[Sca-cooks] Pastillus

[margali]

>Is capon another word for chicken or are capons another bird entirely?

Capon is a male chicken with his testes removed

>Would puff pastry from the grocer's freezer be appropriate for "thin
>crust?"

I would more use an already pie crust if I didn't make a 'short
pastry' of oil, whole wheat flour and a bit of salt [designed not
to be eaten like I use on pernam/roman 'pig newtons' [you know,
pork cooked with figs then roasted in a flour crust]

>Does ground beef count as having been "cut up fine with small knives?"
>or is that stretching it a bit too much towards peri-oid?

I would use it, but there is actually a textural and sometimes a
flavor difference between ground meat and chopped meat. For ease
of cooking at a camping event I would probably go with ground,
and if I was going to make ahead and freeze the meat I would
chop.

>#8 calls for pepper, cinnamon, and cloves.  #9 just calls for spices.
>Should I use pepper, cinnamon, and cloves only or is it okay to use any
>spice mixture I please such as pre made poudre forte?

I would go both ways, if I felt like using poudre forte I would
use it, but if I felt like using the pepper, cinnamon and cloves
I would use those as well. I think that a lighter poudre forte
would be better with capon than a heavy P, C & C mixture - I have
ginger in my PF, as I like ginger with chicken.

>Why do they call it "pure leaf lard?"  And, is that type of "leaf lard"
>that is sold in the grocery stores the type of lard referred to here in
>#8?

Advertising? Probably because the 'pure leaf lard' has been
rendered from the crude fat of the pig and you don't have to deal
with BCBs [burnt crunchy bits ;-)] Yes, it is the type found in
the grocery store.

>Where does one get verjuice?  If one cannot get verjuice, what are
>reasonable substitutes for verjuice?

I know you can get verjuice online from Dean and Deluca in NY,
and IIRC Stefan's files may have a discussion on it webbed from
when we discussed it last year. We also discussed substitutes for
it.

margali
~~~~~
for a change, the quotes are top posted ;-)