Flexing Some Cooking Mussels for Oscar Night

The farmers market yesterday was jammed packed with tables...and a choir (weird). I initially walked out of the farmers market a little disappointed in what I had picked up.  I have been working up to trying beets, but the remaining selection looked a bit anemic.  I have no real love for turnips or rutabagas and am getting worn out on carrots and parsnips.  So, in the spirit of expanding my foody horizons, I walked back into the Johnson Elementary School auditorium that houses my winter market and back to Tom, the fish guy's table.  It would be safe to say my self-efficacy in the kitchen where seafood is concerned is quite low.  I can pan sear some scallops, make a mean shrimp scampi, but I have not ventured much further past my comfort zone.  (Part of my hesitance has a lot to do with ruining an expensive piece of fish.)

Plate 258: Mussels and Clams (NOAA Historic Fisheries Collection)

I walked away with a two pound bag of fresh mussels harvested on Thursday off the Central Cost of Maine for $6.00!  Tom's business buys directly "off the boat" every morning in Boston and sells to farmers markets in the area and to several restaurants as well. 

Now, the real question was, for the moment, "How do I store these babies until I'm ready to cook them?"  I learned you can store mussels for several days in your fridge in a bowl that is covered with a damp, not wet, towel.  Since the like a little moisture, it'll keep them alive and happy until they take the plunge.  The all-knowing internet also says that you should pour off any liquid they may spit out every day or so.

Since I had Saturday night dinner covered, I thought these would be a special treat for Oscar Night with my doxie Oscar and pretty kitty Tess by my side.  Why not?  Fancy dresses, emotional acceptance speeches that get cut off, sharing the couch with my two snuggle buddies, and great food.  Sounds like a perfect night to me!

Moules Marinières (adapted from Barefoot in Paris)
Serves 2

2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 ounces chopped canned plum tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, reserve a little for garnish
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 1/4 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
lemon wedges

Ina's recipe is for 6 1/2 pounds of mussels, so I had to monkey with the proportions a bit. I also added some red pepper flakes and fennel and omitted the saffron threads.  I used to like saffron, but lately, I am not enjoying it.  I think my taste buds are changing their mind.

Okay, to clean our happy little mussels, put them in a large bowl filled with water and the flour and soak for 30 minutes, or until the mussels spit out any sand they may have been holding on to.  Drain the mussels and remove the beard with your fingers.  I also gave mine a good scrub with a brush under some running water for good measure.  Go through your mussels one more time and get rid of the dead ones or any of that have a cracked shell.  I only had to throw out about 15 out of 50-something, so I'd say this was a good batch!

In a large pot, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat.  Add the shallots and cook for 5 minutes.  add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes, until the shallots are translucent.  Add white wine, tomatoes, fennel seed, red pepper flakes, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.

Add mussels, stir well, then cover the pot and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until the mussels are opened (discard any that don't open).  With the lid on, shake the pot once or twice to make sure the mussels don't burn on the bottom.  With a slotted spoon, remove mussels from the pot and bring the sauce to a boil.  Reduce sauce by one-third.  Pour over mussels and garnish with a little fresh parsley and lemon wedge.  Served along side a warm goat cheese salad this was a serious home run.  Of course, I couldn't possibly eat all these mussels, but I did have to cook them.  Don't they look pretty in the bowl?



Anna Pavlova as the White Swan



Of course, no Oscar Night dinner would be complete without a fabulous dessert.  Tonight, I made a dish in honor of the movie Black Swan.  I took a traditional recipe created for Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova and added a little dark chocolate as a nod to Natalie Portman's psychotic ballerina.

My bet is that she will win the award for Best Actress.  If you've seen this whacked out movie, you know how convincing she was as a ballerina on the verge of a psychotic break.  Freaky!  Pavlova was a dessert invented in Australia (although some New Zealanders will disagree with that claim) in honor of the famous ballerina while the Russian Ballet was on tour there in 1926.  It is made with a large meringue disc, whipped cream and, traditionally, passion fruit and kiwi.  Its fluffy appearance resembles a ballerina's tutu.  I modified this by using store-bought meringues half-dipped in chocolate and used strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.

 Mixed Berry Pavlova (adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home)

Serves 4 

For the meringues

4 egg whites, at room temperature

1 pinch kosher salt

1 cup superfine sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 ounces dark (or milk if you prefer) chocolate, melted

For the whipped cream

1 cup heavy cream, cold

1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the berry topping

1/2 pint fresh strawberries

1/2 pint fresh raspberries

1/2 pint fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice (or framboise liqueur if you want to add a little kick)

I used store-bought meringues since I didn't feel like going through the workout of making meringues for one tonight; however, they are well worth it if you want to make a dessert that will blow the socks off your dinner party guests.  I have included the instructions below.  If you decide to phone it in and rely on Trader Joe's for this, like I did, then you can omit the first six ingredients from the list above.

Rinse berries in a colander and put in a bowl.  Add sugar and lemon juice.  Toss to coat the berries with the sugar. Using a fork, gently press down on berries in a few places.  This will help them release their juices.  Let the berries macerate in the refrigerator for at least two hours, but really, they get better the longer they sit, so overnight is preferable.

To make the "Black Swan" rendition, which is completely optional, I melted some chocolate bits in a heatproof glass bowl over a pan of simmering water.  If you use this technique, make sure the water is not bowling or touching the bottom of the bowl.  No one likes burnt chocolate.  You can also melt it in a microwave-safe bowl in the nuker at 30 second intervals until completely melted.  They both take about the same amount of time, it's just a preference thing.

Dip half of the meringue in the melted chocolate and place on a silicon baking sheet or parchment paper.  Allow to chocolate to set up and cool completely before trying to remove.  If you're making the meringues, I would suggest drizzling the chocolate over the top as they are far more delicate than the store-bought ones.

For the whipped cream, I always chill my bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer prior to whipping the cream.  This is a tip I learned from my Grandma Alford.  Gram also taught me to put the carton of heavy cream in an ice bath in the fridge until I was ready to beat it.  With everything really cold, it helps make your cream stiffer.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (doesn't she look frosty?), pour in the cream and beat on high.  When the cream starts to thicken, add the vanilla and sugar.  Beat until the cream is stiff.  It's best not to overbeat the cream.  We want it light and fluffy.  Think "tutu" not "flat tire."

Once you're ready to serve, place two or three store-bought meringues or one homemade meringue on a plate.  Spoon some whipped cream on top of the meringues, creating a bit of a bowl with the back of a spoon.  Leaving most of the liquid behind, carefully spoon the berries into the middle of the cream.  Drizzle a bit of the berry liquid on top and serve immediately.  

And the winner is...

*Directions for Homemade Meringues

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.  Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan.  Using a ramekin, glass or other round object about 4 inches in diameter, trace four circles on the parchment paper with a pencil.  Flip over the parchment paper so that the pencil side is down. We don't want graphite on our pretty pavlovas now, do we?

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the egg whites and salt and beat on high speed until the egg whites are firm, about one minute.  With the mixer still on high, slowly add in the sugar and beat until it makes firm, shiny peaks, about two minutes.  

Remove the bowl from the mixer and sift in the cornstarch onto the egg whites.  Add in the vinegar and vanilla and fold in lightly with a rubber spatula.

You can apply the meringue to the parchment in one of two ways: (1) the Emily way, which is with a spoon, gently scoop the meringue from the bowl and fill in that penciled circle, or (2) the French pastry chef way, which is to fill a pastry bag fitted with a big round or star tip and pipe the meringue onto the paper in a fancy schmancy coil of perfection.  I like my more haphazard approach, personally.  Plus, you get the fluffy peaks and valleys of a tutu in your final result as opposed to the perfectly circular, perfectly even disc of said pastry chef technique.

Bake for one and a half hours.  Turn off the oven and let the meringue cool completely in the oven, about an hour.  Don't be tempted to open the oven door and peek.  You could flatten your pillowy creations.  It will be crisp on the outside and soft inside.

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