INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

NUTS:  In southwest cooking, nuts are sometimes ground and stirred
into sauces as a thickening agent.  In addition to giving the sauce
more body, raw nuts add, of course, their own particular flavor.
Toasted nuts are more often used as a garnish or in baking.  TOASTING
NUTS:  Toasting enhances the flavor of the nut.  To toast  nuts, spread
them in a single layer in an ungreased pan; bake at 350  degrees F,
stirring and checking for doneness frequently.  Nuts are  toasted when
they are lightly browned.  Let almonds, pecans and  walnuts bake for 7
to 12 minutes.  Pine nuts toast more rapidly, in 5  to 7 minutes.  TO
GRIND NUTS:  To grind nuts, place 1/3 to 1/2 cup at a time in the
workbowl of a food processor or blender.  Process them in short  pulses
just until ground (longer and you will have nut butter).  PAPAYA:  A
nearly oval fruit with creamy golden yellow skin, orange  yellow flesh
and scores of shiny black seeds conveniently packed in  its center.
When slightly underripe, the flesh is firm (perfect for  making into
relishes); When ripe, it is so juicy as to be almost  melting.  PECAN:
This oil-rich nut is an American native.  See Nuts for  toasting and
grinding.  PEPITA:  See Pumpkin Seed  PEPPER:  There is PIPER NIGRUM,
Peppercorn, and the CAPSICUM  FRUTECENS and CASPSICUM ANNUUM, the
family of vegetables know  variously as peppers and chilies.
Peppercorns came to the Western  world originally from Madagascar. The
success of medieval spice  traders made black pepper more widely
available and only a little  less precious than it had previously been.
Representing the FRUTESCENS contingent, bell peppers are related to
chilies but lack the capsaicin (the compound that makes them hot),
Bell peppers are therefore known as "sweet".  Until recently, bell
peppers of any color than green were an oddity at many markets;  today,
there is a profusion of yellow, red and purple ones.  Red and  yellow
are acknowledged to be the sweetest.  Roast bell peppers as  for
chilies.  PHEASANT:  This game bird fares equally well when cooked with
a  bravely seasoned sauce or a mild creamy one.  Serve it with a grain
side dish; see Game.  PILONCILLO:  This unrefined sugar is purchased in
hard cones.  Like  other "raw" sugars, piloncillo is beige to brown;
the deeper the  color, the more pronounced the molasses flavor.  PINE
NUTS (PINIONS, PIGNOLIS):  Pine nuts are the seeds of the Pinion  pine.
They are delicious raw or toasted.  Store them tightly covered  and
either refrigerated or frozen, depending on how quickly they are  to be
used. See NUTS for toasting and grinding.  PLANTAIN:  This relative of
the banana boasts a thick skin and large  size. The fruit itself tends
to be a deeper yellow than that of the  banana. Cooked unripe plantain
is eaten as one would a potato.  Plantains are sweetest when ripe,
which isn't until their skins are  an alarming through black.  Like
bananas, plantains will ripen after  they have been harvested.  POSOLE:
Sometimes hominy is called "posole," but the word  authentically refers
to a dish made with hominy as an ingredient.  See Hominy  PRICKLY PEAR:
This is the diminutive (egg size) fruit of the cactus  of the same
name.  It is nearly impossible to avoid the prickles when  peeling to
reveal the garnet-colored flesh.  Prickly pears are  sometimes sold
with the prickles removed.  PUMPKIN SEED:  With the shells or husks
removed, pumpkin seeds are  known as PEPITAS.  Store them in a cool,
dry place.  To toast pumpkin  seeds, spread them in a single layer in
an ungreased pan.  Bake at  350 degrees F. for 13 to 15 minutes,
stirring and checking for  doneness frequently.  QUAIL:  These little
birds weigh in at about 1/4 pound.  They have  richly flavored meat,
what there is of it.  Quail are most commonly  available frozen.  See
GAME.  QUESO:  Spanish for "cheese."  QUESO ANEJO:  The name means
"aged cheese," in Spanish.  See CHEESE.  QUESO FRESCO:  The name means
"fresh cheese,) in Spanish.  See CHEESE.  From Betty Crocker's
"Southwest Cooking". File
ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/sowest1.zip

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