Simple mussels or littleneck clams... Appetizer

[Glassunion]

Ingredient list:
1 container of seafood stock
1 bag of mussels or littleneck clams at least 2 dozen
1 bottle of a good(your drinking it later) white wine
1 bunch of fresh basil, about a 1/4 of a cup when chopped, not packed but loose
1 stick of butter
3 large cloves of garlic

Mise en place... Wash and remove the beards from the mussels. Finely chop the garlic and basil.

In a sauté pan melt 1/2 the butter over a low-medium heat and then add the garlic.
Once the garlic starts to get fragrant add about 1/4 of a cup of the wine to deglase the pan. Let it simmer for about 3 minutes, don't let it get to a rolling boil
Add 1/2 a cup of the stock and let it simmer for about another 5 minutes.
Add the mussels or clams, fluid should not cover the mussels or clams, cover the pan and increase heat to medium.
Once the mussels/clams open, remove them from the broth and retain 1/3 of a cup of the broth, reduce heat back to medium low.
Add the remaining butter to the remaining broth and wait for it to melt.
Add the basil to the broth along with the mussels. Add more wine to taste. Toss for about 1 minute.

Remove the mussels/clams and serve in a bowl with the sauce. Drink whatever wine is left over with your mussels/clams.

[beac]

1. I love mussels!

Your post made me drool a little.

Alas, good seafood is hard to find around these parts. However, I think I will have that glass of wine now... ;)

[Glassunion]

2. Not sure where in VA you live, but Wegman's might be worth the drive.

They are pricy, however they have a great seafood selection.

I'm lucky enough to live within 5 miles of one of their stores.

[beac]

3. I love Wegman's too... and, alas, live far, far, FAR from the nearest one.

:(

I do take coolers to the DC area whenever I go up there so I can make pilgrimages to Wegman's and Trader Joe's.

[Glassunion]

4. I guess I should not mention how close my Trader Joe's is?

I feel for you. I used to have to drive for two hours one way to get to a wegman's and tj's.

What part of the state are you in?

[beac]

5. OK, now you're just torturing me outright!

I live in the SW part of the state. Lovely and wonderful in many ways, but no food shopping mecca by a long shot.

[Glassunion]

6. Maybe this will help.

I'm kind of old school when it comes to my food shopping. We are lucky in where we live. On my drive home(1 hour commute), I can stop at a farm-stand for produce, a baker for my bread, a butcher for my meat and a fishmonger for my seafood.

Here is a list that may help you find some good fresh seafood closer to where you live. http://www.virginiaseafood.org/consumers/retailers/pdfs/Virginia-Seafood-Retailers.pdf

[beac]

7. What a great list!

A quick skim found a couple of places within get-it-safely-home-in-the-cooler-with-lots-of-ice, so I'll have to give one or more a try the next time I am wandering by.


Thanks! :hi:

[Glassunion]

8. What we did, when we did not love so close to things was

invest in one of those coolers that you can plug into your car's power port. It's like taking the fridge right to the store. Also great for road trips.

[beac]

9. Oh dear... now you've added somethng to my wish list and about

100 other potential things to my TJ & Wegman's shopping lists!

[Glassunion]

10. Also Whole Foods is good.

There a couple near the SW portion of VA.

[beac]

11. I haven't shopped at Whole Foods since their right wingnut CEO published

that anti-healthcare op-ed. In a happy bit of schadenfreude, he later went on to complain bitterly about the dramatic rate increase of the "wonderful" "free market" WF policy he was bragging on in the piece.

Also, I used to live in a WF town and learned from some of their suppliers that they are not as green and local-producer-friendly as they would like their customers to believe.

[Glassunion]

12. Iyar rethink my opinion of them.

Thanks for the heads up.

Pisses me off. If only the world could be run like the company I work for. We would all be taken care of.