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Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat with a fork until completely combined. Add the milk or cream and stir to combine. Add the salt and pepper and stir to combine. Pour the egg mixture over the cooked bacon in the pan, and as soon as they begin to set (become cooked), stir with a wooden spoon, moving them around and over until completely cooked.

Spoon the eggs onto a plate and top with the shredded Cheddar cheese.

Makes 1 serving

Sweet Orange Marmalade

Marmalade shows up often in the Harry Potter books; it's just that British. In one breakfast scene, Hermione determinedly avoids discussing her busy schedule and asks for the marmalade in response to Ron's questions (see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 6).

How'sthis for a sweet little story? A Scottish merchant brought his wife a load of bitter Seville oranges, not very edible. Instead of saying, “What do you expect me to do with these?” as an ordinary housewife might have done, she marched into the kitchen to experiment, and thus orange marmalade was born.

3 oranges

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

Place the oranges in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 1½ hours. Remove the oranges from the pot to a cutting board. Discard the cooking water and rinse the pot.

Peel the oranges and scrape off the pith (the white underside of the peel), using a metal spoon. Discard the pith, as it's bitter. Mince the orange peel and add to the clean pot. Chop the peeled oranges, discard the pits, and process in a blender or food processor until smooth. Pour through a sieve, pressing down with a rubber spatula to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the pulp and add the juice to the pot, along with the sugar and water. (As the mixture boils, it will expand like crazy, so make sure your pot is large enough to handle at least double what you're putting in.)

Cook the mixture over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved and it begins to bubble. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot, and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the mixture registers 220°F on the candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.

Makes enough to fill one 14-ounce jar

If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can do the wrinkle test: Put a small amount of marmalade on a saucer and cool it in the fridge. In the meantime, turn off the flame. When it's cool, push the edge in with your finger; if it wrinkles, it's done. Otherwise, reheat the marmalade, cook it for a few more minutes, and try again.

Thick Porridge with Cream and Treacle

What's more filling than a bowl of thick, sticky porridge? Harry loads up on this wholesome brain food while asking Ron about his schedule. Ron worries about Potions with the Slytherins: will Professor Snape favor the Slytherins as rumored? Little does he know! (See Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Chapter 8.) Even the evil and toad-like Professor Umbridge has some porridge — while glaring at the teachers who dare to discuss in her presence the mass outbreak from Azkaban (see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 25).

Often when we hear the word “porridge,” we think of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” but it's actually a real food that real people in the United Kingdom eat, especially the Scots, who've been eating porridge since before the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in the fifth and sixth centuries.

4 cups water

1 cup steel-cut oats

Milk or cream, for serving

Golden syrup, for serving

Bring the water to a boil in a medium-size saucepan. Slowly pour in the oats while stirring constantly. Simmer on a low flame, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, until all the water is absorbed.

Serve with the milk or cream and generous amounts of golden syrup. Don't mix the golden syrup in or you will lose its unique caramel-like flavor.

Serves 4

Crispy Fried Bacon

Harry is too worried that the dragon in his first Triwizard task