Snails Menetrel / Escargots A La Menetrel

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."]