A rare dinner date

I will always choose a local restaurant over a chain. That is, with one exception: BoneFish Grill. And even though others rave about their favorites (tonight a woman we ran into couldn't say enough about the salmon, $14.20), I always end up ordering the Mussels Josephine ($8.80 as a starter or $14 as an entre with a salad).

Billed on the menu as "Prince Edward Island Mussels sauteed with tomatoes, garlic, sweet Genovese basil and lemon wine sauce," I know there's a secret ingredient that makes the sauce so good that it's all you can do to resist scooping it up with a spoon like soup. Instead I request extra bread and saturate it in sauce. In fact, I would be happy with just a bowl of sauce and the free bread, but I imagine they would frown on that. And I guess I would miss the mussels.

But what was that secret ingredient that gives the sauce gentle sweetness? I guessed maybe saffron, or some other spice or herb that I didn't use often. So when I got home I did a little surfing, and I couldn't have been more wrong: it's a touch of Anisette (licorice-flavored liquor). I may have to try that sometime.

My Steamed Mussels
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-4 tsp. chopped garlic
Mussels
1/2 cup white wine
2 Tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until golden (be careful not to burn). Turn up heat, add mussels and wine, cover pot and bring to a boil. Steam until mussels open, a few minutes (stir halfway through). Once open, remove mussels, add butter to pan and swirl to melt. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over mussels and serve with fresh bread.

If you are lucky enough to have leftover mussels, here's a way to turn them into a quick sauce for pasta.

Pasta with leftover musssel sauce
Leftover mussels with sauce
1/4 cup vegetable or clam stock
1/4 cup white wine
Pasta cooked 1 minute less than suggested
2 Tablespoons butter (optional)
In a medium size pot, mix together musssels with sauce, stock and wine over medium heat. Simmer to combine flavors, about 15 minutes. Put cooked pasta back into stock pot. Add butter and toss to melt butter and coat pasta. Top with sauce and heat over medium until some of the liquid is absorbed into the pasta, about 1 to 5 minutes.

And here's the knock-off recipe I found for the BoneFish mussels online tonight


BoneFish Grill Mussels Josephine
Butter, divided
Prince Edward mussels
1/2 cup red onions, chopped
2 tsp. chopped garlic
1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
Fresh basil, cut into thin ribbons
2 oz. Sambuca
Lemon juice
Coat a hot skillet with melted butter. Add the fresh Prince Edward mussels to the skillet, and cover. The steam will cook the mussels, along with the heat of the pan. It will take about 1 minute to cook the mussels. You'll know when they're done when the mussels begin to open. Add onions, garlic, tomatoes and basil and stir to combine. Remove everything with a slotted spoon. Deglaze pan with sambuca (licorice-flavored liqour). Add butter and lemon juice to taste and salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over mussel. Serve with fresh crusty bread.

Mike and I also really enjoyed the BoneFish house salad (billed on the menu as "crisp chopped greens, tomatoes, Kalamata olives, Brazilian organic heart of palm and roasted pine nuts. Tossed with citrus herb vinaigrette"). Here's a knock off recipe I found online during my surfing:


Bonefish, Grill Citrus Herb Vinaigrette
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl. Microwave on high 1 minute or till mixture bubbles rapidly around edge of the bowl. Remove bowl from microwave and whisk 1 minute until mixture forms an emulsion. Cover and chill tor 1 hour before serving.
Yields 1 1/4 cups.