A Little Taste of France

As I sat with my aunt outside of a small french cafe in Paris, France, I started to realize where I actually was. When I visit a foreign country, I sometimes feel as if I am on a whole different planet. From the ways of transportation to the fashion sense, Paris is nothing like America. As my aunt and I sat down to eat, we were watching all the people go by on the narrow side walks. While observing the scurrying pedestrians, I made a comment that it is very easy to identify people's social location. Just by identifying what people wore or how they walked, it was very easy to determine if they were American, French, or even Muslim. Culture is a beautiful thing.

Before I had taken a look at the menu from the cafe, I had never heard of this escargot before. Some people may ask, what even is it? The escargot is a cooked land snail, yes, snail! Escargot is a typical starter dish served in France, Spain, and Portugal. So, for my chance to "step out of the box", I wanted to try escargot for the first time. If you want to experiment with escargot and have a little sample of the french culture, here is a simple recipe. Enjoy!

Escargot, in the Shell with Herb Butter

Ingredients:

• 1 pound escargot, in the shell
• 1 stick of butter, room temperature
•  1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper  

Directions:

• Rinse the escargot under warm water, pat shells dry with a paper towel, then set aside.
• In a small mixing bowl, combine the butter, shallots, garlic, parsley, and lemon juice. Mix all ingredients well with a small spoon. Lightly season butter with salt and pepper, until desired taste is achieved.
• When butter is at desired flavor, begin to scoop a small amount of herb butter in each shell of escargot. If there is extra butter left over after each shell has been filled, go back and continue the process, adding extra butter, until all the butter has been used.
• Put the stuffed shells into the fridge and allow to sit for about 20 minutes, giving the butter enough time to solidify in shells. While the shells are in the fridge, set the oven to 350 degrees F.
• When the butter is solid in the shells, remove from fridge and transfer shells into an oven-safe pan. If possible, avoid placing shells on a sheet tray, as we want the snails to cook in the butter as much as possible. Cook snails for 15 minutes, max.
• Serve snails, in shells, on top of toasted pieces of baguette, or in a fresh tomato-based sauce.