Cafe Muse: Mariner Style Mussels

Come celebrate Bastille Day with Cafe Muse. The wine dinner will be on Tuesday, July 14.

There will be wine and cuisine from France.

The reception will be at 6:30 p.m. followed by a five course dinner. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 248-544-4749.

You can click here for more information about the dinner.

Chef Greg Reyner prepares one of the dishes served at the restaurant. The ingredients to the meal are listed below:

Cafe Muse's Mariner style Mussels
    3 pounds fresh mussels 
    1 large pinch saffron (about 30 threads) 
    3/4 cup dry white wine 
    2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
    2 medium shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup) 
    2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 
    Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper 
    2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups) 
    1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil 
    Good quality mayonnaise 
    Crusty sour dough bread

DIRECTIONS 
1.   Under cold running water, scrub shells with a clean brush or scrubby pad to remove sediment. Remove fibrous beards by holding firmly in one hand and pulling hard with the other.
2.   Steep saffron in wine for 10 minutes to release colour and flavour. Melt butter over medium-high heat in a shallow stockpot. Once hot, sauté shallots, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until shallots are transparent and garlic is soft, about 3 minutes, stirring every so often to keep garlic from scorching. Pour in wine and saffron, then add tomatoes and return to a simmer, stirring once or twice. 
3.   Add mussels and cover tightly. Cook until all mussels open, about 6 minutes, stirring once about halfway through. Discard any unopened mussels. If using wild mussels, strain broth through a cheesecloth-lined sieve to remove any sand, if necessary. Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper. 
4.   Sprinkle with basil before ladling mussels and broth into bowls. 
5.   Serve with mayonnaise and crusty bread.