Irish Cream of Mussels Soup

It's cold outside! Warm up with some hearty home made mussel soup!

Ingredients:

• 32 Prince Edward Island Mussels
  
• 1 Onion, peeled/chopped
  
• 1 Celery, chopped
  
• 1 Leek (white part only), chop
  
• 1 cup White wine
  
• 3 cup Fish stock
  
• 2 cup Heavy cream
  
• 4 Chervil or substitute parsley
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

Directions:
Place mussels, wine and fish stock in a stock pot. Add chopped vegetables. Cover and shake to stir contents. Cook on high heat 4 to 5 minutes. After 5 minutes shake pot again, remove lid and strain contents into a colander, catching liquid in a bowl. Then strain soup liquid again through a wire mesh strainer into a saucepan. Over high heat, boil and reduce soup for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the mussel meat from most of the shells, leaving some mussel shells intact for serving as a side dish with the chopped vegetables. Pour the heavy cream into reduced soup. Whisk while maintaining the high heat. Add mussel meat slowly. Whisk gently. Then continue to stir with a soup ladle until it boils. Ladle soup into soup bowls. Add sprigs of chervil to top of soup for garnish. Serve the remaining mussels on the side with an array of the cooked chopped vegetables.
Source:Cream Soup

Italian Fish Soup

This recipe is excellent for the chilly fall days that are just around the corner. Feel free to make a huge pot of this soup and save it for later! It freezes beautifully.

Ingredients
For soup

• 1 lb cleaned squid, bodies and tentacles separated but kept intact
  
• 1/2 lb large shrimp peeled, leaving tail and first segment of shell intact, and deveined
  
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 cup olive oil
  
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
  
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
  
• 1 cup dry white wine
  
• 4 1/2 cups water
  
• 12 little neck clams scrubbed
  
• 12 mussels, scrubbed and beards removed
  
• 4 cups fish stock or bottled clam juice (32 fl oz)
  
• 2 (14-oz) cans diced tomatoes in juice
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
  
• 1 lb skinless halibut fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

For garlic toasts

• 1 (12-inch) Italian loaf, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 garlic clove, halved crosswise
  
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  
• Accompaniment: extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

Directions
Rinse squid under cold running water and pat dry. If squid are large, halve ring of tentacles, then cut longer tentacles crosswise into 2-inch pieces. Pull off flaps from squid bodies and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut bodies crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rings. Pat shrimp dry and sprinkle with pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Heat oil in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sear shrimp in 2 batches, turning over once, until golden but not cooked through, about 2 minutes per batch. Transfer shrimp with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, and oregano to pot and sauté, stirring, until golden, about 30 seconds. Add wine and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Stir in clams and cook, covered, over moderately high heat until shells open wide, checking frequently after 6 minutes and transferring as opened with a slotted spoon to bowl with shrimp. (Discard any unopened clams after 8 minutes.) Stir in mussels and cook, covered, over moderately high heat until shells open wide, checking frequently after 3 minutes and transferring as opened with a slotted spoon to bowl with shrimp. (Discard any unopened mussels after 6 minutes.) Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F. Add stock to pot along with remaining 4 cups water, tomatoes with juice, sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes. Make toasts while stock simmers.

Jerk Seafood Packs

Take yourself back to the island with this easy Jerk Seasoning recipe. I love jerk chicken...Jerk seafood is even better. I wonder if I can find a recipe for jerk lobster meat... Anyone have a recipe for jerk lobster? Let me know!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
  
• 4 scallions, cut into 1 1/2 -inch lengths
  
• 2 large garlic cloves, smashed
  
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme
  
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
  
• 1/4 Scotch bonnet Chile
  
• Pinch of ground allspice
  
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
  
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
  
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
  
• 2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
  
• 2 pounds clams, scrubbed
  
• 3 tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  
• 1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined

Directions
Light a grill. In a food processor, pulse the cilantro with the scallions, garlic, thyme, ginger, Chile, allspice and nutmeg until coarsely pureed. Blend in the olive oil, tomato paste and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer 6 tablespoons of the puree to a large bowl. Add the mussels, clams and tomatoes and toss to coat. Tear off four 20-inch-long sheets of extra-heavy-duty foil. Mound half of the seafood in the center of each of 2 foil sheets. Add the shrimp to the bowl and toss with the remaining puree. Arrange the shrimp in a layer on the seafood. Cover with the 2 remaining sheets of foil; fold up the edges all around to seal. Grill the hobo packs over a hot fire for about 6 minutes, or until sizzling and puffed. Using oven mitts transfer the packs to a large rimmed platter. Open the packs carefully, pour the seafood into shallow bowls and serve.
Source:Jerk Pack

Thai Green Curry Mussels

Mussels are a fantastic, cost effective alternative to any high end seafood item. Prince Edward Island Mussels are prized the world over for their superior flavor and quality. Use live PEI Mussels for this recipe if you can get them. If not, frozen mussels should work just fine as well.

Ingredients

• 1 (3 1/2-ounce) bag boil-in-bag long-grain white rice
  
• 1 cup water
  
• 1 teaspoon grated lime rind
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons green curry paste
  
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  
• 1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk
  
• 1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice
  
• 80 mussels (about 2 pounds), scrubbed and de-bearded
  
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  
• Lime wedges (optional)
  

Directions
Cook rice according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat.
Combine 1 cup water and next 7 ingredients (through clam juice) in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add mussels to pan; bring to a boil. Cover and steam 5 minutes or until mussels open; discard any unopened shells. Stir in cilantro. Place about 1/2 cup rice in each of 4 bowls; ladle about 20 mussels and 1 cup coconut mixture over rice. Garnish with lime wedges, if desired.
Source:Curry