Mussels Zeitgeist

I just saw a picture of some mussels in the Flickr Daily Zeitgeist, see the top right of this page, and they looked so good and I've been having a craving for them lately so here's the way I like to make them.

To a hot pan add olive oil and enough chopped onions to cover
the bottom of the pan. Season the onions with several grinds of
black pepper and a couple good shakes of red pepper flakes.
When onions are almost translucent mash a clove or two of garlic
and add to pot. Cook two or three minutes longer, flavor
mixture with fresh or dried basil. Immediately add a third of a
bottle of white wine and up to 2 1/2 lbs. of fresh, cleaned and
debearded mussels. Cover and cook until the mussels open.
The time will depend on how much is in the pan.
Six minutes should do it, maybe eight if you’ve got a lot.
Give the pan several good shakes so they
all open nicely. Serve with crusty bread and salad and a
bowl of hot broth for dipping the mussels and the bread. As
long as you don't burn the garlic or basil it will be good.

Warning: Never eat mussels or clams that don’t open. They’re bad. Throw them away.