Spain may have won the World Cup, but get ready to celebrate with the French! Bastille Day is July 14th, in honor of the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille, and it is France’s national holiday! Mussels with Herb and Smoked Paprika Croutons are one of our most favorite yummy French recipes!!

Ingredients

Mussels
2 pounds mussels
1/2 cup dry white wine

Herb and Smoked Paprika Croutons
5 slices plain white sandwich bread
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 Tablespoon fresh chervil, chopped  (can substitute parsley)
1 Tablespoon tarragon, chopped
1 Tablespoon chives, chopped
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Methods/Steps:

Cook Mussels: Scrub mussels well under running water and pull off any beards right before use. Discard any broken mussels or any mussels that don’t close when given a slight squeeze. In a pot or large sauté pan, bring the wine to a boil. Add the mussels. Cover and cook over high heat, shaking the pot until the mussels open, 4 minutes. Using a skimmer, transfer the mussels to a rimmed baking sheet and let cool. Pour the mussel cooking liquid into a bowl. Stain liquid and reserve for assembly.

Make Croutons: Preheat broiler. Stack bread and cut off the crust. Cut the bread into tiny cubes about 1/4 inch squares. Put the cubes in a medium bowl, set aside. In a small skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the garlic and paprika and cook over moderate heat until fragrant. Scrape the contents of the skillet over the bread cubes. Add the chopped herbs and lemon zest, season with salt and pepper and toss well.

Assemble Mussels: Remove the mussels from their shells. Discard half of each shell and line the half on a sheet pan to stuff. Roughly chop the mussels and spoon some of reserved cooking liquid over the mussels to keep them moist. Divide the chopped mussels amongst the shells, about a tablespoon, and top with the croutons.  Broil 6 inches from the heat for about 1-2 minutes, rotating the pan as necessary, until the bread crumbs are browned and crisp. Serve right away on a platter garnished with parsley.

Unless you have been living under a rock recently, you might have noticed a new craze for cupcakes! Desserts have been given a huge makeover with cupcakes taking center stage. Cupcake bars are becoming the modern replacement for the traditional wedding cake, and themed cupcake trees are guaranteed to be visually as well as tastefully satisfying!

Many major cities have also created official Cupcake Crawls!  Yup, you guessed right, works just like a pub crawl! A cupcake crawl is the perfect way to spend a lazy afternoon laughing with friends and stuffing your bellies with delicious treats, all while giving you the power to critique, constructive criticism only of course, along the way!! Here at Parties that Cook we have given you some guides of popular cupcake crawls in our three major cities of operation; San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle! Use these ideas to plan your own unique cupcake crawl in a city near you! Just remember, stay hydrated and pace yourself! Cupcake crawls can take a full day to complete! If your feeling extra passionate about your cupcakery encounters, you can also give out special awards such as;  ‘Best Overall Cupcakery’, ‘Best Individual Cupcake’ or even ‘Best Priced’!!

San Francisco– Sara from The Daily Obsession gives a detailed explanation of her favorite San Francisco cupcake bakeries, complete with pictures and reviews!!

Chicago– Chicago Bites food bloggers Tammy Green and Bridget Houlihan have created a Chicago Cupcake Crawl Guide, covering all essentials needed for a delightful experience!

Seattle– Seattle Weekly Blogs is sure not to leave Seattle behind in the cupcake obsession!

Don’t quite have the sweet tooth? Already done a cupcake crawl? Think of what other kinds of “crawls” you can come up with, we love the idea of a coffee crawl! Leave us a comment about your creative ideas and success stories!