Mussel and Corn Chowder

I went on a seafood foraging outing along the coastline with some friends, and came back with too many mussels to eat in one sitting. We had a dinner party to help consume all the shell fish we found, but were only able to eat through half of our live mussels.  With the impending threat of mussels gradually dying and causing a huge stink on my patio, I forced myself to cook the leftover mussels today. 

So, today, I made a chowder out of the leftover live mussels and the result was pretty good, if I say so myself. I found the recipe on the web, but added my own flourishes, such as the corn and chives. This recipe is versatile; you could substitute the mussels with some other type of seafood to make all manner of chowders.

Ingredients

5 lbs of mussels, or enough to yield one bowl of chopped mussel meat

1 bottle of white wine (Sauvignon Blanc or similar)

6-8 cloves of garlic, minced finely

1/3 cup of tarragon, thyme or parsley

Corn kernels removed from 3 ears of white corn

3-4 cups of mussel stock

Olive oil

1 large onion, chopped coarsely

2 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1" squares

4-8 celery stalks, sliced into 1/4" slices

4-7 bacon strips, sliced into 1/4" slices

2-3 cups of milk (from skim to cream, whatever your preference)

3-4 tablespoons of sliced chives for garnish

Instructions

1. Scrub the mussels under cold running water to remove barnacles and other growth.  You can scrub one mussel shell against another mussel shell to efficiently remove barnacles from both mussels.  Soak mussels in fresh water for 1-2 hours.

2. In a large pot, add a few tablespoons of olive oil, and add minced garlic.  After 2 minutes, pour in the bottle of white wine. Add salt to taste. Once boiling, add the mussels and cover.  Lower the heat to medium heat. Simmer for 8-15 minutes, or until mussels are opened.

3.  Remove mussels from heat. Remove mussel meat from shell.  Remove the beard from the mussel meat. Pour and reserve the mussel stock, without pouring out the grit and sand on the bottom of the pot. 

4. Chop the mussel meat finely until organs are not recognizable and put aside, in the refrigerator if necessary.

5. In a large pot over medium high heat, cook 1/4 cup of olive oil and the bacon until the bacon is browned around the edges.

6. Add onions and the celery and cook until the onions begin to become translucent - 6-8 minutes.

7. Add the mussel stock and potatoes, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 8 minutes.

8. Add the corn kernels and herb of choice and cook for 4 more minutes.

9. Add minced mussel meat. Add milk (3 cups) to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste.

10. Ladle soup into individual bowls, and sprinkle with chives and serve.

How to have a constructive meeting

I just got out of a constructive meeting and I was inspired to share some tips on how to hold a good meeting (I wish this post was as funny as the picture, but unfortunately, I am dead serious):

(1) Discuss topics with stakeholders individually in advance.  Forwarding the agenda is not enough, a 1:1 verbal conversation is best, especially regarding controversial subjects.

(2) Have an attitude of openness and curiosity.  It makes the meeting so much more pleasant.

(3) Don't be afraid to bring the meeting back to the agenda when the conversation goes on a tangent, and it will go on a tangent when you have curious, creative people in attendance.

(4) It is all right to joke and laugh and make small talk to relax everyone.

(5) Be up-front about the decision outcomes you would like to see coming out of the meeting.

(6) Standing up to go to the white board wakes people up, and raises your energy level.

(7) Write meeting minutes, and keep track of action item completion.  The act of writing meeting minutes will uncover action items that weren't immediately obvious.

(8) Have a good handout/power point presentation.  This helps with sticking to the agenda and reminds the mediator of points that would otherwise be forgotten.

(9) Bone up. Knowing the subject matter inside and out before a meeting will forward the conversation more speedily and will make the meeting more constructive.

(10) Appreciate your meeting attendees out-loud. Thank them for their time, and appreciate their feedback.

For more tips on holding a successful meeting, please visit the following blog post. 

And now for something completely frivolous... Nude pumps

There is something about looming deadlines that makes me a more prolific blogger.  When I have no impending deadlines, I have nothing to write about. However, when under a time crunch, I procrastinate by blogging away. Anyways, the subject of this blog post is nude pumps: how to wear them, and where to get them.

I've been shopping for the perfect pair of nude pumps for a long time now, but: (1) I have not been able to find reasonably priced, comfortable shoes that don't look too tranny, and (2) despite the generally accepted wisdom that nude pumps are a "must-have" fashion staple, I have no clue how to pair these shoes with actual clothes.

Nude pumps with white

With brightly hued dresses

Nude pumps can be paired with anything I would normally pair with my high heel beige wedges (now unfortunately worn to death).  However, I did notice that the nude pumps are more polished and more lady-like than a casual pair of high-heeled sandals. Also, nude pumps can be paired with brightly colored dresses (see above) and result in a more subtle effect than had that same dress been paired with black shoes.

Casually, with jeans and a boxy top

I found surprisingly few options for pairing nude pumps with pants.  The L.A. fashionistas are pairing them with cargo pants, or jeans (see above). But this look smacks of L.A. This looks good if you are one of those women who do nothing but shop on Rodeo Drive, carrying a tea cup Chihuahua.

Despite the limited clothing options, I think nude pumps would make a worthwhile fashion addition, if just to replace my aforementioned beige wedges.

Banana Republic: $79.50

The Banana Republic version above has a low enough heel for work. And I also favor the suede texture.  However, I don't trust Banana Republic for long term comfort. My comfort standard is that I need to be able to walk a mile or two in the heels without discomfort. 

Coach: $198

The Coach shoes above are really gorgeous.  And they do exhibit more of a stacked toe, which is trendy right now. But the price point is not ideal. And I would prefer no patent leather.

Steve Madden: $89.95

The Steve Madden shoes above are moderately priced, and look more expensive than they are.  However, the stacked toe, when there is no peephole, looks too tranny to me. (For the non-fashionista, "tranny" is an adjective describing transvestites.)

Cole Haan: $335.00

Cole Haan: $298.00

The Cole Haan shoes above, will probably last forever, and are probably incredibly comfortable. Unfortunately, these are not at my price point.

Pelle Moda: $104.67

My favorite find for the price are the Pelle Moda nude pumps above.  They have the suede texture, and stacked toe, and peephole that I prefer. Unfortunately they do not come in the sizes that I'm interested in, at least on Zappos.com.  So, I guess I'll keep looking...

Fish Tacos and Salsa Fresca

Fish tacos are much easier to prepare than one would think.  I tried making them for the first time, and they tasted surprisingly authentic:

Fish Tacos 
Corn tortillas
White fish (I used rockfish)
1/2 cup canola oil
salt to taste (generous)
cayenne pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Lower the rack in the oven to 4" from the heating element. Set oven to broil. While the oven is heating up, prepare the Salsa Fresca, or prepare the fish:
2. Coat a broiler pan with the canola oil.
3. Place the white fish in the pan. Coat the fish on both sides with the oil using a brush.  (You can also try marinating the fish in lime juice and cilantro for 15 minutes beforehand. I didn't do it, and it is probably unnecessary.)
4. Season fish generously on both sides with salt
5. Season fish with cayenne pepper on both sides
6. When the oven is hot, place the fish in the broiler pan on the rack and cook for 10 minutes, or until fish is flaky. (Don't worry if the canola oil gives off a strange smell while cooking.)
7. Let fish cool, and flake the fish.  There will be a lot of liquid in the pan after cooking, so it is important to salt the fish generously.
8. Place fish in warm corn tortillas with pinto beans and Salsa Fresca below. Garnish plates with lime slices.

Salsa Fresca
1-2 Jalapeno peppers (if using seeds, just 1 pepper is enough)
5 Vine-ripened Tomatoes
4-5 Radishes
1/2 cup cilantro
1/2 red onion
Juice from half a lime
Salt to taste

1. Chop all ingredients in a blender separately.
2. Combine ingredients in a bowl.

I didn't make the cabbage garnish this time, but I looked up a simple Bobby Flay recipe, which I will be sure to attempt next time:

Cabbage Garnish
Shredded white cabbage
Crema or sour cream
Hot sauce
Thinly sliced red onion, and green onion
chopped cilantro leaves
Crema or sour cream

1. Combine all incredients and garnish fish tacos.