Mussels in Saffron Cream Sauce

I've been remiss in my East Coast posting. I promise, I'll get to it! I have a few favorites left. But ever since Claire took me to La Lavandou near the Zoo, I've been craving mussels in saffron cream sauce. So today, with a little help from the internet and Whole Foods, I came up with an easy home version. Look at that gigantic mussel on the right! It was twice as big as any of the other ones.

• 3 pounds black mussels (only $4/lb at Whole Foods!)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups dry white wine (I had some Berger Gruner Veltliner left, only $11 a liter)
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron (one big pinch)
• 1 medium onion, very finely diced
• salt and pepper
• a few dashes of turmeric (let's call it a quarter teaspoon)
• chives or Italian parsley, neither of which I had on hand and had to forego

Use a big heavy pot for this, at least 6-8 quarts. Sautee the onions in olive oil over medium heat for five minutes, or until soft but not browned. Meanwhile, soak the saffron threads in a few tablespoons of hot water, mashing with a spoon to release all the color. When the onions are soft, add the white wine, cream, saffron and turmeric. Bring to a boil, then dump in the mussels and reduce to medium or medium low heat. Make sure you've cleaned them all first! Coat the mussels with the sauce, cover, and let the sauce simmer for six minutes. Check to see if the mussels are done. Mine weren't, probably because I had so many. I think I cooked them a total of fifteen minutes over medium low heat, and stirred the pot twice. I prefer to be patient with mussels. Low and slow! They are ready when you can easily open up the shell and get at the meat. If the shell's a little open but hard to pry open all the way, it's not ready!

Salt and pepper to taste, and serve with a slab of buttery toasted bread. Of course, fries are the way to go. But I wasn't in the mood for quite so much fat (I know, crazy!) so we had sauteed zucchinis and potatoes.

A pound of mussels is approximately how much is in the bowl pictured. It's plenty for one person unless you're starved or not going to eat anything else. Remember, the creamy sauce is amazing with bread, so you're likely to get full off that before you can finish even a pound! What with the vegetables and bread, we were hard pressed to finish the mussels. And I'm using all the leftover sauce for lunch tomorrow! It'll either be tossed with vegetables or eaten with toasted bread.