Molly Malone's Drunken Mussels #FishFridayFoodies

In Dublin's fair city

where the girls are so pretty

I once met a girl named sweet Molly Malone

and she wheeled her wheel barrow

through the streets broad and narrow

singing cockles and mussels alive alive oh

She was a fish monger

and sure was no wonder

so were her mother and father before

and they wheeled their wheel barrow

through the streets broad and narrow

singing cockles and mussels alive alive oh

It's time for Fish Friday Foodies' March event. We are a group of seafood-loving bloggers, rallied by Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm, to share fish and seafood recipes on the third Friday of the month.

This month, Heather of All Roads Lead to the Kitchen is hosting. Here was her challenge to the group: "It's St. Paddy's Day - let's share Irish and Irish-inspired fish and seafood recipes! Would love to see some authentic Irish recipes. Recipes with Irish ingredients or an obvious Irish spin or inspiration are good, too."

On My Plate...

I decided to do an Irish-riff on a family favorite - steamed mussels. For this event, I steamed them with whiskey - éirinn go brách!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds mussels, soaked, scrubbed, and dried
• 1 stick of butter, divided in half
• splash of olive oil
• 3 to 4 whole juniper berries, crushed
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and diced (approximately 1 C)
• 1 onion, diced (approximately 1 C)
• 1 C Irish whiskey (Or is it whisky without an 'e'?!? I still haven't figured that one out.)
• 1 C organic heavy cream
• freshly ground salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 C fresh chopped herbs (I used a mixture of parsley, tarragon, and thyme)

Procedure

Place 1/2 stick of butter and crushed juniper berries in a large, flat-bottom pan with a lid. Add a splash of olive oil to keep the butter from burning. Heat until the butter is completely melted and foamy.

  

Add in the fennel and onion. Cook until the fennel is softened and the onion beginning to caramelize. Deglaze the pan with half the whiskey. Once the whiskey begins to simmer, place the mussels in a single layer in the pan and add the remaining butter. Cook for one to two minutes, then pour in the cream. Stir to combine, then cover and steam until the mussels open. Check them after five minutes. They are cooked and ready when the shells are completely open.

Remove the mussels to your serving platter. Pour in the remaining whiskey and, using a stick lighter, set the whiskey on fire. Let it cook until the alcohol burns off and the sauce thickens slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fold in the herbs. Pour the sauce over the mussels. Serve immediately.

An InLinkz Link-up