Crawfish with Cream

After having prepared and washed three dozen crawfish as No. 1007, place them in a saucepan with a good sized piece of very fresh butter, a bunch of chives and parsley garnished with thyme, bay leaf and basil, a minced onion, two cloves, mushroom parings, a little salt and pepper; moisten with a small ladleful of vegetable stock (No. 195), and set the covered saucepan on a very hot fire for ten minutes, tossing the contents frequently; after this is done, take them from the fire and drain in a colander. Break off all the small legs and the shell from the tails, then lay the crawfish in a saucepan with their own strained stock, to keep hot without boiling. Just when ready to serve, drain, and set them into a silver tureen, one on top of the other, the tails inward, and the heads reclining against the sides of the tureen, and cover over with a lean unctuous bechamel sauce (No. 409), reduced with the broth in which the crawfish were cooked.

EDIBLE SNAILS (Escargots).

A shelled snail. The snails intended for eating are those that feed on aromatic plants. They are nourishing, but difficult to digest, are unsuitable for weak stomachs, and always require to be well seasoned. Broths are made from snails and are found to be very soothing for any irritability of the stomach.