Tag Archives: mussels

Happy French Friday Saturday! I am a day late with my French Fridays with Dorie post.  I sat down to work on it yesterday, but I must admit I got distracted by the Internet.

This week we made a wonderful dish that tastes way better than the effort put into it.  Curried Mussels are the last of the three mussels recipes in Around My French Table for the group to complete.  It is basically steamed mussels in a creamy curry sauce.

I am always surprised how quick and easy mussels are to cook.  We began by building up a sauce of butter, onion, shallot, curry powder, red pepper flakes, wine, and some herbs.  The mussels are added to the pot and quickly steamed.  Once the mussels are done, the sauce is finished with a bit of cream.  Heaven!

Good thing this recipe was quick and easy because I made it for myself for lunch one day.  No way anyone else in my household was going to eat this.  It felt special and decadent to make myself such a wonderful lunch on an otherwise mundane week day!

This was my favorite of the three mussels recipes.  I even slurped up some of the sauce when the mussels were gone.  I will have to remember this recipe next time I’m feeling the need to treat myself to a special lunch.

Happy Friday!  This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Mussels and Chorizo With or Without Pasta, seems like it would have been a perfect Valentine’s Day dinner.  I’m sure many Doristas did serve this for Valentine’s Day.  It would have been perfect except that my husband won’t touch mussels with a 10 foot pole!  So I made it for lunch for myself instead.

I enjoy eating mussels but I have never cooked with them before.  It really doesn’t get much easier than cooking mussels!  For this recipe, chopped red bell peppers are sauteed in olive oil with onion, garlic, and thyme until soft.  A can of chopped tomatoes and the chorizo are added and the mixture simmers for about 5 minutes.  Add the mussels and some white wine, then cover and simmer until the mussels have opened.  That’s it!

Dorie says this recipe can be served with pasta or crusty bread.  I chose pasta, but after eating it I think I would have preferred the bread.  You definitely need one or the other!

This was a wonderful meal!  Fantastic results for such little effort.  The spiciness of the chorizo added a punch of flavor to the mild mussels and the tomato sauce was quite delicious.  Assuming everyone likes mussels, this would be a great dinner for company because you don’t have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen and the results are impressive.