Mussels & Bruschetta: At least I remembered to take pictures...

Well, I made mussels again, and I remembered to take a picture – see! I also took pictures of the bruschetta I made, and even the kids’ frozen pizza.

For the mussels, I used a recipe from Bobby Flay for Steamed Mussels with White Wine, Tarragon, Shallots, and Butter. First, I must tell you that I love Bobby Flay. It’s kind of lame, I know, to be “in love” with a Food Network star, but what can I say... I want to marry him, cook with him, have babies with him, the whole bit. Now you know.

So of course, I expected these mussels to be great – tarragon, butter, wine, Bobby Flay – they just had to be good. But to be honest, I was pretty disappointed in Bobby’s recipe. The wine overwhelmed the other flavors. There was a slight essence of ocean, but I wasn’t getting the tarragon flavor at all, which is what I was looking forward to most. The broth wasn’t even good for dipping the bread. It was like dipping bread in wine. Not too good.

I also threw together some simple bruschetta that evening. I’m not sure exactly how it’s supposed to be made (to make it authentic). I just brushed some baguette slices with olive oil, then toasted them, rubbed with a garlic clove, topped with chopped tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, salt, pepper, and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. It turned out great, though it was a little soggy. I think it sat too long before we ate it.

I didn’t try the kids’ pizza, but they seemed to like it.