Head cheese

I didn't make the head cheese--it was part of my meat CSA offering last week.

Despite the name, there's no actual cheese. It's kind of a meat jelly--pork scraps held together with aspic or gelatin, a more gelatinous version of country pâté. The scraps are generally taken from the head (hence "head cheese"), flavored with onion, black pepper, allspice, bay leaf, salt, and vinegar.

Some versions are more gelatinous than others, of course. I cut this one open and it's pretty solid.

See?

It's great on crackers or bread. Think of it as upscale French lunchmeat.