Mussels with Bacon-Garlic White Wine Sauce

Foodie Fiends!

I made these mussels for my family one summer night and they worshiped me for weeks. It is very easy, but layers bold flavors into a wonderful broth for sopping with crusty french bread.

Ingredients:

2 lbs fresh or frozen mussels with shells
2 ounces olive oil (enough to lightly cover bottom of pot)
4 strips thick-cut bacon (whatever you have in the fridge is fine)
10 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots
2 leeks, chopped
3/4 bottle dry white wine
Touch of Heavy Cream
Crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Salt and Pepper
1 Baguette

Heat olive oil in large pot. Once hot, brown bacon until almost fully cooked. Add leeks, garlic, and shallot and heat until "sweating." Add mussels and allow to steam for 2-3 minutes with lid on. Add wine, reduce to a simmer, and steam with the lid on for 5-7 minutes, or until the mussels have opened. Discard any mussels that do not open. Finish with a touch of cream, to taste, crumbled Gorgonzola and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Toast baguette if preferred for "soppage", and enjoy!

Remember: "One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." ~Luciano Pavarotti

*foodie love

Acadiana -- Washington, DC

Hi Foodie Fanatics :)

This week kicks off my favorite week of the year, DC Restaurant Week!! I had the pleasure of joining a friend at Acadiana in the Chinatown area for dinner on Tuesday, and it was quite a treat!

The evening started with lovely choices for their restaurant week menu, including ANY entree on the menu. After ordering a very reasonably priced bottle of French red wine, we received complimentary biscuits, accompanied by a spicy pepper-butter. It reminded me of when I worked in the restaurant biz and used to dip my bread in butter mixed with sambal olek :) These biscuits were to die for, and I could have easily eaten about 8 to 30, so thank goodness they only brought 2!

Our meal started with an appetizer of soups, my friend having the turtle soup -- a beef broth based soup with succulent pieces of turtle (although I am a terp, I sucked it up and tried it) and vegetables. Having never tried turtle before I can tell you that it was delicious, tender, and resembled crab mixed with pork, or crabork as we named it haha. A little gamey, but very tender and sweet. My soup was a corn and crab chowder, very delicious. Cream based with a serious kick to it! I loved every bite of the jumbo lump crab meat and the sweet corn.

Our main courses were recommended by our excellent server and lived up to her promised hype. I had the duck with dirty rice, collard greens, and a cane syrup pepper jelly glaze. The duck was huge! It took up the entire plate and was deliciously succulent and crispy. I am a big fan of crispy duck skin and Acadiana has perfected it. The collard greens were tangy and salty with bits of bacon mixed in. I also tried my friend's BBQ shrimp, cooked perfectly and very meaty. I even persuaded him to suck the heads with me :) I'm telling you it's the best part!

For dessert we both tried their warm vanilla bread pudding. It was just like my mom's homemade bread pudding, but "glamified" with a cookie cutter presentation warm and delicious with praline ice cream to go with it.

Chef Jeff Tunks really brings the New Orleans flavor to life with his menu, and it is apparent in his rich and complex flavors - the roux, the rémoulades, the bisques, and the étouffées for which the region is known and savored.

I have heard lots about Acadiana over the years, and was glad I was finally able to make it in. It is a wonderful dining experience and the food was amazing. It is always packed during restaurant week so keep you ears open for DCs winter restaurant week or make reservations today!

Remember: "Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity." ~Voltaire

*foodie love