Classic Moules in White Wine Sauce

I was inspired to make moules (i.e. mussels) at home after seeing a Geoffrey Zakarian recipe on The Kitchen. Mussels always seem like an impressive dish at restaurants and it's amazing that they are so easy, fast, and cheap to make at home. A 2 lb. bag of mussels is $7 or less, depending on where you live.

While the recipe is for moules frites, it doesn't include steps for making fries and just says to serve with fries. So, I've just made the mussels, sans frites, and serve with crusty bread instead. This sauce is SO tasty that you'll want to mop it all up with bread anyway.

This dish cooks ridiculously fast. The prep time takes longer than it does to cook it. On the show, they mention letting the mussels sit in a bowl of cold water twice before cooking, but this is not included in the prep time of the recipe on the site. I let them sit in cold water for about 30 minutes to let them release any sand. But, I don't repeat because I don't have the patience.

Check the mussels for any that are cracked or open and won't close after giving them a tap. These mussels are dead and should be discarded. Remove any fuzzy beards from the live mussels.

It's best to have all the prep done and ingredients measured out first. Once you start cooking, it's very quick so having everything ready to go makes life much easier.

Here's how things looked once I got cooking:

Softening shallots & garlic

Added white wine, salt, & pepper

Add cleaned mussels & cover

After 3 minutes

If there are any mussels that didn't open during cooking, throw those out as well because those aren't good either. Luckily, they all opened this time!

If I don't have creme fraîche, I've substituted with some heavy cream in the sauce. Here, I used creme fraîche.

I really like how the whole grain mustard adds just a bit of tang to the sauce and another depth of flavor.

As a main dish, this is really 2 servings. As an appetizer, it could work for 4. And don't forget the crusty bread!

My Rating (out of 5): 5

Orecchiette with Sausage and Kale Recipe

I was craving this pasta dish after seeing a version of it on TV and searched the web for comparable recipes. There weren't as many recipes that turned up to my surprise and none that really grabbed my interest. I found a similar recipe by Michael Symon and made a couple of changes to make the following version. I really enjoyed how the lemon zest and juice added another dimension of flavor. And the butter gives the dish some silkiness.

Orecchiette with Sausage and Kale

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1 Lb orecchiette pasta, preferably DeCecco
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, separated
• 1 Lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (if you like more heat, use 1/2 teaspoon)
• 10 - 16 oz Tuscan kale, washed & chopped with stems (1" wide)
• 2 cups pasta water, separated
• 1 tablespoon Lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons Lemon juice
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Italian parsley, finely chopped

Directions

Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil with 3 tablespoons of kosher salt. Cook the pasta until very al dente, about 8 minutes (or 1 minute less than the package instructions for al dente). Stir occasionally to make sure the orecchiette doesn't stick together. Remove the pasta to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set it aside. Do not rinse the pasta. Reserve 3 cups of pasta water before discarding.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large Dutch oven or saute pan over medium high heat. Add the sausage, breaking it into pieces with a wooden spoon, and brown until pink is gone, about 5-6 minutes. Add the kale and red pepper flakes and cook down for 2 minutes.

Add 1 cup of the reserved pasta water and simmer for 1 minute. Add the cooked pasta and simmer until pasta is done, about 2 more minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest, cheese, butter, and 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Taste and season with additional salt if needed. Plate and sprinkle the parsley on top, then serve.

If you have leftovers, refrigerate the remaining 2 cups of reserved pasta water to use to reheat leftovers the next day. Sprinkle some of the pasta water when reheating, but don't poor too much or the pasta will get soggy. You likely won't use all of the pasta water.

I like to buy pre-chopped kale and Trader Joe's comes in 10 oz. bags. If you buy whole kale leaves in bunches, 3/4 to 1 lb. is fine. You can also use curly kale if Tuscan kale isn't available.

I like to be able to control the spice level so I use sweet Italian sausage and red pepper flakes. However, you could substitute with hot Italian sausage and leave out the red pepper flakes.

Shepherd's Pie

As the weather gets colder, I start to crave comforting foods like shepherd's pie.  A few years ago, I found this Anne Burrell recipe on Food Network's site when I was in the mood for shepherd's pie.  I had never made shepherd's pie before and haven't had it often in restaurants, so I thought I'd try to make it at home.

Shepherd's Pie from Anne Burrell

The leeks in this dish really add flavor and I wouldn't want to substitute for onions here.  The red wine and slow cooking develop rich flavors and a nice thick stew/filling for the pie.  And using Yukon gold potatoes helps make the mashed potatoes creamy.  This is a really great recipe and I've stuck with it to make shepherd's pie.

The recipe calls for lamb shoulder or leg, and I've made it with each on different occasions.  Both were great for the dish, but if I had to choose, I prefer shoulder a little more because I found it more tender.  I also made this with beef shoulder for friends who didn't like lamb and it turned out just as good.  So beef is a great way to keep this dish lower cost.

It does take a few hours to make so it's not for a quick dinner.

My Rating (out of 5): 5