Mussels in White Wine, Herb & Garlic Sauce

When my husband and I were in Belgium a few years ago we ate a lot of Moules et Frites at the beautiful cafes in Brugge. This weekend I had a craving and decided to try and make them at home. I had no recipe (and I didn't measure anything - sorry!) so I decided to go by memory. Unfortunately the grocery store didn't have any fennel or chervil which is what I wanted to use so I improvised with some other herbs. The result was delicious!

Ingredients & Preparation:
Serves 2-4 people as an appetizer

• 1 bag of mussels from the fish counter (they should be cleaned & ready to use)
• 1 handful of coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
• 1 handful of parsley, roughly chopped
• 4 sprigs of tarragon, roughly chopped
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, diced
• 1 cup of white wine
• 1/2 cup of 10% cream
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• few grinds of fresh black pepper

Heat olive oil in a heavy, large pot over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic. Sauté until shallots and garlic are tender but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, salt, pepper, the herbs and celery. Let that cook down for about 1 minute. Add mussels. Cover and cook until mussels open, about 5 minutes. At the last minute, add the cream to the broth. Take the mussels out and put them into a big serving bowl (discard any mussels that do not open). Ladle broth over and serve with warm crusty bread for dipping.