Preheat oven to 375°F.           

                                Rinse capon inside and  out and discard any excess fat from cavity. Pat capon dry and season cavity with  salt and pepper. Put in a large roasting pan and let stand at room temperature  20 minutes.           

                                While capon is standing,  stir together butter, zest, thyme, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.           

                                Turn capon so neck cavity  is nearest you. To loosen breast skin, lift neck flap and work your fingers  gently between skin and flesh, being careful not to tear skin. Slide your  fingers down breast and along both sides all the way to thighs. Put half of  butter mixture evenly under skin of each breast, then rub outside of capon to  distribute evenly.           

                                Place 6 lemon wedges in  cavity of bird and tie legs together with string.           

                                Roast capon in middle of  oven, basting with pan juices every 30 minutes, 1 1/2 hours. Skim most of fat  from pan, then add remaining 10 lemon wedges to pan, tossing with pan juices.  Continue roasting capon, basting every 15 minutes, until thermometer inserted 2  inches into fleshy part of a thigh (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, about 45  minutes more.           

                                Tilt capon in pan to pour  out juices in cavity, then transfer capon and lemon wedges to a carving platter  and let stand 20 to 30 minutes before carving. Do not clean pan.           

                                Skim fat from pan juices  and straddle roasting pan across 2 burners. Add water and jelly and deglaze pan  by boiling over moderately high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1  minute. Continue to boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 cup,  about 5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper, then pour through a  fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.           

                                Carve capon and serve  with sauce.

Preparation

                                Preheat oven to 425°F.  Spray large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Combine potatoes and 2  tablespoons oil in large bowl; toss to coat. Transfer potatoes to prepared  sheet. Roast until tender and brown, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.           

                                Meanwhile, heat 2  tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add crimini  mushrooms; sauté until brown and tender, about 12 minutes. (Potatoes and  mushrooms can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand separately at room temperature.)           

                                Add potatoes and  remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet with mushrooms. Sauté over medium-high  heat until potatoes are crisp and heated through, about 6 minutes. Season to  taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with porcini mushroom powder; toss to coat.  Transfer to bowl, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.           

                                *Dried porcini mushrooms  are available at Italian markets, specialty foods stores, and many supermarkets.

Preparation

                                Cook bacon until crisp  and drain on paper towels.           

                                While bacon is cooking,  mince garlic and mash to a paste with a pinch salt. Whisk together oil, sour  cream, lemon juice, sugar, and garlic paste in a large bowl and season with salt  and pepper. Add spinach and crumble bacon over it. Toss with cheese and  dressing.

                                Preheat oven to 325°F.  Sift flour, 1/2 cup sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt into large  bowl. Mix in chocolate chips. Mix in just enough chilled cream to form dough  that will be firm enough to roll out. Turn out dough onto well-floured work  surface. Using well-floured hands, pat out dough to 3/4-inch-thick rectangle,  frequently sliding long knife under dough to prevent sticking. With floured  2-inch star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out stars. Gather dough scraps; pat out to  3/4-inch-thick rectangle and cut out additional stars (for total of about 24).           

                                Brush stars with butter,  sprinkle with additional sugar. Arrange shortcake stars sugared side down on 2  heavy large baking sheets. Brush tops with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake  until shortcakes feel firm and tester inserted into center comes out with a few  moist crumbs, about 22 minutes. Transfer shortcakes to racks and cool (Can be  made 1 day ahead. Cover, let stand at room temperature.)

                                Place scoop of ice cream  in each of 8 bowls. Garnish with sauce, berries, whipped cream, 1 or 2 stars and  mint, if desired. Serve immediately.