I love all seafood. Really, I don’t discriminate. I’ve cooked all sorts of seafood before – from shrimp to red snapper. But I’ve never tried to make mussels or clams at home. This was the coolest cooking experience I’ve had in a while! It was so fun I Instagramed them popping! I had to do a little bit of research to find out how exactly to wash and prepare them. It’s a lot of work, but let me tell you … it is worth it. The most exciting step in this dish was steaming the clams and mussels. I have glass tops for my cookware and I was able to watch the shells popping open. At first, I had no idea what to expect with the clams. I wasn’t sure how how “open” they’d get. When I saw a sliver of an opening, I almost turned the heat off, but then I was pleasantly surprised when I watched the first shell pop completely open. If you’re not into the whole Frutti Di Mare, you at least have to steam your own mussels and clams. It’s pretty impressive too, when you present them to guests. (more…)