Snails are quite delicious, especially with a nice crisp chardonnay. They're available in many grocery stores, canned and packed with shells. They are also available frozen in many specialty food shops.

24 canned snails, drained
24 snail shells, boiled before using
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped fine
1 shallot, peeled and chopped fine
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dry white wine
a tiny pinch of ground nutmeg or cardamom
rock salt

1. Preheat oven to 400º.

2. Blend together butter, garlic, parsley, shallots, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and wine. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours to blend flavors.

3. Using a butter knife, fill each cleaned shell with about 1/2 teaspoon of parsley butter. Place a snail in each shell, pushing into the butter. Use remaining parsley butter to fill shells up to the rim (don't worry about neatness).

4. Cover the bottom of an ovensafe baking dish with rock salt.

5. Arrange shells in salt butter side up, as level as possible. Bake about 10 or 12 minutes, until butter is bubbling hot.

6. Serve hot with crusty French Bread to catch all the butter, but remember, the shells stay very hot. If you have them, tiny cocktail forks work well to pull snails from shells. If not, toothpicks work great, too.