Lesson 6: Shopping

2.5 lbs mussels

I have been busy at work lately, and didn't really have much time to shop for this meal. Lucky for me all of the ingredients were very easy to come by.  Really all I needed for this meal were onions, butter, milk, heavy cream, sugar, wine, herbs, flour, mussels, some herbs, and raspberries, not much else. Because most of these ingredients are staples, the cost for this meal was less than $40 for a meal for 6.

To think about that in terms of eating out, my wife and I ate out last night and spent more than that for just the two of use. I don't think I have ever ordered mussels (just mussels) at a restaurant, but my guess is that it would not be the least expensive item on the menu and would cost more than $40 for a party of six. Don't get me wrong, I love eating out, and I know that you aren't just paying for ingredients but also for the prep work, service, and atmosphere as well as everything else that goes into running a restaurant. However, I want to highlight this meal as a pretty economical menu. It also helps me overcome the idea that French food is expensive. Some of the ingredients have been, however this meal is definitely not one of them.

The only thing I wasn't quite sure about were the mussels, however I went down to the pier and ordered the mussels I needed on Monday to be picked up Friday after work. I didn't make it to pick up the mussels until Saturday morning. The fish monger was fileting salmon, making it look so darn easy. He showed me what to look for in mussels, gave me some cooking tips, then let me pick out the mussels that I wanted.

Not much else to say except that shopping was easy and inexpensive for a meal that I am definitely looking forward to.