Family Dinner with JP

Mussels. Let me tell you a little bit about mussels. See, when you grow up in Maryland, and spend your summers down Ocean City, mussels are inevitable. Of course, we're talking rough and tumble, steamed in water, served with a wedge of lemon and a ramekin of melted butter, no frills mussels. And they are delicious! For the uninitiated, I think of mussels as the textural middle ground between clams (more chewy) and oysters (more viscous). Mussels are perfect: cheap, easy to make, poppable, fun to share, and can look absolutely beautiful! What follows is a bit of a primer on making mussels. This is clearly a food that should be demystified, so that everyone can eat mussels all of the time. Once you know a few things, like how to sort out the bad from the good, and how to ensure the mussels are clean and without grit, this becomes a fast meal that you can adapt to any flavor profile you want. So of course, following the Tao of Julia, I made mussels in the French fashion - steam...

The idea for this dish came from a Jamie Oliver recipe from several years ago. Well ... okay, from TWO Jamie Oliver recipes, mashed up to make this delicious, simple, one pan dinner. Think of it - chicken thighs and sweet Italian sausages, roasting on top of a bed of tomatoes and potatoes. As the juices simmer out of the meats, as the tomatoes stew and liquefy, the potatoes are there to soak up all of the flavors! The red wine vinegar gives it all a really good acidic punch, and at the end of the roasting, the pan should have a delicious sauce you can spoon out on top of the meat and potatoes, or sop up with a hunk of crusty bread. The joy of this dish is its mostly hands-off cooking. Aside from prepping the potatoes, this is mostly a set it and forget it kind of meal. It makes enough for a small army, so keep that in mind when cooking for one. Hahaha just kidding! Who would cook such a huge amount of food for one person? Don't be silly. Thanks to Kenji and Cyndi for host...