Mouthwatering Mussels

Mussels are one of my favorite foods. I've eaten them along my travels and I have to say the ones that are my favorites are the ones I am eating at any given moment. On this particular night, I felt a crock of steaming mollusks was in order.

I needed inspiration and warmth and a meal prepared with my own hands. Normandy France has to be the all around most fun and delicious batch of the bunch. Now I've learned what works to enhance the dish to bring out the best of this ingredient. The key is to get fresh mussels, that is the only hard part about making this dish.

Fortunately, I have my pick of excellent fish markets to provide the fresh catch of the day.

For steaming the mussels:
2 lb fresh mussels, scrubbed
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs parsley
Black pepper

Note: Discard any mussels that do not open after steaming for 10 minutes.

Lemon Caper sauce:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove of minced garlic
1 Tbsp small capers (in brine)
1/3 cup or so of the mussel broth (from steaming the mussels)
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 t sea salt

Slide them into bowls with the lemon caper sauce. Serve with crusty bread to soak up the liquid.