May 9, 2010

Mussels with chilli sauce


I got a note in my mailbox last week, letting me know I had a parcel to pick up.
"A parcel?" I thought, what could it be as I couldn't remember ordering anything. The day moved on at a rapid pace and I never got around to the post office until the following day.
I collected the parcel still not knowing what it was, flipped it over to see who it was from and then as soon as I saw her name, the light goes on, my taste buds get excited and I start to salivate!

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine who I recently reconnected with on facebook posted a statement that she was cooking up some chili sauce and her house smelt amazing; to which I replied "Oh, I'd love to try some", not really thinking I'd get any.
To my surprise and excitement Miss K packaged up a bottle of her fine Asian chili sauce and shipped it to my door step- BLISS!!!
Just to give you a bit of background, Miss K and I first worked together at the Hobart Sheraton back in the day when there actually was still a Sheraton hotel in Hobart. We had a blast working with each other, especially since there were only three girls in the main kitchen and the rest were men (about 20 odd I think?). To say we had a bit of fun was an understatement. We also learnt a lot about growing up in a male dominated industry and how to handle ourselves, you know, move your way up the ranks without getting crushed and trampled.
Miss K and I lost touch when we went our separate ways in the food world. Miss K went on to work at some awesome kitchens around Australia, while I got itchy feet and started off o/s.
So, to say I was excited to get a bottle of homemade chili sauce from her is a bit of an understatement.  I knew her talent in the kitchen and was bursting to open the jar and get stuck in!

Of course I had a few hiccups, I wanted to make chili chicken that night, but couldn't because it was a footy training night which meant I needed a quick family meal in 20 minutes and I didn't think the boys would be happy if I burnt their mouths just to keep me happy.
The next night I was itching to eat chili, however I had had a big day at the office, Nic was coming home late, kids were tired and I needed to be somewhere right after Nic got home, so I wasn't up for cooking two separate meals.
I have to tell you I wasn't proud of my dinner choice (Max and Alex also agreed to this) but it was the only way I could get my hands on some of the chili sauce without cooking two meals........That's right people I had breakfast for dinner and you know I slathered that poached egg with Miss K's chili!


I LOVED every bite, so, so yummy; eggs and chili just belong together.

Anyway to cut a long rambling story short, the next night I took Miss K's advise ("..it tastes great with mussels") and got Nic to pick up some fresh mussels on his way home from work. I whipped up chili mussels for Nic and I while the boys had an omelet and veggies with their noodles (seriously, my wok isn't big enough to make noodles for four so I HAD to make it in two batches- perfect!).
The chili sauce on my egg was yummy but when I cooked the sauce with the mussels, it made a mind blowing sauce that Nic and I couldn't get enough of.


 Miss K, thank you SOOOOO much for our jar of pure pleasure. We are sure to lick it clean and then be totally depressed when it is all gone.

4 comments:

Bryan said...

Sounds absolutely wonderful Camilla! I so love Mussels, In fact we just had them last night (post later I hope my pictures turn out as good as yours). With the home made chili sauce they must have been great!

Dinners and Dreams said...

I love seafood. This is such an amazing preparation of mussels.

xo

Nisrine

Dinners and Dreams said...

Oh and Happy Mother's Day!

Camilla Baker said...

Bryan I am looking forward to reading your mussels blog!

Nisrine, I am hoping to get the recipe so I can blog it and you will all be able to enjoy the flavour!
Thank you for your kind wishes xx