February 17, 2012

FFwD: Mussels with chorizo with or without pasta

I'll be honest, I don't like mussels.  I've tried them and it's the texture of them that I don't care for.  My husband on the other hand loves them... Valentine's day made in heaven!  I thought I'll do mussels for him and I'll have the sauce with crab over pasta, perfect.

Once I got my little bag of goodies home, I remembered an episode of Barefoot Contessa where she talked about soaking mussels with flour and water to disgorge any sand.  Ina's never steered me wrong, so I soaked the mussels in 2 quarts of water with 1/3 cup of flour for 30 minutes and then cleaned them all up.

The chorizo and tomato sauce that went with these came together quickly and was delicious.  My husband loved it and had the mussels just with French bread (no grit or sand).  I did a separate pan of sauce for my crab and it was equally as yummy with pasta.  Happy hearts all around <3

All cleaned up and ready for the pot!
Looks good!
Crab version.

11 comments:

  1. A match made in heaven, indeed! Crab sounds really good right now...

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  2. Both versions look wonderful! I love the idea of the crab...sounds delicious!

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    1. Crab is probably my favorite seafood, I just love it!

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  3. Crab sounds really terrific! How fun to be able to make two versions and everyone is happy. Thanks for the Ina tip, I had not seen that before, but everything she does works out when I try it in the kitchen!

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    1. I just love Ina, she's my all time favorite. I've never made anything of hers that I didn't like.

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  4. It's funny how many people seem to have made this recipe for Valentine's Day and either the cook or the spouse had something different. Glad to hear that this worked out for you. I loved it and can't wait to make it again, either with mussels or any of the other seafood that people have had success with. I'm adding crab to that list.

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    1. We actually had 3 different meals on V-day because my kids wanted soup :). I really enjoyed the sauce and it was great with the crab.

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  5. Mmmh... I would have had mussels AND crab on mine. Looks awesome, Robin!

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  6. First, I think I have that same cutting board! And, second, I like that you made a crab version. Both dishes look very tasty!

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  7. That crab version looks absolutely delicious!

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