Mussels Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wisconsin is a terrific food city. Unlike our big sister to the south, Chicago, our cuisine is still affordable and vigorously unpretentious. Like most cities, contemporary Milwaukee cuisine borrows happily from the food traditions of our many cultures. Mussels Milwaukee fuses a fun and sweet seafood with spicy sausage, great cheese and a full-throated regional beer into a feast best shared with friends.

To make the meal even more fun, I've designed it so that you can buy everything you need at our greatest culinary secret, The Milwaukee Public Market, located downtown at 400 North Water Street.

Your shopping list looks like this:

Impeccably fresh PEI mussels, about 1lb per person

Several apples and pears (at least a half of each per person).
A clove or two of garlic.

Green bell pepper
Red bell pepper
Poblano pepper
(Figure on a quarter pepper per guest).
A package of hot (picante) chorizo sausage.

A pound of Wisconsin sharp cheddar cheese

A loaf of crusty French bread

A bottle of Miller High Life Beer
Plenty of Leinenkugel's Red Beer

Door County dried cherries, at least a tablespoon per person.

Shopping:
A great destination like the Milwaukee Public Market turns grocery shopping from a chore into an adventure.

The best place to buy seafood in Milwaukee is at the St. Paul Fish Company. This family owned fishmongery anchors the east side of the Milwaukee Public Market. Get your PEI mussels here. Mussels come in 2-pound mesh bags. I certainly recommend buying mussels by the bag rather than loose. There are far fewer dead and broken shells. Be sure to keep them on ice and for goodness sakes, don't suffocate them by putting them in a sealed plastic bag. Just ask the fishmonger to put the entire mesh bag into a larger plastic grocery bag. If you drip a bit, blame it on your shopping companions.

One pound per person is wonderfully generous. You can get 4 smaller servings out of a two-pounder, but you'll miss the raves from your guests. Although I list the mussels first, it's best to actually purchase them last, especially if you have a ways to drive home. If you're buying in summer, ask the fishmonger for a separate bag of ice. Throw the ice in the bottom of a small cooler with the mussels for the ride home.

Next stop: Fields Best Produce for organically grown pears and apples. Since these fruits have slightly different peak seasons, ask the vendor for help. Ask for a sweet apple variety and a tart one. Get a pear variety that is crunchy (like a Bosc) rather than soft. Pick up your garlic here too-extra pungent because it was most likely grown in the same time zone, unlike the typical grocery store dreck.

Then walk right across the aisle to El Rey Productos. I only buy the hot chorizo; this very bold flavor allows you to reduce your portion size, hence the overall fat and cholesterol. The pepper selection here is the best in the city-you're guaranteed to find perfect poblanos. If you're a bit daring, feel free to replace that pedestrian green bell pepper with any of the other varieties you'll find at El Rey (check with the vendor for which are hot and which are mild).

A Taste of Wisconsin is your best source for Door County dried cherries outside of Wisconsin's trendiest peninsula. Buy a pound and try not to eat them all on the way home. You can toss the extras into pancake mix or oatmeal. Or use them in a port wine reduction sauce over lamb or pork.

Next, head over to the West Allis Cheese Shop. These folks offer 28 different varieties of Wisconsin cheddar. Owners Howard, Linda and Mark will be happy to give you a taste. I recommend the Cedar Grove Sharp.

On your way out, catch a loaf of fabulous French or Italian bread at Piacentine's Artisan Bread. Be sure to lavish a dollop of Aladdin's hummus on a bread sample while you're waiting.

Fortunately, because this is Milwaukee, you'll have no problem picking up a 6 pack of High Life (for the mussels) and as much Leinie's Red as you can afford (for you and your guests. However, the New World Wine Company is right next door and you've already found a parking spot, so why not save some steps (and check out their gorgeous hardwood floor and Cream City brick store).

Preparation:

This meal cooks very fast so it's crucial that you prepare everything in advance-what the French call mise en place.

Form the chorizo into balls about the size of large marbles. For all its fire, chorizo is a delicately textured sausage; let the meatballs firm up before gently turning them. Cook in a heavy skillet over medium heat, turning every few minutes until cooked thoroughly. Drain and remove from the skillet (to get the meat out of the copious red grease). Keep them warm. You are the cook, so keep in mind that you richly deserve several of these beauties in order to keep your strength up while you toil.

Seed and slice peppers thinly. Place them into a bowl with the minced garlic. One of the culinary benefits of our large Hispanic population is fresh key limes. Since I usually have some of these green jewels in my cooler, I like to throw a couple halved into this vegetable mix.

Remember that the vegetables are intended to play two roles in this dish. First, they add a beautiful contrasting color to the dark shells and salmon-colored flesh of the mussels. Second, you're going to be serving the nearly magical leftover broth with the mussels, a broth made even more wonderful with the flavor of the peppers. You don't want to overpower subtle flavors with bold ones.

Slice the bread into hearty chunks. To prevent too pilfering as you prepare the rest of the ingredients, put the chunks into a plastic bag until you're ready to serve. Reserve a handful for yourself-the cook's privilege.

Chunk the cheddar into half-inch cubes. Cut each cube on the diagonal to form triangles. You're going for small bites of big flavor here, aesthetically about the size of the mussel flesh and the chorizo meatballs. Cover with plastic wrap to keep the cheese from drying out while you finish up.

Cut the pears into quarters. Using a sharp knife, remove the flower, the seeds and the tough fibrous threads that run from the seeds to the stem. Cut each quarter in half lengthwise (so the pear is in eights). Then cut the narrow tops off. Cut the bulbous bottom of the fruit into strips roughly the size of the tops.

Cut the apples into quarters. Using a sharp knife, remove the cores. Cut each quarter in half crosswise (into top and bottom halves). If you have a little bit of dexterity, you can restack the chunks into an apple shape and tuck into a plastic bag. This will reduce browning during the few minutes until you're eating.

Just before serving, mix the apples, pears and dried Door County cherries together. You can add a splash of rum or vanilla and a scrape of nutmeg if you like.

Heat a heavy bottomed skillet (a cast iron skillet is ideal) over high heat until very hot.

Just before cooking, rinse the mussels in cold water to remove any surface sand and grit. Never soak mussels in water-they're salt water beings and you'll kill them with a fresh water soak. Rinsing them does no harm and is essential to keep the broth from being sandy.

Next, beard them by pulling off any rope fibers still stuck in the shell. Check each mussel individually to make sure it's alive. They should be tightly closed. If you come across one that's partially open, tap it a few times on the countertop. If it closes up, it's fine. If not, trash it. Discard any mussels that are not tightly closed any any that are broken.

Place the rinsed and checked mussels along with the peppers and garlic into a large bowl.

Cooking:
Make sure your skillet is very, very hot. Dump the mussels and vegetables into the hot skillet, pour in a bottle of High Life beer and immediately cover tightly. If the pan is hot enough, the beer will immediately boil. Use caution because the beer with steam instantly. Continue to steam the mussels for 5 minutes. Carefully lift the lid by tipping it up away from you and check the mussels. If nearly all the mussels are open, pour the entire contents-mussels, peppers and liquid-into a large bowl and begin to plate immediately.

If most are still closed, replace the lid and give them a couple more minutes in the beer spa.

If your skillet wasn't hot enough, the beer may take a minute to come to the boil. Start the five-minute timer as soon as you see steam coming from under the lid.

To plate:
You'll need a large plate and a bowl for each guest. Place an empty bowl on the plate.

Place a half a dozen chorizo meatballs, an assortment of the fruit, a generous portion of cheddar and some chunks of bread around the bowl. Ladle a dozen mussels into the bowl and bathe them with that fabulous broth. Put the rest of the mussels on the table with both a slotted and a serving spoon (one for mussels and the other for broth). Don't forget to provide your guests with a large empty communal bowl for the shells. By the way, I set the table with fondue forks; they're perfect for snagging the mussel flesh and all the other little bites on the plate.

Mussels Milwaukee is is a fun, dramatic, inexpensive and delicious quick meal that begs for a table full of great friends. And now you've an excuse to invite them!