Step 1

Combine all the ingredients together and store in an air tight container in a cool dark place.

Step 2

Use 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture when a recipe calls for a bay leaf.

Step 3

The Chowder:Steam the mussels open using a steamer insert or by placing them in a pot with a tight fitting lid and the water. Place the pot over a high heat allowing the water to boil and cook open the mussels. When they are steamed open remove them to another container and allow them to cool. Reserve the remaining liquid, straining it to remove any stray shell pieces.

Step 4

When the mussels are cool shuck them and reserve the meat.

Step 5

Briefly saute the onions and garlic in the butter. Add the remaining ingredients and bring them to a simmer. Continue simmering them until the vegetables soften, about 30 minutes. Stir the mixture frequently and cover it with a tight fitting lid.

Step 6

Add two cups of the reserved mussel broth and puree the mixture thoroughly in a blender until very smooth. Strain it through a fine mesh strainer.

Step 7

Refrigerate the soup and reheat it when needed or serve immediately. Reheat it with any mussels that are not needed for the stuffed onion.

Step 8

The Spicy Butter:Place all the ingredients in a small sauce pan and melt over a medium heat stirring constantly to combine.

Step 9

Take the mixture off the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature then pour it into a squeeze bottle.

Step 10

The Bread Sticks:Place the flour, sugar, salt, 1/2 cup of water and the spice in the bowl of a food processor outfitted with a plastic blade for dough making. Process the dough until it becomes a cohesive mass.

Step 11

Let the dough rest for several minutes.

Step 12

Pinch off 1 ounce pieces of the dough and roll it out into six inch sticks with your hands. Make some sticks with a loop on one end.

Step 13

Whisk together the egg and 1/4 cup of water and brush each stick with the mixture. Sprinkle the coarse sea salt on each stick.

Step 14

Bake until golden brown in a 400 degree oven.

Step 15

The Stuffed Onions:Peel the onions and trim off the root end very close to the roots. Cut the other end off leaving a larger cross section exposed. Hollow out the inside of the onion and reserve the scooped onion for another use.

Step 16

Rub the hollow onions with the olive oil and seasonings.

Step 17

Bake the onions for twenty minutes in a 400 degree oven until they brown slightly.

Step 18

Let them cool as you mix the mussels and celery leaves together. Season the mixture and stuff it into the hollowed onions.

Step 19

Reheat the onions briefly in a microwave oven or in a warm oven until hot just before serving the soup.

Step 20

The Plate!:If necessary reheat the soup. Pour six ounce of it into a large hot soup or pasta plate. Squeeze some of the spicy butter around the outside of the soup.

Step 21

Place a celery leaf in the center of the soup and perch a mussel stuffed onion on top of it.

Step 22

Fashion a tripod out of the bread sticks and arrange over the soup bowl. Serve with a flourish.