Recipe - Escargots De Montpellier

36 Canned snails
(drained, juice reserved)
finely chopped
One half cup Dry white wine
One half cup Minced parsley
4 Anchovies; pureed
1 tablespoon Grated lemon peel
One fourth pound 1/4"thick pancetta slices
cut into 1/8inch dice
2 tablespoon Olive oil
One half cup Finely chopped walnuts
2 tablespoon Armagnac
Salt & freshly ground pepper

GARLIC CROUTONS
8 sl French bread
3 tablespoon Olive oil
2 Garlic cloves; halved

Boil reserved snail juices and wine in heavy small saucepan until reduced
to 2 tablespoons. Chop parsley, anchovies, garlic and lemon peel together
to mix. Combine with snails. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead; refrigerate
snail mixture and wine reduction separately.) Cook pancetta in heavy large
skillet over medium heat until golden brown, stirring frequently. Transfer
pancetta to plate using slotted spoon. Add oil to skillet and heat. Add
walnuts and stir until browned, about 4 minutes. Add snail mixture; stir
until hot. Return pancetta to skillet. Pour in Armagnac and boil until
evaporated. Add wine reduction and heat. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon mixture over croutons and serve immediately. GARLIC CROUTONS: Brush
both sides of bread with oil. Heat heavy skillet over medium heat. Add
bread and brown on both sides. Rub both sides of bread with cut side of
garlic. Serve warm. Note: Recipe works best with French bread slices that
are 1/3inch thick.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini