Mussels In Red Sauce

Oh, dear blog, I have missed you!!!  It's not that I don't cook anymore.....or take pictures of what I cook either!  It's just been a busy spring and summer in my mortgage world and I just haven't had a spare moment to spend time with you!  But today I was determined to start emptying my picture files and filling yours up!

So, yesterday was a "Cola" day....and I did what I most love to do and visited my fave mall....MacArthur Mall in Norfolk!  I visited all of my favorite stores and bought nothing!  So, to soothe my woes and rest my feet, I stopped in at Kincaids for a glass of wine and a bite to eat.  It was after 3, so I hit happy hour!!  I had a glass of chardonnay and a bowl of mussels in red sauce.....and it was fabulous!!!!

On the way home, I stopped at Harris Teeter to grab some grub for the week and they had mussels for $3.99 a bag, so I decided to try to duplicate this recipe sometime this week!  Well, Dennis saw the mussels in the fridge this morning and got excited, so I decided to try them today!  Mussels two days in a row?  Score!

I gathered my ingredients.....mussels (of course!), garlic (fresh!!!), basil (homegrown), onion, oregano (not fresh....mine didn't survive for some reason!), crushed red peppers,olive oil, red wine and San Marzano tomatoes (believe it or not, I'd never cooked with them before!).

I diced the onions (I guess it was about 1/3 cup)....

and crushed 6 cloves of garlic.

I heated my beloved dutch over, poured in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and let that heat....then I added the onions and garlic and let them cook slowly, while stirring....just until they are softened.  I then added about 1 teaspoon of oregano, 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red peppers and let those flavors blend.

Next I opened the can of San Marzano tomatoes....(oh wow!  They ARE fabulous!)....poured those in and let them warm up a bit...then I added about 1 cup of the red wine and let the sauce simmer on low for about 1/2 hour. 

While the sauce was doing its thing, I did mine.....I cleaned and sorted through the mussels.  Make sure you throw out any mussels that will not close when tapped and also scrub them well and rinse several times.

I also picked some fresh basil.....

....and diced into a chiffonade by stacking the leaves.....

....rolling them up.......

...and slicing them into thin strips.

Now back to the sauce.....I added the basil at this point....

..time to add the mussels.....

....and settle them into their warm bath!

I let them cook on a low simmer for about 10 minutes.....then I scooped them into a bowl and added minced fresh parsley....

....poured a glass of wine and savored every last mussel....ummmm....morsel!!!

I love mussels and typically make them with white wine, garlic, shallots and butter....but this was delicious!!!  I'll make these again...and again...and again!

Quick and Classy Cassoulet

The daffodils around the house are a stark reminder that warmer weather is around the corner,

although the nights are still pretty chilly!  So, what comes to my mind?  Food.......yes, food.  Winter food is my favorite.....summer food is all about simplicity.....light dishes and lots of grilling, even though the winter doesn't stop us from that!

But I knew that time was running out for making my cassoulet and if I didn't make it soon, I'd be getting some strange looks from this guy that I live with!  So, on what may have been the last cool day of the year I started cooking this one pot wonder at noon.....I cut the bacon (about 4 or 5 slices) into what the French call a lardon (hey, it's diced/cut up bacon, but you have to admit that lardon sounds much nicer....

either way, they look pretty much the same, although in France it isn't smoked.....but you try finding unsmoked bacon in Virginia!  Hmm.....I think that could be against the law...maybe. 

Anyway, while my bacon was frying, I started prepping my mirepoix, also known as a "holy trinity"......carrots, celery and onions (about a cup of each...or so)! 

I lightly sauteed them with garlic (about 4 cloves)....

 and set them aside, along with the bacon.

Next, it was time to prepare the meats.  I used bratwurst (I used 5 links) and cut it into chunks...

....and browned it and set it aside.

Then I cut up boneless chicken thighs (I used 5 thighs) and browned them....

....at the last minute adding some leeks (I'm a Leek Lover!).

Once the chicken was browned, I added the sausage back in, a nice sized sprig of thyme and two bay leaves.  Then I used about 1.5 cups of chicken stock and about a cup of brandy and let that simmer for about 15 minutes.  This allows the alcohol to cook off, since this dish is covered for baking.

Next I added two tablespoons of tomato paste....

...and a can of diced tomatoes....

Then I added in the bacon....

Then I layered the vegetables on top of the meat mixture....

...then I layered on top of that 2 cans of cannellini beans....

....covered and put in the oven at 350 degrees for about 2 hours.

After two hours, take it out and uncover. 

 I used about 5 slices of fresh bread, some butter (I found FRENCH butter....awesome!) and chopped fresh parsley....I put the bread in the food processor and ground it until fine,

added the butter and parsley and mixed it until it held together when pressed. 

and spread it on top of the cooked mixture,

then put it back in the oven until lightly browed.  When I served it, I added chopped green onions, just because I like the freshness....

We really enjoyed this dish and it just as delicious as leftovers!  Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas Verdes

San Antonio, Texas is one of my favorite places to visit....and now my beautiful daughter, Shelby, lives there!  The Tex-Mex food I've had there is wonderful!  A few years ago I had an opportunity to visit on a company trip and I took a cooking class at Aldacos Sunset Station with Blanca Aldaco, the high energy owner and chef.  The best part was we got to eat the same dish we were learning how to cook, the Chicken Enchiladas Verdes.  Oh yea.....she also taught us how she makes Margaritas....from scratch!

Wanna know how I made them?  Well, I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs....I just like the texture and moistness of the thighs versus the chicken breats.  But the quick/easy way is to buy a rotisserie chicken and use that!  Ummmm......

First you salt and pepper the breasts, place on a baking sheet......

......baked them at 350 degrees until they were golden brown......

...then I shredded the meat using two forks.

While the chicken was baking, I made the verde sauce.  A verde sauce is made with tomatillos....

Tomatillos are actually a fruit, but you can find them in the tomato section in the produce department.  It is surrounded by a paper-like husk, which is easy to remove.  But you will notice a stick feel to the skin.....just rinse them under running water....comes right off.

Put the tomatillos (about a pound), one quartered onion, 4 or 5 garlic cloves, 1 bell pepper, quartered, a jalepeno or serano pepper, diced, salt to taste and 1/2 bunch cilantro (optional) into water.  Note:  I didn't have any peppers, so I used a small can of diced green chiles, which I added after cooking everything else.

Cook them until they are tender.....

.......and set them aside to cool.  Once they have cooled, put them in a blender or food processor....

and blend until smooth.  At this point, I added just a little cumin, since I didn't have any cilantro on hand.  Set the sauce aside and start assembling your enchiladas.  Just put a bit of the shredded chicken into the tortilla (I use the flour tortillas).

Place them side by side in the casserole dish.

The recipe actually calls for covering them with the sauce, but I think it tends to make them a little more soggy than I prefer, so I cover them with the cheese first....

....then I covered them with the sauce....

...then I baked it at 350 degrees until they were browned and bubbly....

They were delicious.....but no way are they better than the ones I had at Aldacos. 

\ It's now a tradition.....we go there everytime I visit San Antonio now.  Now it's just as much for the unbelievable pear cactus margarita....

.....and the tres leches cake......

....which we dove into before I could even think to take a picture!

So if you're ever in San Antonio, make sure you venture off the Riverwalk just long enough to go to Aldacos Sunset Station to try the chicken enchiladas, the cactus pear margarita and the tres leches cake......or make them yourself!  They're fun to make and more fun to eat!