Lesson in Cooking: Mussels

In case it isn't clear, we live by the ocean.  This means that there should be a ton of fresh seafood options.  We have two big fish markets (one south in Colosso) and one north on the main drag.  It is quite difficult to go to these places with kids, so I only go about once a month.  The fish we have gotten has always been very good.  The other option is that sometimes there is local fresh seafood in Jumbo.  I look every time I go, and yesterday, we found very fresh mussels.  I'm not a huge fan, but Steve insisted since he LOVES them.  So, we bought about a kilo, and last night I made them.  Here is my story.

Have you ever prepared mussels?  I haven't.  I've never even thought about buying them and attempting to prepare them myself, but I like a challenge.  After reading some things online, I decided to use wiki instructions to clean them: http://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Mussels
It took quite awhile to choose, soak, scrub and rinse a kilo of mussels.  The most fun part for me was watching them "breathe" while soaking them.  I was extremely careful about making sure the mussels were still alive, so I ended up having to throw some away (they must have died in transit from the store to our house).  After an hour worth of cleaning, I used this recipe to actually cook them.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/steamed-mussels-recipe.html

I sauteed some shallots, garlic, and fresh thyme in olive oil, tossed in the mussels and added chicken broth, white wine, red pepper flakes and butter for a good steam (I omitted the recommended tomatoes only because I didn't have any).  It was pretty quick to cook them - only 5-10 minutes.  I poured them in a bowl and served with fresh bread and steamed artichokes.  It was a great grown-up meal, and the mussels were fantastic! The broth was especially good.  Try the recipe!