Mouth Watering Mussels in Garlic, Cream, and White Wine Broth:

The first time I made mussels, I followed a recipe to a “T”. A few weeks ago, I was visiting the parents and thought mussels would be a nice starter for our bbq. We had the bare necessities along with the mussels and they turned out just as good as if it were by the book...not to mention fast and EASY!

 What you need:

* Large deep frying pan with lid to hold juices and mussels

* 2 cloves fresh garlic

* about ¼ cup of white wine

* about ½ cup of half and half

* 2 small mesh bags of mussels

* stick of salted butter (½ cup)

Thoroughly soak, rinse, and clean mussels of any foreign strings. Meanwhile, melt butter and crushed garlic in deep frying pan on medium. Add mussels, white wine, and cream. Put lid on and let mussels steam in broth for about 15-20 minutes until mussels open. Lift lid every 5 minutes or so to check if mussels have opened. (When finished, there is usually one or two that don’t open. Discard these immediately and do NOT EAT. Eat only those that have opened their shell.) You will be pleasantly surprised to see that the broth does make its way into some of the top shells...but may need some spooning atop before/during serving.

Put pan on hot plate and include a handsome sized spoon so company can enjoy broth with the mussels. Serve with French bread for dipping.