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• The taste of the bulots is rather robust so we eat them with some garlic mayonnaise or cooked in a spicy court-bouillon .
• In some places you can buy bulots already cooked. I never do that a) you don't know how fresh they are, b) they are cooked in a bad court-bouillon.
  
• When you buy these snails, have a good smell: if they smell bad , they are not so fresh so forget about them. These snails must be very alive. Although I think bulots are rather robust, cook them as soon as possible, you don't know when they were fished.
• When you get these snails home, rinse them well under a lot of fresh water. Some people soak them in salt water for three to four hours so they purify (disgorge) themselves. .. I don't do this and usually don't have any trouble.

• For 1/2 kg of bulots:
  • 1 1/2 liters water,
  • 1 glass of dry white wine or a little wine vinegar,
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper, grain , not ground peper,
  • 1 leaf of laurel, some leaves of thyme and a little fresh parsley,
  • salt to taste.
    
    
• For the mayonnaise:
  • 1 uncooked egg yolk,
  • 1 small tsp French mustard from Dijon (no other),
  • peanut oil or any oil with no taste,
  • olive oil,
  • little juice from a freshly sqeezed lemon ,
  • salt to taste,
  • 1 garlic clove.

This recipe is not so difficult !

Preparing the bulots:

Once the bulots are cleaned, place them in a pan with cold water (1 1/2 l), wine, pepper, the laurel leaf, thyme and parsley. Add salt to taste and heat until it's boiling.
Skim when necessary, and let it lightly boil for 40 min.

When cooked, let the snails cool off in their cooking juices.

When cold you'll eat them with thouthpicks. Everything but the opercula is edible.

Preparing the mayonnaise:

In a bowl mix the egg yolk and the tsp of mustard with a little spoon.

Slowly add (little by little) the peanut oil. When I say little, in the beginning, add less than a tsp. Each time the oil is absorbed by the mixture you can add little more. When you've got enough mayonnaise, (this can take 5 to 10 minutes), add a little olive oil (let say 5 tsp) for flavour.

Now add some salt and one tsp of fresh lemon juice to taste, mix everything well.

Press the garlic clove or cut it into very fine slices. Add some of this garlic to your mayonnaise, then taste. Adjust mayonnaise to your flavour choice by adding what's necessary : lemon, salt or more garlic, that's up to you.

You are ready to eat the bulots with mayonnaise and French bread if necessary.

About the mayonnaise, it's the way I've learned to do it, it's not very difficult you've just got to be careful. I know that some people do it with a mixer... That's not my way.
In case you've got some trouble with the mayonnaise, if it turn, "tourne", you can solve it: in an other bowl put a tsp of mustard and little by little add your turned mayonnaise.