Billi Bi aux Paillettes (Mussel Soup with Cheese Straws) pictured in a small bowl, an appetizer portion.
Whisk Wednesdays h
as rolled around again, and this week we all (flash: we are up to 11 of us now) made Billi Bi (Mussel Soup) on page 313 from the book Le Cordon Bleu At Home, with the option of also making the Paillettes (cheese straws) found on pages 209-210 and 313, as Shari had already prepared the cheese straws in another lesson. 
I have eaten mussels time and again, always at a restaurant, never having purchased or cooked a mussel before, I was rather looking forward to doing both this week as we happen to be a mussel-loving household. Indiana, not known for the availability of fresh anything-from-the-sea, I called my favorite seafood restaurant, and inquired about the possibility of obtaining two pounds of as-fresh-as-possible-still-smelling-of-the-sea mussels. So, this week, my new friend is Rob, who set me up with mussels fresh off the plane, guaranteed to have been swimming in the sea mere hours before their little flight. (Making lots of new friends with all these cooking gigs.)
While the mussels were, for the most part, cleaned very nicely, there was a certain satisfaction in scrubbing them a little myself, removing a beard or two, and making sure that they were all tightly closed (2 pounds of mussels was about 70 mussels, 3 of which I discarded before the boiling as they had a chip or were not closing tightly when tapped, and 3 which I discarded after the boiling as they did not open). How fun...I bought, cleaned, boiled, and shucked all these with no problems arising at all. These little guys were all very plump and nicely sized...if anything, might get 3 pounds next time just because we are a mussel-loving household and these were so easy to fix.
It was a hit...we all enjoyed it. I did have one portion of soup left over for the next day and found that reheating it (I removed the mussel bodies first and set them aside so they would not get toughened in the process, adding them back in when the soup was hot, which was enough to warm them back up) was great and perhaps even more flavorful than the day before, probably because the flavors had a chance to sit and meld together overnight, etc. Which, leads me to think that I can prepare this soup a day before and reheat it, as I detailed, the day I want to serve it. A big plus in any sort of thoughts on entertaining with it. 
The cheese straws were also a big hit. The boys, all three of them, munched and munched. I had never made puff pastry before, from scratch and all, and I have to say, it was very satisfying and fun. There's something magical about it...creating all those layers and having it turn out! I was really nervous about trying this at first, but Shelley emailed me that she and her girls had a great time making this, so I just started and before I knew it, it was finished and I still cannot believe how nicely the cheese straws turned out on my first try. A big hit...wow...I can make puff pastry...who knew??? (I sorta kinda took photos but in the process lost track of taking one of them on the tray when they were baked...they looked so cute all lined up and all.)
So, what would I change, do differently, or eliminate? Not much. I would add more mussel bodies as the recipe directs you to squish up half of them in the boiling process of the broth and then moosh them to get all the juices out before discarding them. So, half your little mussel bodies get dumped...I am thinking more mussel bodies would be welcome in our house.
The first time I make a recipe, I can never figure exactly how long it will take or exactly what size pots I will need, and which steps I can do in my unique way of cooking, i.e. I cook throughout the day various bits and pieces and then somehow it all comes together at mealtime. (Mostly this is due to running kids here and there and other various commitments, etc., so I learned to cook in small frames of time and assemble at the end.) Anyway, now that I have made both of these recipes once, I can see where I can do it my way with no problem.
Oh, and I would make the cheese straws (their directions said 1/2 inch by 3 inches) larger as, let's face it, there are guys here and this size only means they need handfuls to be satisfied that they are getting something substantial. While I was content to put three on my little plate, they were mounding up a considerable number more than that on their plates.
Other than that...it was all very good as is and I will make this again, especially in the fall and winter when curling up next to the fire with a cup of this and a few cheese straws on a cold evening seems immensely appealing.
If you would like to see how the other Whisk members fared, please click here and then on each individual member's blog. Next week's recipe is Julienne Darblay (Creamed Leek and Potato Soup with Julienned Vegetables) found on pages 133-134 in Le Cordon Bleu At Home. We'd love to have you join us!