Adam Balic

Spatchshrimping then? Also since most spatchcocked chickens are hens, I don't think that work is that accurate anyway.

So it is spatchcocked shrimp/prawns if they are split shell on and butterflied is split sheel off?

The are a number of different types of kumquat, the round type is most common in Australian gardens (they have very tender thin skins), the more tough, but sweeter elongated for is more commonly sold (the fruit that is) in the UK, but I think your plant is the Calamondin/Panama "Orange". Why you have it growing = you are very lucky. They all make killer marmalade.

Your mystery plant looks very much like Citrofortunella microcarpa, which in Australia would be called a 'Kumquat' (although a Kumquat is really Fortunella japonica). It isn't quite a citrus, but very close. Citrofortunella microcarpa = Calamondin Orange. Information on the Kumquat

In several cookbooks I have seen Sumac being labeled as the same thing as Barberries. As far as I can tell they are seperate plants (both with sour red berries, although different flavour profiles). I wonder if anybody else has noticed this?

Seville oranges are known as 'bitter oranges', but any bitterness is in the peel and membrane bits just like regular oranges, the juice isn't bitter. What makes them interesting is that they are sour, not sweet, so they can be used anywhere lemon juice is used. "Bigardes" are another type of sour orange (ie. a different variety to the 'Seville' orange) and it is from these that Neroli oil is extracted. This give a clue to one of the nice things about sour oranges, they have more perfumed skins then most regular oranges and their flowers are especially perfumed, hence their use in making orange flour water and why I dry the peels. They were the original orange in the Middle-East before the introduction of the sweet orange (from China) and it is from the Persian word for them that we get our name 'Orange' and 'Tangerine'. Make the citron tart, it's great.

Freeze them and you can use them all year. Juice is excellent for making citron tarts, several Spanish recipes use the juice for sauces (eg. hake, salmon). Dry the peel to add to stews, also when grated it is good for terrines. Also the juice is good for Persian Koresh type meat stews.

And they are not really bantams as they are not a bantamised form of a bigger breed, they are themselves.

I avoid the pastry board - people measure things over there!

Thanks very much for he clarification, I was getting confused by these issues in the various articles I had read on the subject. Now I know it is just a 'weird pastry people' thing. If you were using ground almonds, not mazipan, you would get a different flavour, as almond mixtures rarely contain bitter almonds now? Or would you just and almond flavour?

Bux - just to be clear, "Mince meat" as in the filling for Christmas tarts etc originally contained meat, not just suet. Most 19th C. recipes collections with a list of mince meat recipes, will have at least one variation with meat. The further you go back, the more the inclusion of meat becomes common. Originally, the plum pudding (or its ancestor plum porrige) also contained meat or meat broth as well as suet. It is, as you say, a Medieval thing and proberly an Muslim thing, possible Persian before that, maybe even Roman. However, several years ago there was an egullet post by somebody that had meat in their family mince meat recipe and were concered that they were in some way weird. It isn't a coincidence of words, it reflects the history of the dish. Welsh rarebit I don't know, I suspect that it isn't Welsh though! Maybe this could be split off into a seperate thread? Lou - Yes I thought that frangipane = almond cream, but I have been told that fragipane is actually almond cream with the addition of a pandade (sp?). "Proper" Galette des Rois should only contain almond cream which is Almonds, butter, suage and eggs, no flour or milk. I have seen plenty of savoury "Pithiviers", but they would seen to be a modern culinary term, rather then refering to the original pastries made in the town of Pithiviers, even if they did once make savoury versions?

Mostly I have seen the Northern French/Belgium model which is the flaky pastry with an almond filling. There is some disgreement about this, the almond filling is either an almond cream or frangipane (maybe some pastry person could tell me what the difference is), but some people have insisted that it should be all pastry and no filling. With filling it becomes a Pithiviers, not a Galette des Rois. As mentioned before Careme, listed quite a few variations on the basic Pithiviers, including the pig kidney version. In Bordeux I have had an out of season Galette which had not filling but was layed pasty flavoured with much butter and brandy, I think that is would be similar to the 'original' form. In the south they have the "Couronne" (crown) model which is more of a Brioche and this is the ancestor of the New Orlean's "King Cake". In Spain they also have a "Rosca de Reyes" and this also exists in Mexico.

Artisanbaker, your mention of pithiviers reminded me, Jane Grigson in her book Good Things talks about adding a roasted, minced pig's kidney to the almond filling of the pithiviers 'for a change'. Huh????? I have always wondered of the truth of this one (and once asked a French chef, who didn't quite scream out loud but did laugh a lot). have you heard of this? anyone else? thanks! Fi Jane Grigson's recipe is taken from Careme, he lists a number of Pithiviers recipes, with the recipe she has in "Good Things" being the variant with the odd kidney addition. Not that I think that it is that odd, as mince pies commonly contained minced/ground meat as well as suet until the late 19th C., sometime much later, and I don't think that the kidney flavour would be that dominant. A very nice original post BTW, what is also very nice is the hugh variation in the patterns of seen in individual Galette des Rois. What is confusing is that outside of Paris and Northern France is that Galette des Rois often means something that isn't of the Pithiviers model at all.

Would this be Indian restuarants in that you have known in the locally or all Indian restuarants?

Sorry I should have worded the sentence more carefully, a coot is definately not a duck of any description. What I was alluding to was that it was possible that coots tasted bad because of their diet, which was similar to some of the more revolting tasting ducks. Having been hunting for ducks myself, I find it very disturbing that anybody would be green enough to confuse a coot with a duck? In Australia (Vic) there are several rare species of duck that hunters must be able to recognise before they can get their shooter licence. Not the case in the USA?

Cumin is also one of those spices that loses much of it's special characteristics if ground and stored. There are two types the more common "Cumin" and "Black Cumin", that latter being used in North Indian cooking. It works very well when mixed with coriander seeds as well.

Glenfarclas 10 yo drinking well on friday night. Have had this and older bottlings and have always thought it was quite under-rated.

Oh yes, in London, everything can be got in London. It's the poor buggers in the rest of the country that have to remain pumpkinless.

Can you get "real" pumpkin in the UK? To date I have only seen butternut and American Jack-O'Lantern types readily availible. Neither are very good, especially from Supermarkets (infact is the latter type meant to be eaten at all?). I also recently read a British food write comment "Pumpkin is tasteless, hence its popularity with Americans", all this would indicate that "Real" pumpkin isn't that common an experience in the UK? Oh for the pumpkins of Australia, Southern France (I really like those strange pumpkin and apple desserts) and Italy. edit: In terms of keeping properties there are many types much better (and better flavor) then Butternuts, but the supermarkets would have to cut them up into family friendly sizes (when they would start to degrade), and they may not get a high enough turn-over for this.

Actually coots, both American and Eurasian eat mostly vegetation (often algae). The proberly taste rubbish, like many slime eating ducks. Baby herons on the otherhand, are by reputation, delicious. Seville oranges are in season right now (UK), use them while they last and freeze them for later. Also dry the skins.

Finally, someone who understands me. Caw, and there I was, feeling good about myself. I agree on this frount as well. Unless you grow them yourself. My Grandfather once grew something called a "Trombone", which is suposse to be an ancestor of the Butternut (I have not evidence for this) and they were somewhat better. And more fun to look at.

Couscous I have made in the authentic manner (see link from an earlier post) and I have now done it several times, each has been trouble free and fun. Couscous adventure Briks I haven't made, mostly due to the pastry. I have always though that I should make a certain Tunisian Brik that contains a raw egg. But maybe another day!

Widgeon can taste quite fishy, teal should be OK. If you overcook the this can increase the 'liverish' flavour. They are quite good in a Salmi and this can sort out the problem of legs v breast coooking time. If you are using Seville oranges, then the Bigarades sauce shouldn't be that sweet, more acidic. One thing that you can do if concerned about acid etc is to cut the amount of juice down and flavour the sauce with the grated zest.

Yes happy, but laughing at you not with you.

Putting pumpkin through a tamis must be an utter bastard. The sweet potato thing is something I have seen in Italy, also the same blend is used to make Gnocci.