Pic(k) of the Week: Drunken Mussels

Simply an amazing photograph, but it's not mine.

Washington D.C.'s own Teddy Folkman, chef at the Belgian themed brasserie Granville Moore's, was a speaker at the recent Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver, Colorado. He gave a cooking demonstration of Drunken Mussels, his recipe for preparing mussles with Hennepin beer. (In 2008, Folkman defeated Food Network celebrity chef Bobby Flay in a broadcast challenge, cooking this same preparation.)

The photo was taken by amateur photographer and beer lover (and wind surfer!) John M. P. Knox, and posted to his Flickr site. It is used here with his permission. Here's what John had to say about the shot:

I used a mirror to get the overhead shot. The mirror was hung above the prep table so that a video camera could relay views of the cooking process to a monitor for the audience. I used the same mirror to get the shots I wanted.

He adds: "Teddy is a wonderful subject -- he puts on a great show!"

See for yourself: Granville Moore's is a Belgian-themed bistro along the newly burgeoning 'scene' of H Street, NE. These mussels, and other variants, are a staple on the menu, along with a large roster of Belgian beers. It's a small and very popular eatery, so, go early in the evening. I'm reminded of something the great baseball player and raconteur Yogi Berra once said about another popular restaurant: "Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded."


Teddy Folkman's Hennepin Mussels

• 1 1/4 pound rope-grown mussels
• 4 tablespoons blended oil (40% Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 60% Canola)
• 1/3 cup diced smoked bacon (preferably applewood)
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced shallots
• 1/4 cup creamy blue cheese (Hook's from Wisconsin)
• 1/3 cup Ommegang Hennepin
• Juice of one lemon
• 1/3 cup baby spinach

Heat the oil in a pan over high heat. Add in the bacon and cook until the fat is rendered out and the bacon is slightly browned. Add the shallots and mussels and toss together. Add the Hennepin and lemon juice and toss together. When the mussels start to open, add half of the blue cheese, melting it into the broth. When the mussels are fully open, toss in the spinach. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.

Plate mussels and top with the rest of the blue cheese. Serve with a crusty French baguette ... and a glass of Hennepin, of course!

• More of John's photos of Chef Folkman here.
• Jennie Chen wrote about the program at her blog MisoHungry.
• Hennepin is a saison —a Belgian-inspired wheat ale— brewed by Brewery Ommegang, in upstate New York state.