Headcheese

I'm not afraid to admit it: I love headcheese. For those of you who don't know, headcheese is basically pork tongue & snout cooked together with spices and gelatin. It's cooled into a cylindrical shape, and thinly sliced like a typical deli cold cut. This may not sound appetizing, but hey man, don't knock it until you've tried it. It's really tasty.

I fondly recall a time when headcheese was easy to buy from the supermarket. You used to be able to buy Oscar Mayer headcheese in the prepackaged deli section, right next to the bologna and ham. I grew up on headcheese sandwiches. Delicious! Sadly though, one day it vanished from the shelves, probably discontinued due to poor sales. I'll never get over it. They still sell olive loaf, why can't they still sell headcheese?

Since then, I'm constantly searching for this elusive cold cut. Some supermarkets still carry it, but it's usually the German variety, which is a little too sour for my taste. My favorite is the Italian style, where you get to experience the true flavors of the meat. For a while, I was able to buy Italian headcheese from my local A.G. Ferrari, but they recently stopped carrying it. Oh cruel deli gods, why do you torture me so?

I may have to resort to desperate measures - I may have to buy it by the loaf. Is it wise to buy myself ten pounds of headcheese? Is it safe for one person to eat that much? P.G. Molinari in San Francisco still makes it, but do they sell it to the general public? I must find out!