The smoked tuna dip and mussels were new recipes and both were great. Here’s a couple Xmas Eve photos and recipe for the mussels – great because you can make them totally ahead, pop them under the broiler when ready to serve and they’re super tasty.
Xmas eve mass… church asked everyone to take photos before mass startedposing girls
Owen was the Xmas Even entertainment
opening presents
Xmas jammies 2017girl power
Mussels Stuffed with Spinach and Parmesan
Fine Cooking Issue 14
1 cup dry white wine
4 Tbs. finely chopped shallots
1 tsp. cracked black pepper
4 sprigs parsley
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (omit if fresh isn’t available)
28 medium mussels (about 2 lb.), sorted and cleaned
for the stuffing:
2 Tbs. butter or olive oil
2 cups lightly packed, washed, stemmed, and chopped fresh spinach
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 Tbs. chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Combine the wine, 2 Tbs. of the shallots, pepper, parsley sprigs, bay leaf, and thyme in a pot (with a lid) large enough to accommodate the mussels when their shells have opened. Bring to a boil, add the mussels, cover, and steam until just opened, 2 to 3 minutes. Try not to steam the mussels longer than necessary, because they’ll be cooked again later. Remove the mussels with a slotted spoon and set aside. Strain the cooking liquid through a strainer lined with several layers of cheesecloth and reserve.
For the stuffing—Heat the butter in a heavy-based pan. Add the remaining shallots and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the spinach, cover, and cook briefly until the spinach wilts. Uncover and cook until the liquid from the spinach evaporates, another 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the strained mussel liquid and cook until the mixture is almost dry, about 5 minutes. Add the cream and again cook until the mixture is almost dry, about 10 minutes. Add the chopped parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper; the mixture should be quite peppery.
Heat the broiler. Remove the mussels from their shells. Make a bed of rock salt or crumpled foil on a baking sheet (to steady the shells) and arrange as many half shells as you have mussel meats. Put a mussel meat on each half shell and spoon a teaspoonful of the spinach mixture over each. Top with the grated cheese and broil until golden and bubbly, 4 to 6 minutes. Serve with small forks and bread to soak up the rich juices
12/2017 note: I made a double batch – with about 4 lbs of smallish mussels – way over 100 – and two reg bags of fresh spinach. I ran out of spinach for the last bit so would make more spinach next time.
Eat On Edgecliff 