I have heard so many women say they love cooking, but would never cook just for themselves…
If that’s you, I’m here to convince you otherwise! Cooking for YOU is SUCH a fabulous way to unwind and treat yourself well—and it does NOT have to be crazy time-consuming.
Today I’m showing you how to make a simple bistro classic that transports you to the south of France in 15 minutes! You’ll be shocked at how simple it is to whip up mussels and how DIVINE it is to enjoy them at home…
2 tablespoons of butter
Olive oil, salt & pepper
5-7 shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves
1 tablespoon thyme, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup dry white cooking wine
1/2 cup chopped, canned plum tomatoes (4 oz), drained
1 sourdough baguette
4 tablespoons garlic, finely chopped
1 stick of butter at room temperature
4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2. Add in the 5 shallots, finely chopped. Coat with the butter in the pan, add a pinch of salt and some freshly ground pepper.
3. Now, add 3 cloves, about a tablespoon of chopped thyme, 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley, and about a cup of dry white cooking wine (I used Chardonnay) as the base. Stir it all together.
4. Lastly, add about 1/4 cup of plum tomatoes, strained. Leave the broth mixture to lightly simmer on low heat.
5. Prep the mussels. Over a sink, rinse the mussels to rid them of any dirt or sand. Next, get rid of the beard of each mussel—the webbing on the outside of the shells. Pull all of it off of each mussel shell. Then go through and check that every mussel is shut. If it isn’t, give it a little tap and if it doesn’t then close all of the way, discard it.
6. Then, add the mussels to your simmering broth mixture. Cooking the mussels should take just a few minutes. Cook them until the mussel shells naturally open up. Make sure to discard any mussels that fail to open up.
7. Now, prep your garlic bread. Set your oven on Broil.
9. Next, add a little salt and massage all of the ingredients together in the parchment paper. Make sure all of the ingredients are evenly dispersed. (If you don’t have parchment paper, you can also just mix the butter, garlic and parsley in a bowl.)
10. Slice your loaf of bread (I used a sourdough baguette) in half (so that you have the thickest two sides possible) and then cut it in half again. Then, take your yummy garlic butter and spread it generously onto the bread.
11. Place your bread in the broiler for just a few minutes.
12. Now, check on the mussels. You should see that some of the mussels have opened. If they have not all opened yet, give it a few more minutes.
13. Once your bread has browned on the outside and the garlic is caramelized, take it out of the oven and check your mussels! They should all be wide open now and if not, make sure to discard any that are still closed. Dinner for one has been served! Enjoy.
Trust me…life gets SO good when you give yourself permission to make the “average” Wednesday night this special.
Enjoy, dahhhhling!
All My Love,
Gina DeVee
P.S. We all put in our hustle during the workweek. We also deserve to relax! I want to see you make this, so post your pictures below and tag your friends who also deserve to treat themselves like a Queen on an “ordinary” Wednesday!
