Today we're thrilled to bring back Barbara Ross, who is celebrating her third Maine Clambake Mystery, Musseled Out with a lovely recipe--and a giveaway of the new book! Welcome Barbara!
The book takes place in the run up to Columbus Day weekend,
the traditional end of the season at the Snowden Family Clambake. Julia Snowden
has successfully saved the business from bankruptcy and finally has time to
think. Maybe too much time. Will she go back to her venture capital job in
Manhattan, or stay in Busman’s Harbor, Maine?
There’s a fly in the ointment, though. Shifty David Thwing,
The Mussel King, has been scouting for a place in town to offer a “dining
experience.” Thwing’s executive chef, Genevieve Pelletier, is a full-on cooking
prodigy, and it looks like they’ll provide formidable competition for the
clambake. So when Thwing is found sleeping with the fishes, Julia’s brother-in-law,
Sonny, becomes suspect #1.
I enjoyed creating the character of chef Genevieve
Pelletier. My husband, Bill Carito, as always my cooking advisor, enjoyed
creating her signature mussel dish.
Genevieve Pelletier has built the reputation
of her restaurants on her mussels, and if you make this dish you’ll see she
certainly deserves the praise she gets for them. Genevieve serves this hearty
dish as an appetizer, but it’s more than capable of carrying a meal as the
entree.
6
ounces chorizo, divided. Half diced, half sliced into thin rounds
2-3
cloves garlic, chopped
¾ cup
onion
¼ cup
celery, diced
¼ cup
red pepper, diced
salt
and pepper
½
Tablespoon smoked paprika
1 cup
diced tomatoes
½
Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
½ cup
white wine
½
Tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ cup
heavy cream
1-1½
pounds mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
1
Tablespoon chopped parsley for garnish
Heat
the olive oil on medium heat in a wide saucepan with a tight-fitting lid.
Add
the diced chorizo. Cook until lightly browned.
Stir
in garlic, onion, celery, and red pepper. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Stir in smoked paprika. Sauté for three to four minutes.
Stir
in tomato and thyme, cover pot, and simmer together for three to five minutes.
Add
wine and let bubble on high heat for about a minute.
Stir
in mustard and heavy cream and cook another minute. Taste and add additional
salt or pepper, if necessary.
Add
mussels, cover pot, and cook for five minutes, stirring once halfway through.
Spoon
mussels into bowl, pour sauce over, and garnish with parsley
Barbara
Ross is the author of the Maine Clambake Mysteries, Clammed Up, Boiled Over and
Musseled Out (which will be released on April 28). Clammed Up was
nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel and was a finalist
for the Maine Literary Award for
Crime Fiction. Both Clammed Up and Boiled Over were nominated for the RT Book Reviews, Reviewer’s Choice Best
Book Award for Amateur Sleuth (2134 & 2014).
Barbara
writes on the big front porch of the former Seafarer Inn at the head of the
harbor in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. She blogs with a wonderful group of Maine
mystery authors at Maine Crime
Writers and with writers of New England-based cozy mysteries at Wicked Cozy Authors. You can reach
her at her website www.maineclambakemysteries.com
Don't forget to leave a comment with your email to be entered in the drawing for Musseled Out...
