Escargot à la Crème Croustades

• 6 slices of good white bread, or 12 pre-made croustades or vols-au-vent
• 12 large escargot
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup chicken stock
• 3 tbsp shallot, minced
• ½ tsp thyme
• 1 small bay leaf
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp finely chopped parsley

1. Making the white bread for croustades (if using pre-made croustades or vols-au-vent skip to step 2):
1. Trim crusts from the white bread and roll out thin with a rolling pin.
2. Use a 2¼ inch round cutter to cut out rounds in the bread. Butter a 1¼ inch muffin pan and press each round into the pan.
3. Brush each round with melted butter and bake in a 400ºF oven for about 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
4. Transfer croustades to a rack to cool.
2. Rinse escargot in cold water then pat dry with a paper towel.
3. In a stainless steel or enamelled pan combine the escargot, white wine, chicken stock, shallot, thyme, and bay leaf. Reduce mixture under high heat until it is reduced to 3 tbsp.
4. Add the heavy cream and the garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste and then reduce to ⅓ cup. Stir in the butter and 2 tbsp of the parsley (retaining 1 tbsp). Remove from heat and discard bay leaf.
5. Fill each croustades with one escargot and some sauce, and then sprinkle with a little parsley.
6. Serve immediately. 

Escargot in vols-au-vent