Seafood Sunday

I love seafood (oysters excluded) and decided today was the perfect day for steamed mussels. I had seen Ina cook Mussels in White Wine and just tucked that episode in the back of my mind. Today was the perfect day for it. I had baked a fresh batch of Sourdough Bread early this morning, so I knew I just wanted some nice bread to go with the mussels. I had also filed in my memory a recipe from the Annie's Eats site that I wanted to make for dessert - Raspberry Lemonade Bars and so the very simple menu came together.

I started with the Sourdough bread yesterday afternoon since I knew I either had to bake bread today or just feed my starter. In order to feed the starter I would need to remove 1 cup of it and then add 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water. Since I needed to remove 1 cup of the starter, I decided to bake more sourdough bread. It came out superb, just as it did the last time.

I then made the dessert by starting with the crust layer and while it was baking, I prepared the filling. I added the filling to the crust and baked it again. I let it cool to room temperature and then refrigerated it for a couple of hours. Since it was just the two of us for dinner tonight, I made the half recipe of this and baked it in an 8 x 8-inch pan.

I made the mussels and dinner was ready! I loved the addition of garlic and tomatoes to the mussel recipe. It added a really nice touch to the broth. A really very simple dinner.


Slightly adapted from Barefoot Contessa - Mussels in White Wine

2 1/2 lbs. cultivated mussels
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (5 to 6 cloves)
1/2 cup chopped canned plum tomatoes, drained
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 cup white wine
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To clean the mussels, put them in a large bowl with 2 quarts of water and the flour and soak for 30 minutes, or until the mussels disgorge any sand. Drain the mussels, them remove the "beard" from each with your fingers. If they're dirty, scrub the mussels with a brush under running water. Discard any mussels whose shells aren't tightly shut.

In a large non-aluminum stockpot, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes; then add the garlic and cook for 3 more minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes, parsley, thyme, wine, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.

Add the mussels, stir well, then cover the pot, and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until all the mussels are opened (discard any that do not open). With the lid on, shake the pot once or twice to be sure the mussels don't burn on the bottom. Pour the mussels and the sauce into a large bowl and serve hot.




From Annie's Eats website:
Raspberry Lemonade Bars





For the crust:
2 1/4 sticks (18 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

For the raspberry lemon layer:
3 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. lemon zest
1/4 tsp. salt
3 cups frozen raspberries, thawed
6 large egg whites
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

*This recipe can be halved and baked in an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with a slightly reduced baking time.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the flour and salt just until incorporated. Add the dough to the prepared baking pan. Press into an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Bake for about 25 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from the oven, maintaining the temperature.

While the crust is baking, make the top layer. Combine the sugar, flour, lemon zest and salt in a large bowl and whisk to blend. Add the raspberries to a fine mesh sieve and press through, mashing with a spatula, to extract as much juice and pulp as possible, straining out the seeds. Add the egg whites and eggs to the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk well to blend. Whisk in the raspberry puree and lemon juice until smooth.

Pour the mixture over the crust and bake until the center is just set and no longer jiggles when gently shaken, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature. Cover and chill well in the refrigerator, at least 2 hours. When ready to serve, use the parchment paper to lift the bars from the pan. Place on a cutting board and slice into bars. Dust the tops with confectioners’ sugar if desired.


Gerry and I agree: