INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

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. RABBIT: Rabbits are  raised commercially.  As with
many uncommon meats, it is said of  rabbit, that it "tastes like
chicken." It doesn't; it tastes like  rabbit. Large rabbits aren't as
tender as the little ones; it is well  to marinate or stew older ones,
or make rabbit sausage. See GAME. RED  PEPPER: See Ground Red Pepper.
RED PEPPER SAUCE:  This commercially  bottled condiment is made from
vinegar, spices and hot chilies. It  adds heat but little in the way of
flavor. RICE:  Mexican cooking  calls for long grain or medium-grain
white rice. The occasional  southwestern dish uses wild rice, which
really isn't rice. It is the  fruit of an aquatic grass once harvested
only by Native Americans who  lived by the Great Lakes. SQUASH
BLOSSOMS: Contrary to poplar belief,  the blossoms used in southwest
cooking are those of winter squashes  such as pumpkin, not zucchini.
They are a perishable item and are  best used the day they are bought.
TAMARIND: This is an intensely  pungent, tart pod about four inches
long. Tamarind is usually bought  packaged in a tightly compressed,
sticky plastic-wrapped lump.  The  flesh is riddled with fibers and
seeds--not what you want in your  food--and must be soaked before
using. Separate the tamarind pods,  pulling away and discarding as much
of the pod as you reasonably can.  Cover with water and let the pulp
soak for at least an hour  (overnight, if time permits). Then squeeze
the pulp well to extract  the juice or rub as much pulp as you can
through a fine mesh sieve.  TEQUILA:  A pale, sharp-tasting liquor
distilled from the agave  plant, which thrives in an arid, hot climate.
The stem of the agave,  known also as the "century plant," is used in
making both PULQUE and  tequila.  From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster
collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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