Broiled Mussels

My family loves seafood and this was such a great appetizer for us to snack on while we waited for my mom to finish dinner, they barely lasted 5 minutes!

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds mussels
1 cup white wine (they suggest 1/2 cup but I need more to steam that volume)
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, minced
1 small clove garlic, minced
4 pinches smoked paprika (pimenton)

Clean the mussels- this can be time consuming!-
Boil your wine in a medium pot. Add the mussels, cover and steam them open over high heat until they open. You can start checking at 3 minutes, but it can take up to 6. Once open, let the mussels cool. Twist off and discard one of the shells from each mussels (discard any that didn’t open), making sure that the remaining shell contains the mussel.  Mash butter, parsley, garlic, pimenton and salt to taste in a small bowl and slather each mussel with the compound butter. Arrange them in a broiler-safe tray and chill them in the fridge until the butter is hard. Preheat the broiler  Broil the mussels until the butter is bubbling hot, about 2 minutes (or up to 4 in an oven). Serve immediately, with crusty bread

Meat Pie!

For the last few weeks Alex had been raving about the meat pies he ate in Oz and how he has not eaten once since his trip..... so the great chef I am, I decided to look up recipes online and make some for him.  I was a little weary a meat pie sounded a little odd, maybe not my style, but now I am trying to think of any excuse to eat some when I'm at his house! We found a recipe online that seemed the most authentic and last week while he was at practice I got to cooking! This was so easy and came out so amazing. I think I am definitely going to be making more, and using different recipes and meats as well! But best part of it all was how excited Alex got, they were authentic but American size! BIG! The pie is best eaten with a ton of ketchup on top!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup water, divided
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons plain flour
• 2 puff pastry sheets
• I added truffle salt too!

Pre-heat oven at 450 degrees Celsius.
1. Brown meat and onion.
2. Add 3/4 cup of the water, bouillon cubes, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, pepper, oregano, and nutmeg.
3. Boil and cover for 15 minutes.
4. Blend flour with the remaining 1/4 cup water until it becomes a smooth paste; add to the meat mix.
5. Let cool.
6. Grease a pie dish and line with puff pastry.
7. Add the cooled filling mixture; brush edges of pastry with milk or beaten egg; put the pastry top on; press edges down with a fork.
8. Trim edges and glaze top with milk or beaten egg.


9. Bake in a very hot oven, 450 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.