For the bottling of our flagship Melon de Bourgogne, we offered a French/Belgium classic featuring Whidbey Island Penn Cove mussels. The optional fennel for that dish went instead into a bright summery salad simply accompanied with grilled herb toast. The citrus and chocolate dessert paired wonderfully with our raspberry Frambelle.
12 lb fresh mussels
1 bottle Perennial Vintners Melon de Bourgogne
2 bay leaves
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. freshly ground white pepper
1 pint heavy whipping cream
4 pinches saffron threads
8 oz roasted garlic
Scrub and de-beard the mussels.
Bring the wine, bay, salt and pepper to a full boil in a very large pot.
Add the mussels, cover, and cook 5+ minutes until the mussels open, tossing a few times.
Let cool, drain and reserve the liquid, discard any unopened mussels.
Remove the bay leaves, then strain the liquid through a cheesecloth lined sieve.
Bloom the saffron threads in a cup of reserved liquid.
Bring the liquid back to a boil.
Add the cream and saffron liquid and reduce to constituency of light cream.
Add the roasted garlic, and use a stick blender until thickened.
Lower the heat, add the mussels, and bring just back to temperature.
Serve in deep bowls.
Serves 12.
Salad:
1-1/2 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped
5 firm ripe heirloom tomatoes, sliced into strips
1 small fennel bulb, sliced thin
1 small sweet onion, sliced thin
Dressing:
1 clove garlic
1 shallot
3 T. Verjus
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 T. sugar
1/2 C. neutral vegetable oil
15 fresh basil leaves
Blanch the beans in heavily salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Shock with cold water, drain thoroughly and pat dry.
Blend the dressing ingredients.
Gently toss the salad, and top with the dressing.
2 baguette, sliced diagonally
1 C. extra virgin olive oil
2 T. fresh rosemary
2 T. fresh marjoram
2 T. fresh tarragon
1 T. fresh lavender flowers
1 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
Blend the oil, herbs, salt and pepper until smooth.
Brush one side of each slice with the flavored oil.
Grill brushed side up over medium-high heat until lightly toasted.
Flip and toast just long enough to mark.
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 T. orange zest
6 oz. dark chocolate, melted
Cream butter and sugar, add flour and zest.
Pinch of 1/2" balls of dough, roll in sugar and place on cookie sheet.
Use the tines of a fork to flatten cookies.
Bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes.
Remove from baking sheet, cool 10-15 minutes.
Dip half of each cookie into melted chocolate.
Chill to set chocolate.