How the French do it

I'm a big fan of mussels but have never made them.  We would get them at brunch when we went to a French place and we got them last week at the Kitchen.  They're always good and I always love eating them but for some reason I can never make them a whole meal b/c I feel like they just wouldn't be enough.  Yesterday was cold and gray and something warm sounded good.  I didn't want to make chili b/c it's not THAT cold and for some reason I'm weird about making soup.  Sooo mussels seemed to be the best option. It was cheap, easy, and served with some sourdough.

The ingredients were:

mussels

chopped tomatoes

onions

garlic

butter

olive oil

salt

pepper

white wine

crushed red pepper

thyme

To start, I purged the mussels in water and flour for about 30 minutes.  This caused them to release their "beards" which I then removed.  

 Once this was ready, I started up the mussels.  To begin, I melted the butter with the olive oil in a pot and then added the onions.  They cooked for about 5 minutes and then the garlic was added.  I let both of these cook together until the onion was translucent.

Next, the other stuff was added.  Everything except for the mussels.

 Once it came to a boil, the mussels were added.  I rinsed them a couple of times to get rid of the flour.  The heat was turned down to about medium to let it simmer.  I was worried they were overcrowded and wouldn't open b/c apparently that can be a problem but about 10 minutes later I looked in and they were done!  I made sure to toss them every few minutes just to get the juices flowing.  I did this by holding the pot with the lid on and shaking it up and down.  I didn't want to open the lid b/c then it would release heat.

So I didn't take a picture of the bread b/c it's just a sliced half loaf of sourdough.

 They don't look that pretty in my pictures but they were so good!! I made a plate with olive oil, salt, pepper, and parmesan for dipping just in case the liquid wasn't enough but mixed together they were great! I was so pleased that they came out as well as they did.  They weren't overcooked and rubbery but delicious.  I bought 4 pounds and I think that was just enough.  The garlic, wine, and tomatoes all mixed so well together with flavor.  This dish was so easy and inexpensive to make.  I highly suggest it on a cold day.