Pam Grier: Foxy Book + Mussels Recipe = Bombshell Cooking

Pam Grier: Foxy New Book & Mussels Chardonnay Recipe; Bombshell Cooking

FOXY: My Life In Three Acts by Pam Grier

Passionista Principle: “I thought I would be Sheena, Queen of the Jungle as a little girl.” ~Pam Grier

Pam Grier, Hollywood queen and the original Foxy Brown has written a poignant and scintillating new book. I haven’t read it yet but Oprah says it’s poignant and would the big O lie?

Amongst the shocking revelations in the book? Richard Pryor‘s cocaine use while they were dating was noted by her gynecologist. Apparently if a man is a cocaine addict the drug is ejaculated within his sperm and can hurt a woman’s vagina. Ouch. Pam Grier asked Richard Pryor to wear a condom. When Pryor refused their relationship was over. Wow.

I very much look forward to reading Foxy: My Life In Three Acts by Pam Grier. From the excerpts that I checked out I think that I’ll be able to put it next to The Measure of A Man by Sidney Poitier as one of my favorite memoirs.

Meanwhile, I went on the hunt to find a Pam Grier recipe that perhaps this courageous diva cooks up on her ranch in Colorado for my Bombshell Cooking series here on the Passionista Playbook blog. And guess what I found? Pam Grier shared a recipe for mussels with the wonderful Kat Krader, editor of Food & Wine Magazine. Pam Grier joins Josephine Baker, Marilyn Monroe, Diana Ross with a Bombshell Cooking original recipe.

I don’t think that I’ve ever had mussels, but I may adapt the recipe and post my version the way I did with Marilyn’s Stuffing Recipe. This recipe only takes 20 minutes to prepare 4 servings of mussels. Win. And as you saw with my Orange Vodka BBQ Recipe, I love cooking with spirits.

Pam Grier’s Chardonnay-Steamed Mussels Recipe

(Originally printed on Food and Wine.)

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 medium shallots, minced
1 1/2 cups Chardonnay
1 cup crème fraîche
2 rosemary sprigs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1 baguette, for serving

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and shallots and cook over moderately high heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the Chardonnay, crème fraîche and rosemary. Season lightly with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

2. Add the mussels, cover and cook until they open, about 3 minutes; shake the pot a few times. Pour the mussels and broth into bowls; discard the rosemary and any mussels that don’t open. Serve hot, with bread for dipping.