes, remove the potatoes and stir them around so they get crisp on all sides and return to the oven.  Continue baking for another 15-30 minutes.  You'll know your chicken is finished when the thigh meat registers a temperature of 165 degrees and the juices run clear.  Carve it up and serve it along side those tasty taters and a fresh green salad.  YUM!

You can't tell me that doesn't look tasty!

Oh, and bonus...you can squeeze the lemon juice from that lemon you zested earlier over pretty much the entire meal and it gives it a little extra zip!



Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 c parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
zest of 1 lemon
4-6 red potatoes, cut to 1" pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp thyme
Salt and pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Rinse and pat dry the chicken, removing everything from the cavity.  Spatchcock if desired and place on baking dish.

2.  Combine butter, parsley, garlic, and lemon zest.  Mix well and slather on bird.  Season liberally with salt and pepper

3.  Toss potatoes in olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper.  Place in separate baking dish.

4.  Bake together for approximately 1 hour or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees and juices run clear.  Stir potatoes at 30 minutes and return to oven for the remainder of the hour.