O, BOY! The MUSSELS are COMING!
Lass Chance_2
New Zealand MUSSELS!
O boy O boy...we will toss them in my cast iron Dutch Oven with some
olive oiil and white wine...garlic....YUM!!!
Also bringing a French baguette.... and a CASE of "two-buck Chuck", this
really good but ridic cheap wine by Charles Somebody, that he gets at
Trader Vic's.
I have parseley and thyme in my garden...O! This will be a dinner! I
cant wait!
I cant help but feel sorry for the poor little mussels, tho...do you
think it hurts them?
I mean...I KNOW they're very simple life forms...but...do you think they
have heat-sensing nerves? I mean...does it hurt them?
Isnt it kind of a bummer than living things have to die for us to eat?
I know this is "Nature's Way" and all that...but still, isnt it kind of
sad?
I guess, If I wasnt fixin to EAT their little butts, an octopus or
something would....
I could never be a vegetarian. Im sorry, but I just couldnt. Still...I
cant help but feel sorry for them.
Oh well,. MUSSELS ARE COMING!
This reminds me of a funny story. The first time I had mussels was in
Brussels. They brought us a HUGE pile of mussels, WAY more than we
could possily eat, and being Americans, we asked for a "Doggy bag". The
Waiter looked at us as if we had just removed our clothes and danced on
the table top..."You want to take them WITH you?" he said in apparent
disbelief. "They will be NO good!" But we insisted and he found some
newspaper to wrap them in, grumbling about "insane Americans" all the
while...and I guess we musrt have looked like a pair of genuine a-holes
to him....but we took the excess mussels to the
friend-we-were-staying-with and the next day, made a pot of pasta with
the mussels for sauce and it was fabulous.
Im guessing asking for a Doggy Bag is uh...uncouth in Europe? WHAT
would they have done with the excess mussels? Thrown them OUT?
or....served them to the next customer and gotten paid TWICE?
Screw dat...we paid for em...we took them with us!...and we tipped quite
liberally.
LassChance
merryb
Trader Joe's!! I like the 2 buck chuck (Charles Shaw) merlot, myself.
Julia Altshuler
>
> This reminds me of a funny story. The first time I had mussels was in
> Brussels. They brought us a HUGE pile of mussels, WAY more than we
> could possily eat, and being Americans, we asked for a "Doggy bag". The
> Waiter looked at us as if we had just removed our clothes and danced on
> the table top..."You want to take them WITH you?" he said in apparent
> disbelief. "They will be NO good!" But we insisted and he found some
> newspaper to wrap them in, grumbling about "insane Americans" all the
> while...and I guess we musrt have looked like a pair of genuine a-holes
> to him....but we took the excess mussels to the
> friend-we-were-staying-with and the next day, made a pot of pasta with
> the mussels for sauce and it was fabulous.
>
> Im guessing asking for a Doggy Bag is uh...uncouth in Europe? WHAT
> would they have done with the excess mussels? Thrown them OUT?
> or....served them to the next customer and gotten paid TWICE?
The only place I've traveled in Europe is France. We ran into no
trouble asking for leftovers to be wrapped so we could take them home.
I have an English speaking friend in France who is married to a native
French man. They say they frequently ask for leftovers to be wrapped.
It's as normal there as it here.
The thing with mussels is that they spoil incredibly quickly. Your
waiter might have known that it's dangerous to keep mussels without
refrigeration for the briefest of times. Mussels are one item that
we're extra special cautious with in our kitchen. We do refrigerate
leftovers for the next day's use, but you can be sure they're cooled
quickly and refrigerated promptly. It's possible your waiter was trying
to discourage you from taking them the long way home. He couldn't know
if your hotel had a refrigerator. He might have been having trouble
communicating that he was worried about your health and safety that
could come from spoiled food.
Not only that, some foods improve when served as leftovers; some don't.
Mussels aren't a stew with flavors that are as good or better the next
day. Mussels were meant to be served fresh. Your waiter might not have
been concerned for food safety, he might have been concerned that you
were eating sub-optimum food. A good waiter who cares about you doesn't
just care that you eat excellent food while you're in his establishment.
He wants you to eat excellent food all the time and everywhere.
Letting you take the mussels home so you could eat them when they
weren't fresh, in his mind, would be like if he served you stale,
not-so-good, mussels that very night. If he's a good waiter who is
proud of his profession and proud of the food he serves, he doesn't want
bad food being eaten that has his name on it.
It's the same idea that goes behind a waiter objecting when a customer
wants to order the wrong wine with a meal. The food won't taste right
with the wrong wine, and it's his job to make sure the wine tastes
right. Americans are appalled at being bossed around by a mere waiter,
but the waiter is appalled at Americans ruining excellent food. They
see themselves as professionals with a lot of training and knowledge who
are being dissed. It would be like standing up in class and telling a
university professor with several advanced degrees in a scientific field
that you know more about his field than he does because your opinion is
as good as his.
Also, what term did you use for "doggy bag"? A lot could be lost in
translation there. Here in the states, we know that doggy bag is just a
cute term that doesn't mean the food will be fed to a dog.
So I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that Europeans throw out good food
or would stoop to selling the same food twice. It's a cultural
misunderstanding; that's all.
--Lia
Dan Abel
LassCh...@webtv.net (Lass Chance_2) wrote:
> Also bringing a French baguette.... and a CASE of "two-buck Chuck", this
> really good but ridic cheap wine by Charles Somebody, that he gets at
> Trader Vic's.
Charles Shaw, who had a very good reputation for identifying good
quality odd lots of wine and blending them. He got them cheap, since
they were odd lots. Some people used to complain that his wine wasn't
consistent. Well, obviously not, since he bought for quality and cheap
price. It is sold by Trader Joes, which used to also have a reputation
for odd lots at a cheap price, until they went national.
Charles Shaw sold the name to Franzia, which is the sixth largest winery
in the world. I don't know what the quality is like now, since I
haven't tried it since then. Note also that two buck chuck
traditionally sells for US$1.99 in California, and US$2.99 some other
places.
--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA
da...@sonic.net
Victor Sack
> This reminds me of a funny story. The first time I had mussels was in
> Brussels. They brought us a HUGE pile of mussels, WAY more than we
> could possily eat, and being Americans, we asked for a "Doggy bag".
How is this possible? In Brussels, the servings are usually about a
kilo each, seconds (which you can refuse) including. Just about right
for one person with an average appetite. I usually have an hors d'oeuvre
first and then the mussels. They are light food and it wouldn't even
occur to me to ask for the unmentionable.
Victor
Arri London
It's 2.99 here in the not-California desert. We bought some earlier this
year. Drinkable enough but hardly prize-winning :)
Arri London
Janet Baraclough wrote:
>
> The message <20741-48F...@storefull-3334.bay.webtv.net>
> from LassCh...@webtv.net (Lass Chance_2) contains these words:
>
> > Im guessing asking for a Doggy Bag is uh...uncouth in Europe?
>
> You might get away with it if you have a dog with you, and it's
> cute. Otherwise, best not :-)
>
> WHAT
> > would they have done with the excess mussels?
>
> That is an unknown concept. There can never be too many mussels. The
> shells make them look more than they are
> and raising them to your mouth burns calories..
> I'd just have kept eating them till they were all gone, and still
> had room for the liquor :-)
>
> Janet.
With you on that one! Have yet to eat my fill of mussels at a
restaurant, even in Belgium. Fresh mussels, cooked properly, served with
frites and some Belgian beers. *sigh* Those were the good old days :)
Lynn from Fargo
> liberally.
>
> LassChance
Oh boy, sounds like you guys nearly had a tussle in Brussels over
mussels!
<groan>
Lynn in Fargo
koko
You are too funny. Now, please come clean off my monitor for that.
koko
There is no love more sincere than the love of food
George Bernard Shaw
www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 10/14
Lynn from Fargo
> On Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:55:47 -0700 (PDT), Lynn from Fargo
>
> >> Screw dat...we paid for em...we took them with us!...and we tipped quite
> >> liberally.
>
> >> LassChance
> >========================
>
> >Oh boy, sounds like you guys nearly had a tussle in Brussels over
> >mussels!
> ><groan>
> >Lynn in Fargo
>
> You are too funny. Now, please come clean off my monitor for that.
>
> koko
> There is no love more sincere than the love of food
> George Bernard Shawwww.kokoscorner.typepad.com
> updated 10/14
==========================
Thank you <bow>
Lynn in Fargo
Bruce K.
Bob Terwilliger
> My best friend, Jake is coming up today from Atlanta and bringing some
> New Zealand MUSSELS!
>
> O boy O boy...we will toss them in my cast iron Dutch Oven with some
> olive oiil and white wine...garlic....YUM!!!
A couple nights ago Lin and I made mussels according to Anne Burrell's
recipe on "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef." Since there were only two of us,
we cut down the recipe appropriately. We also made the salad and side dish
from that episode:
www.foodnetwork.com/secrets-of-a-restaurant-chef/the-secrets-to-steamed-mussels/index.html
The fennel with grapefruit needed something; if I make it again I'll
sprinkle it with toasted almond slivers to add some sweetness and crunch.
Still, it was a surprising and pleasant flavor combination.
I know there are many people out there who are fans of Parmesan crisps, but
I'd rather just have shaved Parm-Reggiano. I followed the recipe and I'm
somewhat sad that I did; the Parmesan crisps lack the nice crunchy crystals
that uncooked Parm-Reggiano has. The salad *was* a nice foil to the other
dinner elements, though.
Regarding the mussels themselves, I didn't add the aioli to the pot. Lin
prefers mussels with heavy cream, so I heated a pitcher of cream which she
poured into her bowl of mussels and proclaimed herself delighted with the
results. I made myself a mock aioli from mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice,
and sambal oelek and added it to my bowl. As a result I am now a huge fan of
sambal-spiked aioli with steamed mussels. I just wished I'd made some fries
to dip into the aioli as well.
I don't know if anybody else has been watching "Secrets of a Restaurant
Chef" on the Food Network. The show has been on sporadically since June, but
has just been assigned a regular time slot on Saturday mornings. Anne
Burrell is perhaps best-known as one of the sous chefs for Mario Batali on
"Iron Chef America," but she's a very good chef in her own right. She has
some mannerisms which will probably be grating to some viewers, like her
occasional lapses into what I think of as her "Cookie Monster voice." She's
also partial to vegetables which are BARELY cooked; she blanched broccoli
raab for less than ten seconds before shocking it in ice water and only
slightly reheating it for serving. That represents a very radical departure
from Mario Batali's practice of cooking vegetables thoroughly, and it won't
be to everybody's tastes. Those caveats aside, the episodes I've seen have
been quite interesting, and I plan to keep watching.
Bob
Lin
> The fennel with grapefruit needed something; if I make it again I'll
> sprinkle it with toasted almond slivers to add some sweetness and crunch.
> Still, it was a surprising and pleasant flavor combination.
I enjoyed the salad very much -- considering I can't stand licorice or
anise. I can handle fennel in very small amounts -- but the way this was
prepped it was quite tasty. I'd have it again.
> Regarding the mussels themselves, I didn't add the aioli to the pot. Lin
> prefers mussels with heavy cream, so I heated a pitcher of cream which she
> poured into her bowl of mussels and proclaimed herself delighted with the
> results. I made myself a mock aioli from mayonnaise, garlic, lemon
> juice, and sambal oelek and added it to my bowl. As a result I am now a
> huge fan of sambal-spiked aioli with steamed mussels. I just wished I'd
> made some fries to dip into the aioli as well.
I'd like to point out that even though he heated a pitcher of cream, the
broth only needed one or two tablespoons. I did try Bob's aioli, and it
was nice. A little spicy for me, which detracted from the mussels, but
still nice.
> I don't know if anybody else has been watching "Secrets of a Restaurant
> Chef" on the Food Network. The show has been on sporadically since June,
> but
> has just been assigned a regular time slot on Saturday mornings. Anne
> Burrell is perhaps best-known as one of the sous chefs for Mario Batali on
> "Iron Chef America," but she's a very good chef in her own right. She has
> some mannerisms which will probably be grating to some viewers, like her
> occasional lapses into what I think of as her "Cookie Monster voice."
I think it's her version of Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor's man grunt. A
drinking game could be worked around it! Well, that and her using the
term "loosey-goosey."
--Lin
Nancy Young
> I don't know if anybody else has been watching "Secrets of a
> Restaurant Chef" on the Food Network. The show has been on
> sporadically since June, but has just been assigned a regular time
> slot on Saturday mornings. Anne Burrell is perhaps best-known as one
> of the sous chefs for Mario Batali on "Iron Chef America," but she's
> a very good chef in her own right. She has some mannerisms which will
> probably be grating to some viewers, like her occasional lapses into
> what I think of as her "Cookie Monster voice." She's also partial to
> vegetables which are BARELY cooked; she blanched broccoli raab for
> less than ten seconds before shocking it in ice water and only
> slightly reheating it for serving. That represents a very radical
> departure from Mario Batali's practice of cooking vegetables
> thoroughly, and it won't be to everybody's tastes. Those caveats
> aside, the episodes I've seen have been quite interesting, and I plan
> to keep watching.
I like her. She's a breath of fresh air. I have last week's show
recorded, I wondered where she'd disappeared to. I didn't know
her history, but it's obvious she knows her way around a kitchen.
I like my vegetable crisp but not still raw. I've had green bean,
especially, served where they are unpleasantly not cooked. I'd
rather just eat them raw than eat them that way. I like them still
crunchy and green, yet cooked.
nancy
sf
<virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote:
>I don't know if anybody else has been watching "Secrets of a Restaurant
>Chef" on the Food Network. The show has been on sporadically since June, but
>has just been assigned a regular time slot on Saturday mornings. Anne
>Burrell is perhaps best-known as one of the sous chefs for Mario Batali on
>"Iron Chef America," but she's a very good chef in her own right. She has
>some mannerisms which will probably be grating to some viewers, like her
>occasional lapses into what I think of as her "Cookie Monster voice." She's
>also partial to vegetables which are BARELY cooked; she blanched broccoli
>raab for less than ten seconds before shocking it in ice water and only
>slightly reheating it for serving.
OK, now I know who you're talking about. I saw that episode. She's
good!
>That represents a very radical departure
>from Mario Batali's practice of cooking vegetables thoroughly, and it won't
>be to everybody's tastes.
So if you like mushy vegetables, cook them longer.
>Those caveats aside, the episodes I've seen have
>been quite interesting, and I plan to keep watching.
--
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that
interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.
Mae West