Beautiful dark-blue mollusks, mussels cling to rocks in tidal areas and are also cultivated on underwater pilings or ropes. When buying mussels, look for clean, shiny, tightly closed shells, discarding any that are opened or that are unusually heavy (these last are likely filled with mud). Before cooking, scrub well under water and remove the beards. Picking and cleaning can be the hardest part about cooking mussels -- these tender and sweet morsels only need to be cooked for a short time; a quick steaming is one of the most popular ways to cook them.

Moules Mariniere, or "mariner's mussels," is a classic and easy French dish that includes a cooking liquid of shallots, butter, thyme, and white wine. Serve with a crusty baguette to soak up the flavorful broth.

Set up a casual garden table for an open-air meal in dappled light, Provence-style. Serve chilled mussels on the half shell with a dollop of saffron mayonnaise, accompanied by steamed asparagus and potatoes for dipping.

Instead of using a more traditional pan, you can steam mussels in a parchment parcel that goes straight from the oven and to the table. Serve the dish family-style, with a loaf of crusty bread.

To create the elegant appetizer, leave steamed mussels on the half shell and dress with strips of roasted red pepper and a flavorful remoulade sauce. Include a bowl on the serving tray for shells and used toothpicks or forks.

Sweet, plump mussels are steamed in a sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, red chile flakes, and wine. Chorizo, a cured and smoked Spanish sausage, adds extra heat. Serve with garlic bread for dipping.

Give mussels some Asian flair: Bring lime juice, rice wine, fish sauce, and lemongrass to a simmer in a wok. Add mussels (we use the green-tinged New Zealand variety here, but ordinary ones work, too). Garnish with diced cucumber, cilantro, and basil.

This delicious recipe is simplicity itself: Combine mussels with freshly ground pepper and a little water. Cook in a skillet over a very hot flame. Eat piping hot with lemon aioli and lemon wedges.

Prepare this seafood meal al fresco: Cook the mussels and clams -- along with butter, leeks, shallots, thyme, oregano, bay leaf, and chile -- in a large pot on the grill. Serve with grilled bread rubbed with garlic.

These steamed and cooked mussels take on the complex flavors of an accompanying vinaigrette made of Dijon mustard, rice-wine vinegar, olive oil, shallots, and parsley.

This dish is based on classic moules mariniere, but with a bit of cream added for richness. A pinch of saffron adds an exotic flavor to the broth.

In this recipe, chef Sam Hayward cooks the mussels in the oven. Chopped toasted almonds give the sauce a nutty flavor, while butter makes it silken.

Chef Mario Batali's Fideos with Seafood is a traditional Spanish dish made of noodles ("fideos"), mussels, shrimp, clams, a flavorful wine-and-saffron stock, and tomato sauce.

Shrimp stock, strained tomatoes, and vinegar form the flavorful base of this soup, while a little Madeira in the cooking liquid draws out the natural sweetness of the shrimp and mussels.

This San Francisco original is a fisherman's specialty. This recipe includes mussels, clams, and white fish such as halibut or cod, all of which cook largely unattended and in a single pot.