Garlic & Wine Butter Mussels

I love a nice comfy bowl of delicious goodness! This recipe is exactly that. It’s a little splurge meal because of the sauce but it’s totally worth it. Growing up my Dad use to order mussels in a red tomato sauce at pizza places in his home town of Bayonne, NJ! I can still picture him eating those mussels. Every time he’d go into town on business it was pizza and mussels for one of his meals! I definitely thought of my Dad while I was making this dinner!

Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think. So Delicious!

Garlic Wine Butter Mussels

Ingredients:
3-4 lbs mussels, cleaned (Fresh or frozen, partially thawed)
16 oz bay scallops (I used Magdalena), optional
1 1/2 sticks salted butter
1 cup white wine
2 shallots, diced
6 garlic cloves, chopped (I like to keep pieces a little big)
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 T Italian seasoning
1 t salt
1 t pepper
2 T olive oil

Directions: Heat a large deep sauté pan on high heat. Add it 1 tablespoon of olive oil and let heat 2 minutes. Next add in the bay scallops and let cook 4-6 minutes mixing often. (No need to cook till they get a sear as they will be going in the sauce.) Remove the scallops from the pan and set aside.

Add the last tablespoon of oil to the pan. Next add in the shallots and garlic and cook 3-4 minutes until fragrant. Next you add in the butter and let melt fully. Add in the juice of 1 lemon and then add the lemon halves to the sauce, pour in the white wine and parsley and let cook about 6-7 minutes on medium high heat, stirring often. Discard the lemon halves from the sauce. Season the sauce with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.

Add the bay scallops back into the pan and add in the mussels and cover with the lid. Cook the mussels about 5-7 minutes until they open. Discard any mussels that don’t open.

Spoon mussels with sauce into a deep bowl serve with crusty bread for dunking! Enjoy!

Scallop Gratin with Crispy Prosciutto

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. In my family we always do seafood on Christmas Eve. We are Italian and it’s been a tradition for as long as I can remember. I made this scallop dish and it was a hit and super delicious and rather simple.

Scallops are one food item I have gotten a lot of questions about. People are worried about overcooking the scallops. That’s a common thing actually. If you are searing them, it’s a hot pan for 2-3 minutes on each side. You want the inside glistening when you cut into it. For these they are baked an take a little longer. There is so many different ways to use scallops. Check my recipes for seafood and you’ll find the scallop tacos. They are to die for as well.

For now, check out this upscale simple recipe!

Scallop Gratin with Crispy Prosciutto

Ingredients:
4 oz prosciutto or par-cooked bacon, minced or rough chopped
1/4 cup white wine
1 1/2- 2lbs bay scallops, rinsed, dried and mussel removed

Topping:
1 stick butter, soften
¾ cup plan panko breadcrumbs
3 T fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced or grated
3 T olive oil
2 medium shallots, small diced
¼ cup parsley, chopped
2 t garlic powder
2 t onion powder
2 t kosher salt
1 t pepper

Directions: Heat oven 425°. In a medium baking dish add the wine and top with the scallops. In a medium bowl add all ingredients for the topping and mix well till incorporated. I used a fork to mash the butter and get everything fully mixed. Add mixture evenly on top of the scallops. Sprinkle with prosciutto or bacon. Bake in oven 12-16 minutes. Serve hot. Feel free to serve with bread for dipping in butter mixture.

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