*Moule Frites

An avid foodie and food media junkie over the years I've come across things I'm just dying to try. I read about it in magazines or see it on the television and think I must try this! I want it! This meal for me made the top of my list after staring at the mussels at the grocery mart for the millionth time and thinking about buying them but being unsure. Eventually I stopped fighting with my self and just grabbed them, ultimately deciding on "moule frites" (mussels and fries). Its a traditional French and Belgian Bistro classic the mussels traditionally steamed with white wine or beer and herbs, the fries served with some sort of mayonnaise based dipping sauce. For me living in the mountains has great benefits but fresh seafood is not one of them. Unfortunately these mussels were frankly somewhat ew, they just weren't fresh enough. Living in New England a number of years I think I was spoiled rotten with fresh seafood, although we did not have mussels on our supper table we could regularly eat fish, clams and sometimes even lobster. It was always fresh still sweet with the ocean taste. I have only found one grocery market that I trust for seafood and its almost an hours drive. Having a long drive and summer heat probably doesn't make it a very wise decision to do seafood right now, but maybe I will try this again come Autumn.

Although the mussels were not a high point of this meal the fries stood out. These fries I've made numerous times in the past and I'm still working on perfecting the oven baking. I don't necessarily prefer baking my fries solely because of health reasons, but mostly because I hate the mess stove top frying causes and I loathe the smell of deep fat frying in general. I think what makes these fries great for me is the fact that I toss them with old bay seasoning before baking. The spice bakes onto them and they get perfectly crisp with just the right amount of saltiness. Although its not a standard concept to douse your fries in old bay, I assure its worth a try.