Saturday - Postponed valentines

Jo and I decided to postpone our valentines day till yesterday to give us more time to enjoy it. That's not to say that we need a reason to eat, drink and have a laugh together,  but it was a good an excuse anyhow! On valentines we take it in turns to cook, and my previous bi-yearly efforts have included monk-fish wrapped in parma ham, and a red snapper dish which were well received by Judge Jo! Jo is more of a seafood fan than a meat eater (unlike me) so I decided to keep up the fishy theme with a crab starter and classic moules marinières for the main; Jo took up the dessert challenge.....

So, after taking some advice from the very helpful Mario of Gusto Italiano fame, I decided on getting a live crab from Leeds Market, and turning it into a sort of posh crab tower. I headed into town yesterday, but some b@st__d bought the last live crab who was in the queue just before me! So, with only a pre-dressed crab on offer I decided on potted crab instead that was served with some delicious bread from Waitrose. 

Potted crab

Action shot

For the main course we had moules mariniere et frites, which to be honest was okay! I followed a Raymond Blanc recipe but the shallots were a little raw for our tastes, and although the mussels were big and juicy some had a small bits of grit in them. I know this is to be expected, but I can't stand the texture!! Luckily, we had moved onto our second bottle by then so there weren't too many complaints.......

Moules

The star of the show was definitely Jo's mini croque en bouche complete with sugar work - this was REALLY REALLY as good to eat as it is to look at - bravo!!

mini croque en bouche

Saturday night Moules et Frites (recipe alert)

After our tasting at Create Joe and I stomped through the rain to do some shopping.  As well as picking up my dad's birthday present (which isn't until 15 November but I am super prepared) and getting me some new running shoes so that I am no longer a cripple (thanks Joe!!), we popped to the Kirkgate market for some treats!

We picked up some salmon, which I am curing to take with us to Wales next week with Frenchie Dog Eyes and Sam, bacon ribs (Joe's request) and mussels for a Saturday night treat.

The mussels were transformed into moules and chorizo in a spicy tomato broth, served with chips.  It's a seriously easy dinner which tastes amazing - see below for the recipe.

Cleaned Welsh mussels (in honour of their deserved victory this morning)

Chorizo

Our vino, which we have had a few times but only just worked out the joke in the title.  Doofuses.

Waitrose olives for a pre-dinner snack

Olive stuffed with green chilli (which did not taste of chilli - a little disappointing)

Our cocktail stick man

The dinner table

Frites (not home made I'm afraid - I'm a little scared of deep friers!)

Moules and chorizo with a spicy tomato broth

The moules - a close up!

And dessert...they are now all gone - fatties!

Moules with Chorizo (for two)

800g-1k live mussels, cleaned, beards removed and any dead ones discarded (if they are open, and don't close when tapped on a hard surface, chuck it - not worth the risk)
150g chorizo
2 tomatoes, with core removed and chopped
chilli
cumin
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
glass white wine
parsley, finely chopped
juice of half a lemon

1.  Remove any skin and chop the chorizo into 1cm square pieces.
2.  Put the chorizo in a pan on a low heat and cook down for about 10 minutes until the paprika oil has come out and the chorizo is lightly browned.
3.  Add the chilli (I used half a teaspoon of dried flakes but fresh would be fine), about half a teaspoon of cumin and the garlic.  Cook out for about 2 minutes and then add the chopped tomatoes.  Cook for a further 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes are soft.  At this stage I threw in some frozen peas but these are optional!
4.  Add the mussels in to the pan along with the white wine and stir quickly through the sauce.
5.  Put a lid on the pan and cook at a moderate heat for 4 minutes (the sauce should be bubbling fairly quickly).
6.  After 4 minutes sprinkle over some chopped parsley and squeeze in the lemon juice.  Stir it in and then serve with frites or crusty bread and the rest of your white wine!