The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook - Dinah Bucholz [2]
I raise my foaming mug of butterbeer — the most frequently mentioned beverage in the Harry Potter novels — in salute to Dinah, who serves up more than 150 recipes that will satisfy the appetites of hungry Muggles everywhere. Anyone for Toad in the Hole, Cock-a-Leekie, Haggis, or Goulash? Step right this way. Hey, where do you think you're going? Come back! Just try one bite!
For the gastronomically conservative reader who is willing to venture forth and broaden his palate with traditional British dishes, The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook will satisfy the appetite, no matter how persnickety.
Bon appétit!
— George Beahm, author of Muggles and Magic and Fact, Fiction, and Folklore in Harry Potter's World
Introduction
This book grants its reader great powers. It's true that a Muggle may twirl sticks and mutter incantations and the only thing that will happen is his or her mother will yell, “If you're not careful with that wand, you'll poke your brother's eye out.” But despair not, dear Muggle. A branch of magic is still open to you — Curye, later known as Cookery, which combines elements of potions with transfiguration, and a bit of herbology and divination. According to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration (see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 15), good food cannot be created from nothing, but it can be created using this book. Within these pages you shall find directions for delightful dishes, exquisite elixirs, fabulous fare, tasty treats, and the ability to transform mundane ingredients into marvelous masterpieces.
If you're not from the British Isles you may not recognize the foods mentioned in the Harry Potter series. This book is your guide. Here you'll find more than just directions and recipes; you'll discover their long and fascinating history. Learn about the foods that are an integral part of British and Irish culture. Thrill to the stories of their discoveries and inventions. And then eat those foods. You'll never look at a crumpet the same way again.
Though you may be as clever as Hermione, blindly following recipes from a book will not guarantee success. Sometimes you don't have the best recipe; sometimes it's the technique that's wrong. Don't you wish you had a Half-Blood Prince looking over your shoulder, telling you, “I have a better way to concoct this potion?” Well, the recipes gathered here are a result of combining the best recipes out there, testing and retesting and retesting some more, until at last, the tastiest and easiest recipe that dish can have was created.
Helpful Hints
Always start with a clean work surface.
Read through the recipe carefully and make sure you have all the ingredients and equipment — and skills — to make that recipe. If you lack the necessary skills, you can give it a go anyway; just be sure to arm yourself with patience and humor and don't give up if it comes out wrong.
A word of caution: Some of the recipes in this book are dangerous. Any recipe involving boiling sugar (such as fudge or toffee) or deep-frying (such as doughnuts) should be attempted only by adults or children at least in their teens under very close adult supervision.
Substitutions: Some of the recipes in this book call for currants. If you can't find currants, dried cranberries can be used as a substitute. Where vegetable oil is specified, canola oil can be used instead. Also, in recipes calling for cocoa powder use Dutch cocoa powder if you can find it, as it's far superior to natural cocoa powder.
The ice cream and custard recipes call for tempering egg yolks. This is a process by which the yolks are brought up to a higher temperature slowly to prevent curdling.
When making cakes and cookies, make sure the butter, eggs, and milk are at room temperature (68°F to 72°F). The butter needs to be soft to be properly creamed, and cold eggs or milk added to a properly creamed mixture will curdle