For 2: Mussels with Wine and Cream

I love mussels, like when I see them on a restaurant menu I close the menu because there is no doubt that is what I am getting.  I live in Atlanta, not exactly a sea port, so when I was picking up lunch from the hot bar at Whole Foods the other day and saw the 3 pound bag of cultivated mussels on sale I promptly ditched my previous dinner plans and threw the little guys into my cart.  And, no, you cannot ask why I had a cart since I was just picking up lunch from the hot bar.  With the addition of just a few common ingredients and the mandatory slice of crusty bread dinner was served

Recipe after the jump!
Sincerely Loving Food,
Lainey
Mussels with Wine and Cream

3 lbs cultivated mussels
1/3 C flour
2 tblsp butter
2 tblsp olive oil
1 medium onion roughly diced
3-4 cloves garlic minced
1 Roma tomato chopped
1/4 C Italian Parsley
1 tblsp thyme
1 1/2 C white wine + what you want to drink
1/2 C heavy cream
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Clean the mussels: fill a large bowl about half way with cool water, add the flour mix and then add the mussels.  Let them soak for about 30 minutes to remove any sand or grit.  As you pull the mussels out of the water make sure they don't have a "beard" (looks like a big piece of gross coming out of them) if they do pull it off and discard, also discard any mussels that aren't tightly shut at this point, and then give the good ones a quick rinse.

In a large pot heat the butter and olive oil over medium high heat add the onion and tomato and cook until tender, about five minutes, and then the garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add the parsley, thyme, and wine and bring to boil.  Once boiling add the mussels, give them a good stir, cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the mussels open - about 8 minutes.  Shake the pan once or twice during cooking to ensure the ones on the bottom don't burn - but don't take off that lid!  After cooking, discard any mussels that didn't open, they are bad, then drizzle the cream over the top of the hot shellfish.  Use a large spoon to scoop mussels and sauce into bowls and serve with crusty toasted bread!