Steamed Mussels with Parmesan Croutons

Paul is famous for not liking seafood and tomatoes. Fishy things scare him. However, because these mussels are steamed with his favorite beer, Hoegaarden, and full of delicious flavors, he actually admitted to liking these. This is a fairly quick meal (except for all the chopping), and definitely feeds a crowd. Get 2 pounds of mussels for 2 people.  Once again, original recipe from Bon Appetit.

4 5x3x1/2-inch slices country-style bread, crusts removed, bread cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbs olive oil
3/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon
1/4 cup chopped fresh chervil (optional)
2/3 cup crème fraîche
3 Tbs Dijon mustard
1 Tbs whole grain brown mustard or whole grain Dijon mustard
3 Tbs butter
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
5 lb mussels, scrubbed, debearded
3 cups diced seeded tomatoes (about 4 large)
1 cup chopped green onions (about 4)
1 12-ounce bottle Belgian white beer (such as Hoegaarden)

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine bread cubes, Parmesan, and oil in medium bowl; sprinkle with salt and toss to coat. Spread bread cubes evenly on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until bread cubes are crisp and golden around edges, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.
• Mix parsley, chives, tarragon, and chervil, if desired, in small bowl. Whisk crème fraîche and both mustards in another small bowl to blend; set aside.
• Melt butter in extra-large pot with lid over high heat. Add garlic and thyme; stir 1 minute. Add mussels, tomatoes, and green onions. Pour beer over, then add crème fraîche mixture; sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Cover tightly with lid and cook until steam appears, about 3 minutes. Add half of fresh herb mixture and stir until mussels and herbs are gently mixed. Cover tightly with lid again and cook until mussels open, 4 to 5 minutes (discard any mussels that do not open).
• Using slotted spoon, divide mussels among 6 bowls. Season mussel juices lightly with salt and pepper, then pour juices over each serving. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan croutons and remaining herb mixture and serve.

Pasta al Forno (Baked Farfalle with mushrooms, prosciutto and peas)

From the Williams-Sonoma "Rome" cookbook.

1 lb fresh button or cremini mushrooms

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 shallots or 1 small white or yellow onion, thinly sliced

1/4 lb prosciutto or cooked ham, including some fat, very thinly sliced and coarsely chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 2/3 cups frozen peas

3/4 lb farfalle

For the Béchamel sauce

4 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups whole milk

salt

1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 tbsp butter cut into small pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil or butter a baking dish with a 2-quart capacity.

2. Cut off the ends of the mushroom stems. Break the stems off where they join the caps and set them aside. Unless the gills are very small and tight, scrape them out with a small knife. Brush the caps clean and lightly peel them if the skins are blemished. Cut each cap into 6 or 8 wedges, depending on the cap's size. Clean and chop the stems.

3. In a large frying pan over medium-low heat, warm 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Add the shallots and saute just until they begin to color, about 4 minutes. Stir in the prosciutto and cook for 1 minute longer. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shallots and prosciutto to a large bowl and set aside.

4. Add the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil to the same pan over medium heat. Add the mushroom caps and stems and saute until all the liquid they release evaporates and they start to brown, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with salt. When the mushrooms are golden brown, after about 2 minutes longer, return the prosciutto and shallots to the pan, mix in the peas, and cook for a couple of minutes to blend the flavors. Remove from the heat an set aside in the pan.

5. Bring a large pot three-fourths full of water to a rapid boil over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta and stir for the first minute of cooking and occasionally thereafter.

6. While the water is heating, make the béchamel sauce. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the flower and cook, stirring constantly, until it starts to brown, about 2 minutes. Very gradually add the milk while stirring constantly, then cook over medium heat, continuing to stir, until the sauce just begins to boil and thicken, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1 tsp salt. Remove from the heat, stir into the pea-mushroom mixture and mix well.

7. When the pasta is 1-2 minutes from being al dente, drain it, but not too dry. Stir the pasta into the sauce in the frying pan. Mix in all but 1/4 cup of the cheese. Spoon the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish. Dust with the remaining cheese and dot with butter. (The dish can be made up to this point, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before continuing).

8. Bake just until the cheese melts, about 15 minutes. Serve piping hot directly from the dish.

Serve with a full-bodied red wine such as a Sangiovese or Merlot from Lazio, Umbria or Tuscany.

I-tal Curry

This recipe came from a cookbook we brought back from our honeymoon in Jamaica. We found that the local food was delicious (especially since we're huge fans of curry) and it seemed a perfect souvenir for our new home! We didn't have everything that we needed to make this, so some ingredients (sweet potatoes, pumpkin, green cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, green beans) we just skipped and it still came out tasting great!

1 lb potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes)

1 lb sweet potatoes

12 oz peeled and seeded pumpkin

1/2 small green cabbage

1 large carrot

1 red, green or yellow pepper, de-seeded

1/2 cauliflower

8 oz green beans

1 scotch bonnet pepper, de-seeded and chopped

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 spring onion

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1 onion, chopped

6 allspice berries

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tsp curry powder

1/2-1 cup coconut milk

1 tsp garam masala

1. Cut all the vegetables into 1-inch pieces.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet, add the spring onion, thyme, onion, allspice, garlic and curry. Keep stirring until lightly browned.

3. Add coconut milk, depending on amount of vegetables and your taste, and mix in. Add the potatoes. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes.

4. Add the rest of the vegetables and hot pepper to taste. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for another 5-10 minutes, until vegetables are just cooked. Add water at any time if needed, but only enough to prevent sticking. Sprinkle on the garam masala at the end.

I'm a bit late posting this week..

But I still wanted to do this. Somewhat to share some recipes that were really good and somewhat to just keep a cooking record of our first year of marriage :)

Sunday: Enchiladas

Monday: Chicken breasts rubbed with jerk sauce (brought back from Jamaica where we spent our honeymoon) and a modified I-tal Curry (I'll post the recipe).

Tuesday: Homemade pizza with sausage, jalapenos, mozarella and onions.

Wednesday: Enchilada leftovers.

Thursday: Pasta Al Forno and salad. (Recipe to come)

Friday: Beer and onion braised chicken carbonnade.

Saturday: No cooking, we're off to see some friends get married! :)