Ahh the marvelous bounty of the sea. 

There is nothing in food that mimics so closely a dip in the ocean as a big bowl of mussels.  When you serve these fancy Green Lipped Mussels from New Zealand with Chorizo, you'll make a Surf & Turf that would make Forrest Gump himself hang up his Shrimp Boat Captains hat for good and go scraping bivalves off the docks.

With the American League and the National League Championships coming up this weekend and then the granddaddy of all sports events, The Super Bowl, this is a great party dish.  Moule et Chorizo has all the air of a bourgeois snack but none of the dent in your wallet.  I grew up on shrimp cocktail poured over a brick of cream cheese and served with crackers, which is delicious, but lacks any wow-factor. 

We picked these up from Whole Foods and they weren't any more expensive than the normal mussels they always have, $4.99/pound. They are much larger, sweeter, and a heck of a lot prettier than the black ones.  With their emerald lips, the spattering of parsley, and the bright orange glow of the paprika-filled Chorizo, these are a rainbow of delight.

The whole transformation from bag to table took about 20 minutes and ended up something really worth writing home about.  Even the fishmonger at Whole Foods gave us "Ohh, that sounds good..."  when we told him what we were up to.  And don't forget, those guys are spoiled rotten!  Served with really good bread to soak up the juices.

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