Finally, The Mussel Recipe!

Moules a la Mariniere

Makes 6 servings
Cooking time: 1 brief hour

Ingredients

8 cups of mussels cooked as below
1 1/4 cups cooking liquid
2/3 cup of white wine
2/3 ounce of shallot finely minced
2 good pinches of minced parley
1/3 cup of butter
2 good soup spoons of bread crumbs ground into a fine semolina
1 medium onion sliced
5 sprigs thyme
1/3 bay leaf
pinch of white pepper
1 cup of water

Preparation

Put mussels, onion, thyme, bay leaf, pepper and water into covered casserole.  Heat over high heat until mussels are just opened wide (6-8 minutes).  Decant mussel liquor into one container, mussels into a second.
Rinse casserole, add the wine and the shallot.  Reduce vigorously until about 3 tables spoons are left.  Add 1 1/4 cups carefully measured mussel liquor.  Boil it for only a few seconds without reducing it.  Turn off the heat. Off the fire, add the butter divided into very small pieces.  Sprinkle in the bread crumbs mixing well and shaking the casserole to melt the butter.  Add the parsley.

Put the mussels back into the casserole.  Shake them in the sauce for a sew seconds only without putting them back over the heat.   You want to heat the mussels and to cover them with sauce but not to boil or over heat because the butter loose its creaminess and turn to oil.

Pour into a large bowl and enjoy!