Saturday 16 April 2011

Steve's birthday meal

Steve is 50 mumble today. Inconsiderate spouse that I am I didn't get him a card (eek), and my offer of breakfast in bed was rejected as he was up and at the table almost before me. Work beckoned. I also found out that he thinks coffee tastes funny when consumed in bed.

I have booked theatre tickets for later this week.

We went to the fishmonger on Golborne Road and bought mussels, to eat a la mariniere. The fishmonger proposed a sackful but we kept to the approximate 1 pint (570ml) per person, even though it was a main course, as we intended to eat a loaf of bread, mopping up the juices. That is still a small saucepanful each.

Also pudding was tiramisu - the success of this is subject to debate. It tasted good, but I think it needed to sit longer. Also, I used some sponge cake I'd dried off, and it didn't want to absorb the coffee, it was coffee resistant. The quantities were too generous as well, making 8 glasses (individual portions). So I will have another shot at it before I post the recipe.

Moules mariniere for two enthusiastic eaters

2 pints moules
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 large wineglass of dry white wine
generous pepper
good blob butter
two tablespoonfuls of chopped parsly
1 french stick

put the mussels in a large bowl of fresh water.
Peel the onion and garlic. Slice both to taste.
fry gently in casserole large enough to house the mussels, until the onion is transparent.
while onion and garlic is frying
Clean the mussels, pulling off beards and anything loose on the shell. Discard any cracked or open mussels.
Drain the mussels, shaking off excess water, and add to the pot with the onion and garlic, with lots of pepper and one tablespoonful of chopped parsly.
Turn up the heat, shake the lot around and throw in the glass of wine.
cover the pot and cook for maximum five minutes

Shake the pot around - if you fancy it, throw in some cream - decant the mussels into a large bowl, sprinkle over the second spoonful of parsley and tuck in.

You'll need a bowl for discarded shells, napkins for your chins, and bread for soaking in the jus.

We eat them in bowls.

No comments:

Post a Comment