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Mussels in Shells

Procure some small mussels, they being the most delicate, scrape the shells and wash them in several waters, to remove all the grit. Put the mussels in a stewpan with one sliced onion, a small bunch of parsley, and one pint of French white wine; season with pepper and salt, stand the pan over the fire till the shells open, when the mussels will be done. Take them cut of their shells, clean thoroughly, and cut them into halves; strain the cooking liquor of the mussels into another saucepan, mix with it an equal quantity of veloute sauce, and boil until reduced to about half of its original quantity. Thicken the sauce with a lump of butter or a liaison of two yolks of eggs, stirring by the side of the fire and not allowing it to boil after the eggs are added; put the mussels in the sauce with one tablespoonful of chopped parsley. Fill some silver shells with the above mixture, cover with finely grated breadcrumbs, put a small bit of butter on the top of each, and brown in the oven; when cooked, arrange the shells on an ornamental dish paper or a folded napkin that has been placed on a hot dish, garnish with neat sprigs of fried parsley, arranging it here and there between the shells, and serve. Mussels, Matelote Wash and clean some mussels, put them into a saucepan over a clear fire, and toss or hustle them until the shells open. Turn the mussels into a colander placed over a pan, so as to save all their liquor, and remove the half shells, beards, etc.; put two tablespoonfuls of chopped shallots and a clove of garlic into a saucepan with a little butter, and fry without letting them take color; put in the mussels, pour over one wineglassful of wine and the mussel liquor, place the pan over the fire, boil for a few minutes, thicken with a piece of butter kneaded with finely minced breadcrumbs, parsley and a little cayenne, and toss the pan for a little while longer until all the butter is melted. Put them in a metal dish, pour over the liquor, stand in another dish, garnish with fried parsley, and serve very hot.

Mussels, Poulette Style Take some mussels that have been hustled or plainly cooked, remove the half shell that does not contain the fish, take off the beard and weed, remove any young crabs there may be, and put them on a dish either piled up or packed closely together. In the meantime prepare a little melted butter, made with the mussel liquor instead of water and a good quantity of butter, and sprinkle over a little pepper and sufficient vinegar to give it a sharp taste; make this mixture hot, pour it over the mussels and serve at once. Nutmeg, mace, or chopped parsley and chives may be added to the sauce if desired to heighten the flavor.