Baked Tahong (Baked Mussels)

Good day everyone! Sorry for the late post today.  We have been experimenting with ice cream and I totally forgot I have to post today. (^_^) I will update you on our ice cream adventure later.  Meanwhile, we have got lots of leftover mussels from the last recipe we made.  We actually purposely bought extra mussels just for this recipe.  My husband loves this with his beer and I love just snacking on it.  Today, we're making cheesy and gooey baked mussels, very easy to make yet so sinfully delicious :)  Cooking time only lasts for a few minutes, much of it will be spent on prep and assembly.  You can also do this ahead of time then place it first on the fridge then bake later.  Perfect if you have guests coming.

For our ingredients, we will need the following:
1.  Mussels, cooked (see previous recipe here)
2.  Butter or margarine
3.  Fresh garlic
4.  Your favorite cheese

Let's start shall we?  First, soften your butter.  Just place it in a clean plate and let it sit on room temperature until it can easily be mixed.  You can speed up the process of softening by mashing it with the back of your fork.  Next, get a clove or two of garlic then using a cheese grater, grate your garlic.  I love doing it this way rather than mincing it because I think the flavor/juice comes out more.

Next, all you have to do is mix, mix, mix!  You can use a whisk or a fork.  Just make sure the garlic is well incorporated with your butter.  Also, if you are using unsalted butter, you can add salt at this point.  If you prefer spicy mussels, you can add paprika or chili powder.  I did not add chili on mine as the husband can't stand spicy food.  I just put hot sauce on mine after the mussels are cooked.  I love cheesy mussels with extra heat.

Next, in a separate container, grate your cheese.  I just used the regular cheddar cheese.  You can use quick-melt cheese or go extra fancy and add mozarella.

Set the cheese and garlic-and-butter mixture aside then get your mussels.  Just remove the "top" part of the mussels and keep the half where the "meat" is attached to.  Discard the empty half.  We won't be needing those.

Now, add in your garlic-butter mixture using a brush then top with cheese.  You can place it in the fridge for later, but we waiting game is a game we don't want to play so we cooked this after I prepped the mussels, plus, who can resist this deliciousness? This looks yummy already :)

Place your mussels in a baking pan then bake for a few minutes just until the cheese melts.  If you are like me who doesn't own an oven, you can place this on a microwaveable plate then zap it in the microwave for a minute or two on high.  Just watch for it carefully from time to time as the microwave "burns" the cheese a lot quicker than a conventional oven.  You can also place these in a skillet over medium high heat then cover with a lid to let the cheese melt.

Enjoy this cheesy goodness! Yummy! :)