Mo Bakes Mo' Cakes: Savory Entry: Steamed Mussels!

Last night I had my good friend Heather over for dinner (hi Heather!) and I used it as an excuse to cook a fancy dinner (and fancy dessert, of course.) I decided that steamed mussels would be suitably impressive. I improvised this recipe and it turned out awesome so I decided to share it here.

Steamed Mussels
Serves 4-5

4lb fresh, live mussels
6oz tomato paste
About 1/2 bottle of white wine
2 tbsp butter
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp basil

Before you can do any cooking, the mussels need to be cleaned. Put them in a large bowl of clean water and let them soak for half an hour or so. As the mussels breathe, they expel sand and other gunk that you don't want to eat.
Transfer the mussels to another bowl of clean water. As you do so you can de-beard them. The beard is this little clump of fibers coming out of the shell (it'll be obvious when you see it.) All you need to do is get a good grip on it and pull firmly away from the shell.
Last step of mussel cleaning (I promise): using a vegetable brush, scrub off any barnacles, sand, or any other yuck on the outside of the shells and rinse in running water.
Combine all the other ingredients in a large pot and heat until butter is melted and sauce is even.
Add the mussels to the pot and cover. Cook over medium-high heat until the mussels open (about 7-10 minutes.)
Discard any that have not opened.
Enjoy!

I recommend having some fresh bread handy to soak up the sauce. Yum!

For dessert I made espresso creme brulee. (I told you I made fancy dessert!) Maybe I'll share that recipe next time. :-)