Mussels Steamed with Bacon, Beer, and Fennel

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I thought this recipe was really good and has great potential. I stuck to it as much as possible this time through b/c I wanted to see what the author had in mind. I tasted as I went and in the end, I had to add double the salt and pepper to keep everything from being too bland. I did have to cook the potatoes/fennel for 5 extra minutes, as mine were also too crunchy in the middle. Next time I may see how they do at 3 extra minutes since they continue to cook once the beer is added. The green beans don't add flavor, but they add a nice, crisp freshness to the dish. Plus it's a good way of getting a green vegetable in the meal! What I would change next time: Instead of bacon, use chorizo. It would give it that extra flavor and seasoning that was needed. I will also try it with wine instead of beer. Not that I disliked the beer...it just left me wanting a deeper flavor. I think the wine and chorizo would be a great combination together. Will definitely make again! Very versatile!

The recipe was fine, but I added 2 cloves of minced garlic to make it great. The fennel, potatoes and bacon were a nice addition, creating a wonderful medley of flavors. The next time I would skip the green beans (they didn't add anything except the color green) and maybe replace with some spinach/shredded kale leaves. Oh...I also cooked the potatoes about 5 minutes longer than what was suggested. Following the timing in the recipe, they were still a llittle crunchy in the middle.

This recipe definitely has some potential. Next time I think I'm going to substitute the beer for white wine and add some garlic and cilantro and perhaps some toasted fennel seeds. I thought the bacon would add enough seasoning, but it needed some help :)

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