Moules a l'orange

I haven't posted any food stuff lately...but that doesn't mean I don't have an incredible backlog of recipes and successful experiments with tomatoes that I plan to unleash upon the world in the near future. Today, though, I had lunch with my old friends Thierry and Catherine. Thierry is a brilliant entrepreneur who has patented a method and is marketing his truffle infested oaks and noisette trees. Of course, you have to have the correct soil ph to make this delicate symbiotic relationship pay off...
They are transplanted Belgians who have lived here in the Dordogne for almost 20 years. The national dish of Belgium, of course is Moules et Frites....Mussels and French Fried Potatoes.
I won't explain how to make perfect French Fried Potatoes, I suppose that could be the subject of another post in itself, but the Belgian, Northern European mode of serving Frit is with Mayonaise.
There are many methods of steaming mussels. First, of course, you pick them over and discard the ones that have opened...they are dead. The living Mussels are tightly closed and have a beard, which you have to easily clean off.
This is such an easy recipe, yet it is one of the best mussel dishes I have ever had. You need some cream, or half and half, which you warm up in a pan. Do not boil it.
Then an orange, which you zest...simply scrape the peel off. There are many tools sold to do this conveniently. I suppose the best orange is an organic, non treated orange, but in lieu of this, scrub the orange well before you scrape the peel off. you then dice the peel in little pieces.
Put a pot with a cover on the fire. When it is hot, add the mussels and shake the pot. Toss in the orange peel. grind some pepper.... Cover....in a few seconds, the mussels will open...in only a few minutes, they are done. The liquid from the mussels does the rest. Add the heated cream and serve.
What you've never eaten mussels before? You suck the little guys from their shells, while you eat French Fries with mayo...you have to have good bread of course. If you are Belgian, you should butter the bread. If you are French, then you must butter the bread with fresh butter with crystals of sel de guerlain. The mussel juice/orange/cream is something divine, which you can soak up with your bread or have like soup......
The wine we had with lunch was a very dry ordinary Vin Blanc de Bergerac, which is a local white from the Dordogne....