[Sca-cooks] Long pepper query

[Devra at aol.com]

I just got some long pepper, which I have never used before.  The pieces look like hard little catkins.  Are they to be crushed in a mortar, thrown whole into things, or what?  And what recipes using them can you recommend?  (It's not as though I don't have cookbooks--boy, do I have cookbooks--just thought you might have specially favored recipes....)
Devra the Baker