The Beer Wench Gets Cookin': Date Night

I believe I have already mentioned a certain birthday celebration a few weeks back that left me almost too hungover for wine tasting. While we all know Ale Wife for their dizzying beer selection and out of the way location, I’d like to bring something else to the table: their mussels. You see I am a huge fan of shellfish, especially if they are cooked in beer. When I saw beer mussels on the menu I didn’t bother looking at anything else. My date, however, was not so excited. “They’re just chewy little pieces of flesh”, he said, but eventually my excitement got the better of him and he caved. I’ll be damned if Ale Wife’s mussels didn’t prove him right! The only redeeming part of the meal—the garlic fries—couldn’t even make the broth tasty. I decided right then and there to redeem the beer-cooked bi-valve and prove to my man that, if cooked correctly, he most certainly would enjoy mussels.

Before beginning to shop for dinner, I like to brainstorm my options: what’s seasonal, local, fresh, and pairs well. Since I was preparing a late summer dinner I opted to go with a Hefeweizen as my base for a lighter, fresher feel. I also wanted to prepare dishes that would be ready at the same time and be relatively easy to prep in advance, dishes that would effortlessly complement my main dish. What goes better with beer mussels than French fries? A quick trip around the Union Square Green Market and I had found some lovely spuds, gigantic heads of garlic, shallots and beautiful fresh green beans.

Next up: local shopping. I love our neighborhood for it’s abundance of bakeries, ethnic markets, butchers, and fish markets. I grabbed my granny-cart and set off for EuroMarket on 31st in hot pursuit of beer. Their fridges yielded a bounty of brews—it was almost too difficult to choose! Thankfully I had made a list and found the will power to stick to it: Ayinger Brau-Weis for my broth, Jenlain Farmhouse Ale and Saison Dupont for pairing. I also left EuroMarket with excellent olive oil, Irish butter (unsalted), and Lindeman’s Framboise (for dessert). Meandering up 30th Ave I grabbed parsley and lemons at a vegetable stand, a whole-wheat baguette at Astoria Bakers, and finally made my way to Best of The Sea. Most websites I’ve found tell you to plan on 1-½ pounds of shellfish per person so I purchased two 2lb bags of mussels. Make sure you check each bag for broken mussels!

When I’m cooking for someone special, I like to have all of my slicing and dicing done before they arrive. My kitchen is too small for two and hey, I want to look oh-so-fabulous while effortlessly preparing a culinary masterpiece. The day before dinner I cut all of my potatoes into evenly sized wedges, sliced the ends off my green beans, and diced my garlic and shallots. I removed the mussels from their mesh bags, checked to make sure none of them were broken or dead, and put them in a large bowl covered with a damp cloth on the bottom of my fridge.

Date night finally arrived. I had soaked the mussels in salt water three times after scrubbing and de-bearding them to remove any grit. I donned my favorite floral apron and waited for the buzzer. My man arrived bearing cheese from Astoria Bier and Cheese and a surprise dessert! Screw flowers, the way to this wench’s heart is something delicious and edible! I already had the oven preheated to 400 so we were ready to rock.

Step 1
Put the potato wedges in a large Ziploc bag and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, one clove of chopped garlic, crushed red pepper and parsley. Spread evenly on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cook twenty minutes on each side. I also alternated between the top and bottom racks after ten minutes.

While the potatoes were cooking on side #1 we opened the Jenlain and nibbled on the cheese he’d brought. Smart man, he’d foraged for one that would pair well with ales—slightly sharp, yet not overpowering.

Step 2

After flipping the fries, grab a large soup pan and sauté 2 chopped cloves garlic and 2 diced shallots in olive oil. Once they soften add a handful of chopped parsley, a pat of butter, and some salt, pepper, and cracked red pepper. Gingerly pour in your mussels and add hefeweizen, about half the bottle—you want to steam the mussels, not boil them! Throw in two more pats of butter and the juice of two lemons. Cover.

Step 3

In a frying pan sauté one chopped clove garlic in butter, add green beans, the juice of one lemon, a splash of the hefeweizen, salt, pepper, and some cracked red pepper. Cook over medium heat, making sure to rotate the beans. Wrap sliced baguette in aluminum foil and stick in oven with potatoes for the last five minutes.

Step 4

By now the potatoes should be crispy on the outside and cooked through the middle, remove from oven, place on serving dish. I sprinkled them with extra salt, chopped parsley and chives. Go ahead and plate the green beans too (I like them on the crisp side).

Step 5

Check the mussels, they are done when they open. I used a large serving dish for the shellfish and a side bowl for the amazing beer broth (fries dipped in beer broth=divine).

Step 6 is the best part:
Open the Saison Dupont and eat your feast! I’m going to go ahead and pat myself on the back for this—everything was delicious. However, my opinion of my moules frites wasn’t the important one; had my culinary endeavor changed my man’s opinion on the mollusk? Well, he was eating them while commenting on their structural strangeness. He was dipping fries in the broth of his own volition! The green beans had all but disappeared and the bowl of discarded shells was filling rapidly.

“They look so weird,” he said. But he was still eating them.
“Well, are they still just ‘chewy pieces of flesh’?” I asked.
He popped another one in his mouth, “Well they are always going to be weird looking but Babe, these are delicious! I’m full off of things this big! Seriously, I can’t stop eating them!”
That may have been validation enough for my cooking ability, but the fact that he ate too many mussels to even think about eating dessert didn’t hurt either.

I used the leftover potatoes for breakfast the next morning—they made epic home fries!

Want to follow my recipe and make Moules Frites at home?

Here’s my shopping list:

1 head garlic
2 shallots
Green beans
Parsley
2 large roasting potatoes (or 4 small)
3 lemons
Irish butter (unsalted)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Whole-wheat baguette
1 bottle Ayinger Brau Weiss
Mussels (1 ½ lbs per person)
Saison for pairing (I used Saison Dupont and Jenlain)
A hot date