This past summer I was obsessed with Top Chef Masters on the Food Network, not to be confused with the other gimmicky show Masterchef. On TCM there were real famous chefs competing with each other for their charity of choice.
On the finale, Chef Douglas Keane served a soup with the strangest name: Billi Bi. What on earth is in the soup? Mussels. There was a whole section on Mussels in Cooking At Home by Julia Child and Jacques Pepin and so boldy I went for it even though I am only a Top Chef Observer.
Billi Bi Soup
The soup was created by a chef at Maxim's in Paris in the 1940's and named after a customer named William Brand. The soup was creamy and silky but traditionally it is served plain with no mussels in it, but other recipes may suggest otherwise.
I served it plain because I had plans with the cooked mussels.
It is a heavy soup and only small portion should be served since it is made with cream but it was perfect on an early fall evening.
I was a bit heavy on the cayenne but that did not change the fact that it was silky and smooth and a great way to start a meal.
Mussels Ravigote
With the cooked mussels, I served them on shells, with extra meat in each. Topped with a very simple to make ravigote sauce, and there we had some perfect hors d'oeuvres.
My friend Mark had the best description for them: an egg salad on Mussels. Yum!
Soup 7.5/10
Ravigote 8/10
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