birthday mussels

I am older and maybe wiser???

Hello!

I’m sorry this is late! I have been celebrating for… a very long time. So much has happened, so much is going on, and so I think the best way to do this is to give you a rundown on what I think the Big Three are.

1. I turned 33! It’s my Jesus year. For my birthday, I had a lot of friends over to my house, and I cooked them a lot of food because… that’s exactly what I wanted to do. I just love feeding people. Sue me! (Don’t sue me.) I made spiced ribs and this dirty martini shrimp cocktail and sesame snap peas with miso mayo and “the best mussels I’ve ever had,” according to my friend Zach. That’s the recipe that’s down below. I hope you make them and I hope you love them. I love them.

this is the “shrimp cocktail” isn’t she beautiful

2. virgo supperclub is back, baby! I don’t know about you, but I have been… tired. I have been out of sorts. I have been not feeling my best and doing a little bit of soul-searching, and fingers crossed, I think I’ve come out on the other side. And that means the return of virgo supperclub. We (over) sold out, and I can’t wait to do the thing I love with my favorite person to do it with (Lara). The theme for this dinner is Sad Girls Club. Some of the dishes are tentatively titled Big Girls Do Cry and Cry Baby, and we’ve got a cocktail called Tears Dry On Their Own. If you live in the Bay Area, there’s gonna be another one in November, so keep your freaking eyes and ears open!

3. My book proposal is (almost) done! I am so close. I’ve never been closer. My goal is to have it done by the end of October, and then my agent will go out into the world and try to sell it. It all feels very wild, and it feels even wilder to type this, but here we are. I’m gonna write a book!!!!!!!! (I am also mostly saying this so anyone who is reading this and cares can hold me accountable. Please feel free to ask me how it’s going and what the status is, and if it’s not done by the end of October, someone please come yell at me.)

Other than that, I have been listening to the new Sufjan Stevens album and crying. I just finished this book and also cried. I watched Theater Camp and cried some more. Moral of the story is I’ve been crying, but in a good way. In a way that makes me feel more like myself and more in touch with my emotions and more alive and more connected, and I’m gonna keep chasing that feeling. I love feelings. Ok that’s all here are the mussels.

chili coconut herb butter mussels

I toasted the bread—don’t toast the bread! (as long as it’s got a crispy crust, otherwise sure, go ahead and toast it

That’s a lot of words, but they all mean something, and they’re all important, I promise! Really, what you’re doing is making a compound butter that you could (and should) put on any number of things. On pasta or rice or toast or a baked potato or chicken or eggs or… you get the point. Today we’re putting it on mussels, but don’t let that limit you. The sky’s the limit, baby!

Also, I served these with pickled onions and crusty bread because life is better with pickled onions and crusty bread, but both are totally optional. These would be great over pasta or rice too. Do whatever you want!

chili coconut herb butter mussels: ingredients

• 2 lbs mussels, rinsed well and beards removed (if you don’t know how to do that, here’s how)

  • You can also definitely use clams if you want!

• 2 sticks of unslated butter, softened

• 1 cup fresh parsley

• 1/2 cup fresh mint

• 3 scallions, roots removed

• 2 serrano chilis (you could use one if you want it less spicy, or none if you don’t want it to be spicy at all! you could also use a small jalapeno if you can’t find serranos!)

• 1 can full-fat unsweetened coconut milk

• kosher salt to taste

quick pickled onions: ingredients

• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced (you could also use two shallots if you wanted)

• 1/2 cup rice vinegar

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1 serrano pepper, thinly sliced (optional)

• a pinch of sugar (optional)

• juice of 1 lime (optional, but I like it!)

quick pickled onions: method

I would do this first. They can sit and pickle for as long or as little as you’d like. The pickling liquid is also great in salad dressings or spooned over… anything you want vinegar on.

1. Thinly slice your red onion and serrano, and put in a bowl.

2. Cover with the vinegar, salt, lime juice, and sugar. Let it sit!

chili coconut herb butter mussels: method

I use a food processor for this. You don’t have to! You can chop everything very well and mix it in a bowl. But if you’ve got a food processor, use it!

1. In a food processor, add your parsley, mint, scallions, and serrano peppers. Pulse several times and then scrape down the sides.

2. Add your two sticks of softened butter. Make sure they’re soft!! Pulse to combine.

3. Open your can of coconut milk, and add all the cream that is separated at the top of the can. When you reach the “water”, stop. You only want the cream from the top! Process again to bring together. Taste! Add salt! You’ll need a least a teaspoon but probably more! Set aside.

4. In a large pot, bring 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of white wine to a boil. If you don’t have a white wine open, you can just use water! You are coating these mussels in a very flavorful butter, so truly, don’t go crazy here! Once it boils, add your mussels, cover, and let steam for four minutes. Check. If they’re open, they’re done!

5. Drain mussels and set aside. In that same pot, add your butter coconut milk herb situation over low heat, just until it all melts.

6. I like to serve this by separating the mussel shells, discarding the empty half, and arranging the half with the mussle on a deep plate or shallow serving bowl. Spoon over your butter so that it pools in the shell. Top with pickled onions and serve with crusty bread.

7. That’s it! You will likely have more butter than you need, you can keep some reserved and store in the fridge for up to two weeks. Put it on lots of things!

these are crispy smashed potatoes I put the butter on with some fresh herbs a few days later… it was… amazing tbh

This is maybe one of the easiest most impressive most beautiful things I’ve ever made, and if you want something easy and impressive and beautiful… well, you know what to do.

love you like a love song,

Garrett