Flex Those Mussels!

Guess what I made last night?  That's right, Mussels and Potatoes. Personally, I thought it was wonderful.  I love mussels, and this was a totally new take on them...loved it.

I didn't take as many pictures, partly because it was a "keep going" kind of process, but mostly because my pictures would've looked pretty much exactly like the recipe's pictures.  With a few small changes.  First, I don't have a pot that'll work on the stove and in the oven, so I used a large sauce pan to steam the potatoes, then transferred them to a casserole dish when I was ready to bake.  I used a lobster pot for the mussels, since I'd used my "reasonably sized" pot for the potatoes.  It was a little overkill, but it worked.

After I got the mussels to open, I rinsed them in cold water so I wouldn't burn my fingers when I shucked them.  I don't know if that was strictly necessary, but I'd already burned my thumb so I didn't want to risk it.

 Here's what the mess looked like, before I spooned the batter into each shell.  This is about 2 lbs of each, potatoes and mussels.  It was a LOT.

Here's the dish post-spooning, in the oven.  It smelled SOOOO good.  I added some extra garlic to the top of the mussels, since I didn't think they got much when I cooked them the first go round. It was delish.

In the interest of time (which I have increasingly less of as the week progresses), tonight I'm going to make pasta with pesto.  Don't worry, I'll make the pesto!  Probably won't make the pasta.  I'm thinking I'll probably add some kind of meat to it as well...maybe some rotisserie chicken?  I know that's not strictly Italian, but it turns out making legit Italian food takes HOURS.  Seriously, even making my mom's lasagna recipe takes at least 2, last I  checked.

Anyway, that's the plan.  Anyone else try this mussels recipe?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!