1 lb Butter
1/2 c Parsley, chopped
1 tb Crushed garlic
3 tb Shallots, chopped
12 Canned anchovy fillets
1 tb Salt
1 ts Pepper
1 tb Quatre-epices
100 Canned snails
1/2 c White wine (optional)
2 c Fresh white breadcrumbs
Preparation time 25 minutes. Cooking time 8 minutes. Make snail butter by working the butter with a mixture of chopped parsley, garlic, shallots and anchovy fillets. Season with the salt, pepper and spice, then work through a fine sieve. [Quatre-epices is a plant from the Antilles (West Indies) whose fruit is at the same time reminiscent of pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. –mkm] Place a piece of butter the size of a bean inside each snail shell. Add the snail, then close up the shell with some more butter, pressing it down firmly. Arrange the snails on a dish and moisten with the wine if liked. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and bake in a hot oven for 8 minutes. Dry white wines: Macon-Vire, Bourgogne-Aligote, Rully, Pouilly-Fuisse. [From “Larousse Traditional French Cooking.”]