Mussels A’ La Grande 
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pizzatherapy.com

Mussels A'La Grande

My brother Steve and I went "clamming" a while ago. We were mostly interested in "cherry stones", a  small clam eaten raw with lemon and cocktail sauce. We decided to also get some mussels, which were in abundance. I brought them home and my mom had a great idea.  She created this dish while attempting to recreate an appetizer which she had sampled.   Make sure you only use fresh sea food. This dish would work with any shellfish such as clams.  
(Hey, thanks mom!)

• 3-4 lbs. of  fresh mussels
• 2 Tablespoons of butter
• Bay leaf
• 2 cloves of crushed garlic
• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
• 1/4 Cup of Bread Crumbs
• 1/4 Cup of Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Tablespoon of Fresh Parsley
• 2 Tablespoons of Butter

Directions

1. Scrub and wash mussels well. Pull off the "beard" from each mussel.
2. Steam 3 to 4 lbs. of mussels in ½ cup of white wine, small onion, bay leaf until open.
3. Remove ½ of the shells and discard.
4. Place remainder of the mussels one layer in a baking dish.

Sauce

1. In a sauce pan melt butter , olive oil, add  crushed cloves of garlic, chopped parsley, bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Stir over low heat until bubbly.
2. Pour over mussels.
3. Bake at 400° for about 5 minutes or until heated through.

If too dry sprinkle with olive oil.