Great Wine, Great Mussels

The other day I was visiting some beautiful wineries in the area and did a little wine tasting. While at Beaumont Estate Winery I found out several things.  One, they are organic, which is good for us as we live next to their vineyard and were a little concerned with the spraying.  No worries now!

The second is that we started discussing how Gewurtraminer was a great wine to make with steamed mussells.  And I had a little mini aha moment. I was always under the impression that you cook with leftover wine.  My husband and I love wine, but we don't drink a lot of it. We rarely finish a bottle that we open...so I realized that I should cook with the wine first, leaving at least 2 glasses to drink with our meal! 

That evening I arrived home with a new bottle of wine and a pound of mussells.  And started to search for a recipe, and here is a good one from Martha Stewart! Easy Peasy!

Mussels in White Wine and Garlic

Ingredients

2 cups dry white wine

4 large shallots, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 pounds live mussels

1/3 cup mixed fresh herbs, such as flat-leaf parsley, chervil, or basil, chopped

6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Directions

1.Rinse and scrub mussels under cold running water. Using your fingers or a paring knife, remove beards (strings that hang from the mussels' shells), and discard.

2.In a large stockpot set over medium heat, combine wine, shallots, garlic, and salt. Simmer 5 minutes. Add mussels.

3.Cover, and increase heat to high. Cook until all mussels are open, about 5 minutes. Stir in herbs and butter. Remove from heat. Divide mussels and broth among four bowls. Serve immediately.