Flex your mussels by making them at home
A reservation for Erin French's 40-seat restaurant in Maine is harder to snag than the attention of a waiter in the weeds, but you can make the chef's simple and sexy mussels at home. The recipe is from her first cookbook, released in May, called "The Lost Kitchen: Recipes and a Good Life Found in Freedom, Maine" (Clarkson Potter).
Yeah, they're sexy. Just five ingredients, two of which combine forces to release a seductive and heady aroma. The high heat of an uncovered pan opens the bivalves' shells, and a toss of sizzling butter and lime juice coats the juicy, almost roasty-tasting mussel meat. French suggests sharing them straight out of the pan.
Tips
The mussels you buy should be glistening. Immerse them in a bowl of water and ice cubes for 30 minutes before you cook them; lift them out of the water to avoid reintroducing any grit. If you're not going to cook them right away, rinse them in very cold water and refrigerate in a loosely covered bowl. Chilled mussels should be shut tightly; if any of them are not, or have broken or cracked shells, discard them.