The day started out like any other day: wake up, get dressed, wander into the kitchen to make some tea while checking my emails and slowly drift towards my cookbooks to decide what I should make for dinner that evening. But the meal tonight had to be different from just your average weekday supper, it was to be a Celebration Feast! We have been waiting for months and our prayers have been answered…James has found a new job!
As I page through my favorite cookbooks, always starting with the question, “To Julia or to not?” I decide to steer away from Julia Child, but stick with French cuisine. What is something that we don’t eat on a regular basis? I grab the red binding of a cookbook from one of my favorite “essential” NYC restaurants, Balthazar. Remembering the mornings I would stop in for a pastry and a Cafe au Lait on my way to work. I hear the clamoring of glasses and the sound of the espresso machine at the bar. A waiter speaking French to the couple behind me and then I smell something divine. Something full of butter, steeped in white wine, and the freshness of thyme lingering as the dish passes by me. Ahh mussels, that’s perfect! As I flip through the pages of my beloved cookbook I land upon Balthazar’s famous Moules Marinière: loads of butter, dry white wine, shallots, celery, and le pièce de résistance, crème fraiche. Yes, this will be our celebratory dinner tonight!
Off to the store, and I head straight for the seafood section. Something I always loved when James and I were in France was that the Parisians shopped often, usually daily, and went to market with an idea in mind, but if they intended on cooking mussels and they didn’t look fresh, the plan was changed to the lobster, freshly caught that day and on sale! And that is exactly what happened! Instead of coming home with the ingredients for Moules Marinière, I came home with two lobster tails AND the ingredients for Moules Marinière. I planned to serve the mussels as an appetizer and the lobster tails as the main course. Yes, I realize this is a very “fishy” menu, but I just couldn’t help myself when presented with fresh lobster on sale and the PEI Mussels were fresh as well! James won’t mind 😉
Back in the kitchen, I held the lobster tail in my hand, took my kitchen shears and cut from tip to tail. Separating the shell from the meat below. Using my thumbs, I then spread the shell away from the meat. Because this was my first lobster endeavor, I lacked “the courage of my convictions” to be firm with the lobster. Therefore, I did not pull apart as much meat as I should have, which resulted in a poorly butterflied lobster tail. Better luck next time. I prepared a beurre blanc to brush over the lobster which contained butter, chopped parsley, lemon, and garlic. Then placed the lobster in a pan, skin side down and broiled the lobster for about 4 minutes. The end result was tender meat so supple it would slip through your fingers. Every bite just melted in your mouth!
The mussels were delicious–Moules Marinière never disappoints–and the lobster was exactly the special treat I had been looking for. We both reminiced about the last time we had lobster…decidedly too long ago, and savored our Celebratory Feast.
Moules à la Marinière
Serves 2 as an entrée or 6 as an appetizer
The Balthazar Cookbook
8 T. unsalted butter
5 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced (or diced)
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced on the bias
4 sprigs thyme
pinch of kosher salt
1 cup dry white wine
2 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
4 tablespoons crème fraîche
2 lbs. mussels — Balthazar recommends Prince Edward Island
a bunch of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
bread, any kind you like, I used French bread and warmed it in the oven for 20 minutes
fight like a girl 