Coconut-Curry Mussels

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone closed out 2011 and welcomed 2012 in style.  After a whirlwind year, Bret and I were happy to ring in the new year together quietly at home.  We spent the afternoon and evening trying out new recipes and I'm looking forward to sharing these dishes on the blog this week. 

We started the evening with Coconut-Curry Mussels, which I flagged from Everyday Food Magazine (June 2011).  I'm a huge fan of seafood and Bret is a slow convert.  He, however, does enjoy mussels so I knew this would be a big hit on New Year's Eve.

First, I gathered my ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons red Thai curry paste (the original recipe called for green or yellow Thai curry paste)
• 2 pounds mussels, rinsed and scrubbed (the original recipe called for 3 pounds mussels)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

The recipe was really easy and straightforward:

• In a large pot with a lid, melt butter over medium-high heat. 
• Add the garlic and ginger, and cook until fragrant.
• Whisk in coconut milk and curry paste, and bring the broth to a simmer over high heat.
• Add the mussels and stir to combine.  Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-high heat.  Cook until the mussels have opened, which is about three to five minutes.
• Remove the pot from heat and stir in the lime juice and cilantro.

The mussels were plump and juicy.  We sopped up some of this lovely coconut-curry broth with slices of crusty French bread. 

This simply but lovely dish was a great way to start our New Year's Eve meal and one that can easily be repeated for a weeknight dinner.

Tell me, did you stay in or go out for New Year's Eve?  Either way, what did you eat?`