Mussels Steamed in Tomato Cream Sauce
January has been about my challenging my endurance and getting a jumpstart on some new fitness goals, and I'm headed into February holding my 2019 mantra so close to my heart: this my year. My resolution to make this my year goes hand in hand with making sure I have no wasted my days, & I know that a key to achieving this is being the best version of myself (even just from a physical health perspective). Navigating the change and adjustments that come with relocating our life with more perseverance is my priority this year, and putting myself first so that I can stay level headed when life is less than perfect is part of that equation. Even in my most anxious moments, the choice to get on a treadmill and run it out always calms me down, and sets me up to move forward ready to tackle the day from an "everything is totally great" perspective. It was perfect timing that a Buns & Guns Challenge landed in my lap at the start of the new year - a fitness challenge focused on all things buns and guns through the month of January. I knew being able to say I accomplished it would make me so proud of myself, and likely feeling pretty fucking good, so I did it. I committed, held myself accountable, and brought Jordan along for the ride. The two of us are great with cardio! No issues getting our sweat on via a nice long run or a good elliptical sesh. Getting our buns and guns on together, and being together for every squat, lunge, and curl equated to taking our gym game to a whole new level, and giving us a better purpose for our gym time. It was what we looked forward to - reuniting at the gym post work-day to get in that good, endorphin high head space. And we had so much fun the whole time!
For me, getting to the gym and taking a workout past my cardio comfort zone gave me the ability to focus on being proud of myself, and put me in a situation where not selling myself short was of the utmost importance for my time to be worth it. & I did it. We did it! We got in every single one of these challenge workouts, and fucking crushed it together. I swear it has lead to a sweet January, and doing the challenge together set us up for even happier nights at home. It has set a positive tone in my life, and makes me so excited for what's to come this year. So moral of the story - get physical with your mate. It's worth it, it's fun, and for us it was a wonderful means to let go of the stressors impacting us individually to protect our quality time in our happy home.
& tonight we ring in a whole new month, reminiscing on our January highs, and kicking off February with date-night at home. Experimenting with some fresh and local ingredients, and conjuring up a fun, use your hands and get little messy dinner. The funnest dinners at our house are ones where it's appropriate to get in there, use your hands and get down with some finger food. This go around we're stuffing our faces with Mussels Steamed in Tomato Cream Sauce and Pull Apart Garlic Bread. A dish where you can scoop up spoonfuls of broth and meat with the shell itself, slurping up the perfect bites sans the usual utensils. & this dish is sauuuuuucey, which is really the key for me to love anything that I cook. This flavorful sauce is what makes this dinner worth eating - salty, herby, garlicy, and creamy. A sauce taken to the next level with a true secret weapon - wine. A quick deglaze of anything with a splash of wine is what makes a sauce exciting, and it protects your efforts to make a delicious homemade sauce instead of something that's just broth-y. It's perfect with every bite of shellfish, but holy balls it's even better sopped up with buttery and crunchy bread. That's why you make garlic bread with this - to soak up every bit of this damn sauce by straight dunking each piece of bread right in. It's a get your fingers dirty, let the sauce dribble down your chin, and thank god for napkins kind of dinner.
Quick & easy, & the result was dinner that looked so beautiful sitting in front of us, but so fun to enjoy together.
For the Mussels
1.5 - 2 lb mussels, scrubbed & de-bearded
1 tbsp EVOO
4 tbsp minced garlic
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp paprika
pinch of cloves
1/2 c. dry white wine
2 c. chicken broth
3 plum tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp heavy cream
1/4 fresh parsley, minced
1 tbsp grated parmesan, for garnish
1 sourdough loaf, cut into thick slices (about 1 inch thick) that are not cut all the way through (keeping the load intact)
1 stick of butter, softened
Salt & pepper
Start by placing a dutch oven over medium high head. Add in the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add in half of the garlic, shallots, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Let it cook for 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Add in the cumin, cinnamon, paprika and cloves, letting the spices cook in the dutch over for 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with the wine, and let the liquid cook until it's reduced by half (it should sizzle and simmer as soon as you add the liquid to the pan). Then add the broth, bring the liquid to a boil, and let it boil for 5 minutes. Once the liquid has been boiling for 5 minutes, reduced the heat to medium low. Add in the mussels, cover, and let sit for 8 minutes, giving the mussels plenty of time to open up. Be patient and leave the pot covered!
As the mussels cook, make some crispy garlic bread (this is a great job for your dinner date). Preheat the oven to 375, and place the bread loaf on a parchment lined baking. Gently separate the slices of bread and add in about a 1/2 tablespoon of butter in between each slice (no worries if you don't use the whole stick of butter). Evenly distribute the remaining garlic between each slice. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes for it to to get melty and crispy all at once.
Once the mussel have finished cooking, uncover the pot, removing any mussels that haven't opened up (you don't want to eat those!). Stir in the tomatoes, cream, and parsley. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot back up, and keep the mussels warm until the bread has finished cooking.
Once the bread has finished cooking, it's time to service up dinner. In bowl or shallow rimmed dish, scoop up a ladle full of mussels and broth. Sprinkle a pinch of parm over the top of each dish, and serve the mussels alongside the garlic bread. Soak up all the yummy, salty, & creamy broth by dunking the garlic bread right in. Alternating bites of briny mussels with the creamy and crunchy bread creates the perfect balance & such a satisfying seafood meal.
