The Cook Book, by "Oscar" of the Waldorf

Place two dozen crayfish into a stewpan with a little salt, a few peppercorns, some finely chopped vegetables, a bunch of parsley and a little vinegar or white wine ; cover over the pan, place it on a good fire and when the fish have cooled a little remove the meat from the tails and claws and cut it up into small pieces, placing them in a small stewpan and thickening with a little white sauce. When wanted for serving fill a dozen or so of (bouches) patties with the preparation and garnish with lobster coral and parsley. Timbale of Crayfish. In order to have this dish sufficient for a large party a great number of crayfish are required for it. Having picked out the tails of something like one hundred and fifty crayfish, brush each one over with some warmed crayfish butter. Have ready some very clear savoury jelly and a large timbale mould ; warm the jelly to the liquid state, pick up each tail with a larding needle and dip into the jelly ; then arrange them neatly around the mould; the jelly will cause them to adhere. When the top is reached (remember the mound will be upside down and should be packed in ice) leave the jelly fixing the tails to set. Pick out all the meat from the claws and bodies and chop up very finely; mix this mince with enough warm jelly to fill the timbale and leave that also to set. When the jelly is firm, dip the mould for an instant in tepid water, wipe it and then turn the timbale out on to a dish. Garnish with croutons of jelly and an attelette decorated with truffles. Edible Snails. Snails are cleaned by placing them in boiling water with some wood ashes and leaving them until they have thrown their cover wide open which will take about a quarter of an hour ; they should then be removed and picked carefully out of their shells with a fork. Put them in a basin of tepid water and leave for two or three hours. Afterwards rub them well in the hands and wash them in several changes of cold water, The shells are put in warm water, scrubbed with a brush and then wiped dry. Baked Edible Snails. Work one tablespoonful of chopped parsley into two ounces of butter, and season with one saltspoonful of salt, one-half saltspoonful of pepper, and a small quantity of grated nutmeg. Put a piece of the prepared butter into each of the shells (there should be about twenty-five shells for the above quantity of butter), then put a snail into each of the shells, and another piece of butter on top. Lay the snails close together in a cast iron pan, the mouths of the snails upwards, and not one upon another ; cover the pan so as to render it air tight, and put it into a moderate oven. When the parsley begins to look dark, the snails will be sufficiently cooked. Arrange the snails on a hot dish with a folded napkin, leaving them in their shells, and serve as hot as possible. Edible Snails, Bourgoyne. Take some Bourgoyne edible snails, disgorge them with a little salt for two or three days, wash several times in cold water, strain and place them in a stewpan covering them with water. Add a bunch of sweet herbs, some cloves and whole pepper tied in a cloth, and salt to taste ; cook until the snails fall from their shells, empty them, clipping off their tails, and cleaning the shells well. Mix together some shallots, parsley and butter, and chervil chopped very fine ; put this into a bowl with an equal quantity of sifted breadcrumbs and one wineglassful of white wine, season to taste with pepper and salt, and knead well. Partly fill the shells with this mixture, replace the snails, and complete the filling with more of the kneaded butter ; spread breadcrumbs over, and lav them on a baking dish, the opened part on the top. Brown in the oven for four minutes, and serve on a dish with a folded napkin. Baked Frogs' Legs.