Cooking class...check!

Okay, so not a "real" cooking class, but in my opinion probably BETTER than a "real" cooking class.  (I'm counting this as part of #1 on my list complete!  Like how I'm going in order?  So organized.  I swear I didn't plan it that way.) 

Last night my fabulous friend Tracey invited me over to learn to cook mussels and clams the typical sicilian way!  (One of the many bonuses of living overseas, or of being associated with military in general, is you get to meet some awesome people who have lived all over and can share what they've learned with you.)  I had never had mussels OR clams before, so my opinion of how they turned out isn't a Top Chef review, but seeing as that everyone ate them and liked them a lot (including me) is good enough for me to count this as a 5-star meal!  And, bonus #2, I also learned to make sicilian tomato and onion salad, drink some sicilian wine, and I went home with the recipe to the moroccan marinade that was on the pork chops we ate at Tracey's last week!  (Also a 5-star meal!)

For those who care or would like to make the mussels and clams we had last night, here's how we did it:

- Buy mussels and clams (seems self explanatory of course, but I'm a step-by-step chef).  Tracey bought 1 kilo of mussels and 2 kilos of clams and there were NO left overs between the 5 adults.

- Soak them, MANY times, because apparently the mussels and clams will spit out sand (ew!) and you do not want the sand in your broth.  (And when eating said mussels and clams, forget this little tid-bit because it's gross and will make you not want to eat them.)

- Make yourself some olive oil!  (No, you do not need to actually MAKE the olive oil, but infuse it with garlic.)  A.K.A.  Cut up garlic (one bulb for this amount) and mix it with 1 cup of olive oil.  Let it sit for the day to really soak in the garlic flavor.  (Apparently this can be done with anything...thyme, rosemary, etc. to make yummy infused olive oil.  Seems obvious, but something new I learned!)

- Make yourself some fish broth.  (Sounds gross, but totally isn't!)  They come in little cubes like chicken or beef broth do.  About 1 cup of broth per pound m&c's.

- Put the garlic olive oil into a really big pan (or two medium pans like we did).  Turn up the heat and let it start to sizzle a bit, without browning the garlic.  Once it's bubbling, add the m&c's.

- Cook over the heat, stirring carefully, until they begin to open.

- When they begin to open, add a dash of dry white wine to the mix and the fish broth.

- Add some fresh, chopped parsley to the mix and let it simmer up a bit and VOILA!  Super yummy mussels and clams!

Tracey toasted up some crostini to dip in the broth while eating and we ate it all over some pasta.  It was like I was in Italy, which is my happy place, so a pretty perfect night!  Next time I'm bringing the camera, because the meals (and table settings for that matter) are always picture perfect at her house.  I'm definately inspired to buy some prettier plates and serving dishes, some actual cloth napkins and rings, and an apron so I can be all fancy-dinner-party-host in the near future!