Mussel Mayhem

I am home in Halifax for break and that means savouring the seafood, beginning with mussels which are relatively cheap and quickly devoured. Due to an unfortunate fall that broke my dad's wrist, it also means I am in charge of dinner most nights, and this one was quick to get on the table and uses only one pan. It comes from the beerbistro cookbook, a Toronto restaurant I've actually never been to (but will be checking out soon). I got this exciting cookbook and several others at the library, which is a great way to test-drive books and especially great for me, on a student budget with no kitchen, and thus no means or practical reason to purchase cookbooks, though many are making the cut for my cookbook wishlist when I finally have a kitchen of my own.

All of the recipes in this book use beer, somehow-in salad dressings, as a marinade, even in desserts. They have pretty specific recommendations for the best beer to use in each recipe, but my dad is a longtime home brewer so I just substituted one of his IPA's for the helles lager called for-the beer flavour is subtle in the finished product as most of it steams off.

Mussels with Tomato and Beer (serves 2-4)

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 lbs mussels
• 6 tbsp beer-helles recommended, any IPA a good substitute
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 plum tomato, diced
• 2 tsp chopped tarragon

1. Melt butter and sauté onion and garlic about 1 minute. Add your cleaned mussels (just a quick rinse will likely do for most store-bought mussels) and cook 30 seconds.
2. Add beer and tomato sauce to mussels, shake to distribute evenly, then cover and steam mussels for about 3 minutes.
3. Add tomato and tarragon, and let boil uncovered to reduce sauce for 1 minute. Discard any mussels that have not opened. Distribute into bowls and serve alongside crusty bread to soak up extra broth.