Whoever wrote the recipe that I used for the inspiration of this dish is probably someone who likes to fancy things up. It's listed as "mussels poulette' in the cookbook I first saw it in, and after looking up the word 'poulette'... I still can't figure out what they were trying to say. Poulette, as far as I can tell, is French for 'chicken'. And there isn't any chicken in this recipe - not even any egg. Bizarro. So while I don't mind chefy-cheating by throwing in a handful of bacon, I draw the line at giving the whole thing
a fancy french name that doesn't make any sense. I do have some standards... and these mussels are so good it's a crime!
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Recipe from "The Great Mussel and Clam Cookbook".
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I adjusted the Mussels Poulette a bit - removed the butter (because you're cooking bacon, why on earth add butter to it??) and took out the celery (same reason). I also added a little more wine (cheers!) halved the cream and sprinkled it with parsley to add a little pizzazz. Enjoy!
serves 2 for dinner, 3-4 for appetizers
3 pounds mussels
3 slices bacon, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 small white mushrooms, chopped 
1/2 small sweet onion, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional
pasta, rice or quinoa, optional
In a large pan with a lid, add the bacon, garlic, mushrooms, and onion. Sauté on medium/medium-high heat for about 7 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and your veggies are as soft as you like them. (I like to clean my mussels while the bacon/veg is cooking - debeard and rinse. Also - get a pot of pasta or rice cooking if you want to serve them with a starch to make a full meal.) When you've got your first ingredients cooked, add the wine and turn the heat up just a bit to medium high. Add the mussels and pop the lid on and let them steam. Every minute or two, give the mussels a stir so that the cook evenly. Keep them going until all of the mussels have opened (about 10 minutes total) and then turn off the heat. Add the cream and give them a stir to evenly coat with the sauce, then sprinkle with parsley to finish.
Serve in a bowl with dipping bread, or over rice or pasta and enjoy!
This sounds like an amazing recipe so I’m planning on heading down to the market to pick up a nice fresh batch of muscles (6-8lbs) and put this recipe to the “family testers” and see what they say.
While I’m there I’ll have to see what fresh fish and crabs are ready for my kitchen this week.
Did you make the dish Ramona? What was the verdict from your family testers?? :)