As noted yesterday, Crowley had quite a rich dinner on The Tenth Day of his Paris diary. “7.10. More waste time aimlessly watching a poker game. Walked down to Café de Versailles. Dinner. Hors d’Œuvre, Escargots, Cassoulet de Castelnaudry, Glace, 1/2 Evian.”
Escargots à la Bourguignonne (Snails in Garlic–Herb Butter)
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tbs white wine
- 1 tsp cognac or French brandy
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, minced
- Kosher salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- nutmeg, to taste
- 24 extra-large snail shells
- 24 canned extra-large snails
- rock salt
- crusty bread, for serving
In a bowl, whisk together butter, parsley, wine, cognac, garlic, and shallots with a fork. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to let the flavors meld.
Heat oven to 400 °F. Spoon about ½ tsp. of butter mixture into each snail shell. Push a snail into each shell; fill shells with remaining butter mixture. Cover bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with a layer of rock salt. Arrange snail shells butter side up on bed of salt and bake until butter sizzles, 10–12 minutes. Serve snails on a platter, with bread to soak up the butter.
