Kitchen Sleuth Snail Puffs

Shirley Corriher is my favorite culinary sleuth. Whenever I have a culinary question that I can’t solve, Corriher, more often than not, has the explanation. And when she doesn’t, she sets out to find it.

It is, no doubt, the sheer volume of these calls for help that is partly responsible for Corriher’s newly published book, “CookWise, the Hows & Whys of Successful Cooking” (William Morrow, 1997), which took a decade to complete.

Corriher is by education a research biochemist. She is at heart a passionate cook and appreciator of flavors and textures who knows not only how to maximize them but how to get them to perform to your wildest expectation.

This recipe from “CookWise” has become my favorite hors d’oeuvre: escargots nestled in pastry puffs. They are easy to make and can be done well ahead of serving. The dough--a pa^te a choux made with extra egg whites and bread flour for extraordinary crispness and lightness--is a perfect example of putting food knowledge to good use.

COCKTAIL PUFFS WITH ESCARGOTS

Canned jumbo snails, 12 to a can, are the most commonly available. Jumbo snails may have to be cut in half. With small snails, use 2 or 3 per puff.

PUFFS

3/4 cup water

1/4 pound (1 stick) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing pan

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup bread flour

1 egg, plus 2 eggs if needed

3 egg whites

ESCARGOTS

2 (7-ounce) cans snails

2 shallots, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup parsley sprigs, chopped

1/2 pound (2 sticks) lightly salted butter, softened

Dash hot pepper sauce or cayenne powder

Dash freshly grated nutmeg

Salt

Freshly ground white pepper

PUFFS

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Bring water, butter and salt to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Add bread flour all at once and stir well. Dough ball should pull away from pan. Let cool several minutes.

Beat dough by hand or in food processor with steel blade 1 minute to further cool. If using processor, remove cover after beating to release steam. Cool until dough is no longer hot enough to cook egg when added; touch with finger to be sure it is not piping hot.

Beat in 1 egg. As soon as it is incorporated, add egg whites and process or beat well. Dough must be thick enough to spoon or pipe into balls that will hold their shape. If dough is too firm, stir 1 egg and add, beating well.

Spoon or pipe dough in 1-inch evenly spaced balls onto well-buttered heavy baking sheet. Gently press top of each puff with greased fork to level it slightly.

Beat remaining egg to glaze puffs if glossy surface is desired, taking care not to get any glaze between puffs on baking sheet.

Place baking sheet in lower half of oven. Increase temperature to 450 degrees and bake until balls are puffed and browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 300 and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer to dry.

Cut small slit in side of each puff shortly after removing from oven to let steam escape and dry insides. Cool on rack. Puffs can be used immediately or frozen. Makes about 24 puffs.

ESCARGOTS

Drain snails and place on paper towels.

Combine shallots, garlic and parsley in bowl. Blend in butter, hot sauce, nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. (Recipe can be prepared to this point 2 days ahead and refrigerated, tightly sealed.)

Cut tops from puffs. Evenly distribute snails among puffs. Add 1 generous teaspoon snail butter and replace tops. Warm puffs at 450 degrees just long enough to melt butter, about 4 minutes. Serve immediately.

24 cocktail puffs. Each puff:

138 calories; 224 mg sodium; 40 mg cholesterol; 12 grams fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.07 gram fiber.