A Mussel Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving gathering has now "grown" to just the 3 of us: Sparky, Wart and me. Nic and company went to her in laws. Sparky's brother and sisters all went other directions -- so it was just the 3 of us this year.

While planning the meal last week, Wart suggested "mussels, or something." And since it was just the 3 of us, cooking a whole turkey seemed like a lot of effort, especially when the girls aren't that big on meat. So we passed on the turkey we had received to the bishop to use, and proceeded with a different Thanksgiving dinner.


I shopped around earlier in the week and saw that Costco had mussels and so I said, "OK." Sparky, always the trooper, said "whatever", and we were on.
Mussels are alive when you buy them, kind of like lobster, you actually kill them during the cooking process. (The young oriental woman at the Costco counter didn't believe me as we viewed them, which I found surprising.)
In preparing them you need to wash them with a stiff brush to remove any grit or sand stuck to them.


Next you have to "debeard" them, by pulling or cutting off and moss-like matter that is sometimes hanging out of them. I was surprised at how tough this process was. Fortunately, these were farm raised and hence only a relatively few of them actually had beards.

In cooking them you first make a broth. We used a mixture of wine, butter, shallots, garlic, bay leave and pepper. After cooking the broth down a little and burning off the alcohol, you pour the mussels in the pan and cover them for 5 minutes to steam them.

Our meal was supplemented with sweet potato fries, green salad, a traditional fruit salad, and crusty bread, which we dipped in little bowls of broth.


In December 2001, Sparky and I were in Paris eating dinner at a sidewalk cafe; we observed a nicely-dressed business woman in a suit eating mussels and french fries. We were fascinated as we watched her pick up the fries with an empty mussel, tweezers style. It apparently was a regular meal for her.


Our plates were simple; not the bounteous spread of a traditional Thanksgiving fare. But the food was good and our stomachs were filled. And we are thankful of the many blessing that we do enjoy during these times.

I wonder what Thanksgiving dinner will be next year, since Dr. Z (Wart) has accepted a position out of state at NIH beginning in March. Life moves on whether you're prepared or not; so we just move with it, hoping and praying that what preparations and plans we do make will prove adequate. Hopefully we will continue to have peace and love in our home and family.