Adapted from The Seafood Cookbook, Pierre Franey and Bryan Miller (1986 Times Books)
ServingsServes 4
Ingredients
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup chopped shallots
¼ cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
½ teaspoon saffron threads
2 quarts mussels, well-scrubbed with beards removed
Tabasco sauce, to taste
¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
1½ cups dry white wine
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup light cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
1. Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, onion, garlic, and saffron. Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Add the mussels, Tabasco, parsley, and wine. Cover and cook until the mussels have opened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the creams to the cooking liquid and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. If necessary, keep warm over low heat.
Denise Landis had been employed as an archeologist for seven years before a food editor hired her to test some recipes from a cookbook manuscript. This short stint led to longer assignments, and two years later she began testing recipes for the New York Times. She has been a professional recipe tester and editor for over 25 years, is the author of a New York Times cookbook, and has written for numerous publications. She is a member of the New York Chapter of Les Dames d’ Escoffier.