Go to your fishmonger, and grab a bag of mussels – you know, the ones you always see and tend to pass over in favor of the same salmon, cod, or flounder on sale each week. These bags are about two pounds or a kilo, and while they look large, they will serve one. Trust me, it’s not enough for two unless you are tossing with pasta, or eating as an accompaniment to something larger. Take your bounty home, and scrub those shells clean. You might have to de-beard some of them if you see telltale black threads around the edges of the shell – to do so take a paring knife and scrape them off. Most mussels nowadays are quite clean, but just to make sure that you are not consuming a mouth full of sand, soak your mussels for a few minutes in cool water, and then give them a good rinse.

Put the clean mussels in a pot or a wide deep pan with a lid (I use my 12 inch All-Clad), and pour a cup or so of white wine over the top (sometimes I only have Lillet on hand, so I’ll often use that), a big pinch of salt, and a few grinds of pepper. You can put any sort of other seasoning in here if you’d like – say maybe some fresh thyme and a few cloves of garlic that have been sliced. Cover, and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a good simmer, and shake the pan every couple of minutes until the shells have all opened, anywhere from 5 to 7 minutes. Sometimes I leave them in for 10, and they don’t seem to overcook. Discard the ones with broken shells, and the ones that haven’t opened, and feast! Serve in the shell, or out, with a pat of butter and some of the steaming juices, a squeeze of lemon, and a sprinkle of parsley if you have it. A nice crusty piece of bread or hot french fries are great on the side here.