Green Beans with Butter & Herbs (#46) and Steamed Mussels with Curry and Mint (#47)

After holiday parties and too many nights of leftovers, it was time to step up my game again with two loose recipes for one dinner. I purchased provisions at PCC, where the bagger kidded me that I could be French with my baguette and kale leaning tantalizingly out of my grocery bag and all the ingredients needed for mouclade (which according to the Cooking Light blurb is "from the region of France near La Rochelle, famous for its oysters and mussels").

Simply superb. This was one of my favorite dinners so far. The mussels were new to me (from a time in my life where I had discovered the joys of fresh shellfish from the Farmer's Market and clipped every promising-looking recipe to come my way), but I have made the green beans several times.

Green Beans with Butter and Herbs

• 1 lb. beans
• 1/4 c. red onion, finely chopped
• 3 T butter
• 2 T parsley
• 2 T fresh thyme
• 2 T tarragon/basil (I did 2 t. dried tarragon)
• 2 T chives
• salt/pepper
• lemon wedges

Bring large pot of salty water to boil. Blanch green beans 3-4 minutes, place in ice water bath, drain pat dry. Heat butter on medium-high in a large saute pan. Cook onions until translucent (2-3 min.). Add beans. Cook 2-3 min. more, stirring frequently. Add herbs, salt & pepper. Cook 1 min. more. Serve with lemon wedges.

(Use as many fresh herbs as you can, as they add a burst of flavor).

Steamed Mussels with Curry and Mint

• 1 1/2 t. curry powder
• 1 c. dry white wine (Muscadet for us, of course)
• 1/2 c. finely chopped shallots
• 4 pounds mussels
• 1/3 c. chopped fresh mint
• 2 T. whipping cream
• 1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
• 12 (1/2-inch-thick) slices French bread baguette (about 4 ounces)

Cook curry in a small saucepan over medium heat 2 minutes or until toasted, stirring constantly. Remove curry from pan, set aside.

Bring wine and shallots to a boil in a large Dutch oven, cover and cook 5 minutes. Add mussels, cover and cook 5 minutes or until shells open. Remove mussels from pan with a slotted spoon, reserving cooking liquid, discard any unopened shells. Keep warm

Add curry, mint, cream and pepper to reserved cooking liquid in pan. Place pan over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat. Divide mussels evenly among 5 large shallow bowls; spoon curry mixture over mussels. Serve with bread.

I made 2 lbs. of mussels instead of 4, since I don't think they taste as good as leftovers, but made the same amount of sauce.