Mussels Steamed with White Wine, Shallots, Garlic, & Bacon

Speaking of those mussels, I can't say enough about this dish, and in my unbiased opinion they are way better than the Prince Edward mussels I had at Bouchon in Vegas (seriously). The hardest part is just scrubbing the mussels, but the way it tastes and fills the kitchen with awesomely delicious aroma makes it seem like someone slaved over the stove for hours. In my sous chef opinion, the good crusty bread is not optional because you need something to soak up that yummy wine/shallot/garlic/bacon juice so you can really taste it!

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 lb. mussels (scrubbed/cleaned).
- 1 cup of white wine (you might as well have a whole bottle, preferably either pinot grigio or chardonnay).
- 3 strips thick cut bacon, sliced into lardons (basically, cut them into batons).
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced.
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced.
- 2-3 T of unsalted butter.
- salt/pepper to taste.

OPTIONAL:

- Good crusty bread (ciabatta or some sorta crusty french bread works well here).

STEPS:

1. Cook bacon on medium-ish heat in a saucepan/stockpot to render out the fat (you want the fat to cook everything else in), and they start browning a bit. And yes, you are cooking everything in bacon fat bc hey, it really does make everything taste better.

2. Add the shallots, garlic, and 2T butter and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add some dashes of salt and crack some pepper.

3. Dump 1/2 the bottle of wine into the pot and bring to a boil (again, this is my way of eyeballing "1 cup of wine"). Dump the other 1/2 into your glass and start drinking. Let 1/2 the liquid reduce.

4. Add the mussels, cover the pot, and let them cook until they open. This shouldn't take longer than 3 minutes. Discard any that don't open.

5. Whisk in remaining butter if you feel decadent (or like a fat ass). Serve immediately with toasted crusty bread.

6. Enjoy and wonder how you ever paid $10+ for this dish.

***I've been cooking a lot with Trader Joe's "Charles Shaw" Pinot Grigio (aka two buck chuck). Aside from being cheap as hell, I actually think it tastes pretty good for something so cheap (but it's not like I'm a white wine expert by any stretch). Still, you're probably not going to find a better value to cook/drink with in that range, so it's a good wine to have on hand.

Clams And Linguini With White Wine, Garlic, Meyer Lemon, Crushed Red Pepper, Parmesan

P knows I have a weakness for bivalves of all kinds, mmm. One of the first dishes he ever made for me was mussels in white wine. I haven't personally tried this one yet, but maybe he'll make it again some day. :) His recipe is below:

INGREDIENTS:...

- 1 lb. of clams
- 1 cup of wine (i used pinot grigio bc that's what i had, but i think something more full-bodied like chardonnay would work well)
- 1/4 cup of good olive oil (basically enough to coat the pan)
- 3-4 cloves of garlic (minced)
- pinch of crushed red pepper
- 3T unsalted butter
- 1 meyer lemon --juice & zest (you can substitute a reg lemon here)
- 3-4 T of kosher salt (more to taste)
- 3-4 grinds of black pepper (again, to taste)
- 1 lb. of angel hair or linguini pasta

OPTIONAL:
- 1/2 bunch of finely chopped flat leaf parsley (garnish)
- grated parmesan (for awesomeness)

STEPS:
1. In a decently large saucepan, heat up olive oil over high heat. once it's ready (don't let the oil get so hot that it starts smoking or else it'll burn the garlic), add garlic and cook for about 30 sec to a minute. move fast bc it'll cook quickly.

2. Add pinch of red pepper and cook for another 30 sec or so (to bring out flavor/infuse oil).

3. Move back about 2 feet from the stove and add 1 cup of white wine (it may splatter). if you're too lazy to measure and want to eyeball the wine, it's about 1/2 the bottle. Leave on high heat and let the liquid reduce by about 1/2.

*** you probably want to start preparing the pasta at this point****

4. Get a big ass pot, and bring 3-4 cups of water & 3 T of salt to a boil. Add pasta and cook til it's al dente (start checking after 3-4 min or so). it's ok if it's a little bit hard bc it'll keep cooking even after you take it off the stove. drain pasta (but leave it a little wet, don't toss it so much that it dries out). save 2 T of the pasta water (to add to the sauce).

*****

5. Add clams, cover, and let them cook until they open up (they should start opening up in about 3 min). remove open clams w/ a slotted spoon and set aside. discard any clams that didn't open (resist temptation to eat bc they're dead clams that will prob give you food poisoning).

6. Bring the wine/clam juice goodness to a boil and reduce by 1/2 again. it may look like there's barely enough liquid, but it's fine bc you want the sauce to coat the pasta, not drown it.

6. Once remaining liquid is reduced, add the 2 T of pasta water and stir in the butter until it's melted. salt/pepper liberally (taste as you go along). the sauce should be ready in about 3-4 min (it'll be done once it begins thickening).

7. Return clams to saucepan and toss them around to coat them w/ the sauce. squeeze 1/2 the lemon over the clams. add pasta and toss so that everything is mixed together.

8. Top w/ lemon zest, chopped parsley, another pinch of red pepper, and parmesan cheese. toss again. eat a bunch.

9. Get hungry in an hour. Eat again.

** Make sure you don't overcook the pasta. It's prob better to err on the side of pasta that's slightly undercooked since it'll continue cooking for a min or two after you drain it. Better to have slightly firm pasta then soggy pasta.

** Same with the clams. They'll cook really fast and you should remove them when they open up. otherwise, they'll tragically dry out/shrink and become tough.