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RECIPE BREAKDOWN🤯

Steamed mussels

If you want to impress and put a fancy weeknight meal or summer lunch on the table in under 10 minutes, these bivalves have your back.

Economical, efficient, & easy

Mussels are among the cheapest, most sustainable, and foolproof seafood items to cook at home. Here’s how you do it:

1. After cleaning, simmer & steam them with aromatics of your choice until opened (3-5 mins).

2. Serve with crusty or toasted bread.

That’s it. The mussels tell you when they are done, and after opening, they release their oceanic liquor which seasons the broth for you.

Flavoring options

Mussels are great for playing with aroma profiles. You can mix it up every time:

Aromatics & spices: Before adding the mussels and steaming liquid, saute aromatics and/or bloom some spices to create a flavor base. Classic options are alliums, fennel, chilis, smoked paprika, or saffron.

• Some people even throw in chorizo or other flavored sausages for a boost of color and flavor.

Cooking liquid: Try white wine, beer, champagne, or any lighter broth. At the end of cooking, some people add a splash of cream.

Garnishes: Finish the mussels with a fresh handful of minced herbs, a squeeze of citrus, or a knob of butter to enrich the sauce.

First time managing mussels?

Storage: Keep them on ice in the fridge, in an open bag (so they don’t suffocate) until ready to cook, ideally within a couple of days of purchasing.

Cleaning: In a colander, rinse and wash mussels of any sand, debris, or broken shells. If you find any beards attached, remove and rinse them off.

Check them after cooking: To be safe, toss any mussels that didn’t open up during the steaming process.

Eating tips: With the mussel still attached to a shell, scoop up some broth and slurp in one bite, like eating an oyster. Sop up any extra broth with the bread.

If you want to follow an exact recipe, our version is a pretty classic rendition with some light aromatics and spices:

RECIPE RECCOMENDATIONS🥡

More seafood options

If you aren’t ready to dive into cooking seafood with the shell still attached, no worries, explore this collection of friendly, seafood-forward recipes. Don’t miss the poke bowl variations and chipotle shrimp tacos:

FOOD TRENDS 🚀

Better-for-you cereal brands

Why are trendy, healthier cereal brands everywhere now?

In the past few years, new cereal brands have entered the shelves historically dominated by legacy corporations.

Why?

1) An increasing number of people are looking for healthier cereals, a category notorious for its poor ingredient makeup.

• With a growing focus on health and wellness, there's a shift towards cereals that are low in sugar, high in fiber, and packed with nutrients.

• Brands like Magic Spoon and Kashi are capitalizing on consumer preferences, offering cereals that are higher in protein and free from artificial ingredients trending on social media.

2) Old (food) habits die hard.

• Colorful, boxed cereal is synonymous with American mornings. Instead of turning their back on the tradition, consumers are sticking to the convenient meal but opting for boxes with improved macros and cleaner ingredient lists.

Our take: While we’re on board with cereal becoming less processed, we always recommend building your meals out of whole ingredients to best control what goes into your diet (which is often more economical anyway). This does take some time, effort, and consideration.

To help you out, check out our breakfast and brunch collection:

READER Q&A 🧠

Browned butter alternatives

Answer: Thanks to caramelized milk solids, browned butter brings an iconic nutty and toasty aroma to baked goods, cookies, and even pasta sauces alike. The only problem? Browning butter takes extra time (in fact, a lot of people don’t brown their butter enough), not to mention the extra pan to clean.

In the case of cookies and baked goods, there’s a more efficient way to introduce caramelized, toasty flavors to the mix: unrefined sugar products! While you can add toffee or caramel to cookies for a similar effect, those also require extra cooking processes.

Enter: molasses, muscovado sugar, panela, or piloncillo.

• These unrefined sweeteners can be bought at most stores and add rich, caramel-like flavor to your cookies without the extra step. Unlike white sugar, these retain most of the complex flavor compounds produced during the high heat of their production process which mimics the toasty notes of browned butter.

• Just swap in part of the overall sugar content with one of these options, although you might need to adjust and play with the sweetness levels.

Piloncillo is an unrefined Mexican sugarcane product, often found in a hard cone-like shape (after which it's named). It can be grated or melted down and incorporated into your cookie dough, a trick pioneered by the innovative Rick Martinez

In the baking mood? Check out our baking collection here:

Have a culinary question? Reply to send it in for a chance to be featured and get your question answered.

WINNING READER SUBMISSION 🏆

Camping paella

This week’s winner is Emily B., who made a cast iron paella with olive tapenade while camping. Impressive!

Reply with your best home-cooked food photos for a chance to win & be featured, or submit a photo to Cook Well using the photography guide linked on each recipe.

EXTRA HELPINGS 🍽️

A read: How scallion pancakes became the most versatile bread in America

In a minute or less: The best way to eat tofu

What we’re watching: Only 70 people a day can eat this Michelin Star $10 ramen

Food science: Is an expensive mixer really worth it?

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