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Noggin now means “head,” but that has nothing to do with eggnog, except maybe that the alcohol in the adult version goes straight to your head. Rather, the word “eggnog” comes from the archaic definition of “noggin,” which is “mug.” It's easy to see, then, how “eggs in a noggin” evolved into “eggnog.”

6 large eggs

¾ cup granulated sugar

3½ cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream, divided

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, divided

1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

Ground nutmeg for serving

Whisk the eggs with the granulated sugar in a medium sauce-pan until frothy. Whisk in the milk and 1 cup of the heavy cream and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches 160°F or is very hot but not bubbling. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. Pour through a sieve. Cover the surface directly with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until cold.

Beat the remaining cup of heavy cream with the remaining teaspoon of vanilla and the confectioners' sugar until stiff peaks form. Pour the chilled eggnog into mugs or glasses. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle with the nutmeg.

Serves 6

Goulash

At the Yule ball, diners get to choose their food from menus, which include foreign foods to accommodate the visitors from Durmstrang and Beaux-batons. Harry chooses goulash, a Hungarian dish. Perhaps he was curious … or maybe Aunt Petunia made a delicious goulash all the time and he just loved it (see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 23).

Did you know that in Hungarian, goulash means “cowboy,” or “cowboy's soup,” and the dish that we call goulash is called paprikash in Hungarian? When the Hungarians discovered paprika in the 1820s they loved it so much that they pretty much stopped using other spices, and visitors to that country loved Hungarian goulash so much they added it to their cuisines as well.

3 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided use)

2 pounds chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 onion, finely chopped

2 ribs celery, finely chopped

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 14-ounce cans chicken broth

1 10-ounce package mushrooms, chopped

3 tablespoons paprika

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 sweet red pepper, seeded and chopped

½ cup sour cream

Egg noodles, for serving

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a Dutch oven or wide pot. Sear the meat in batches over high heat on both sides until crusty brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the batches to a large plate. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and add the onions and celery, cooking over medium-high heat until softened, scraping up the fond (browned bits), about 5 minutes. Add the flour and toss to combine. Pour in the chicken broth while stirring constantly. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbling.

Add the mushrooms, paprika, tomato paste, and the browned meat along with its accumulated juices. Bring the stew to a simmer and continue to simmer for 1½ hours. Add the red pepper and cook another ½ hour. Remove from the heat.

Whisk the sour cream with a ½ cup of the cooking liquid, then stir it into the goulash. Serve the goulash over buttered egg noodles.

Serves 8

Chatper Ten

Treats in the Village

Ah, Hogsmeade! The only entirely wizarding village in all of Great Britain and the highlight of the year for third-year students at Hogwarts … but it's a problem for our hero. You need a permission slip signed by a parent or guardian in order to be allowed into Hogsmeade, and Uncle Vernon is never going to sign it.

Harry thinks he solved his problem by striking a deal with his uncle, but then he loses his temper in a really bad way and has to flee. Scratch that. So he asks the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, to sign his permission slip, but the Minister won't do it, either. He tries to explain the situation to Professor McGonagall, but she's very strict: no permission slip, no Hogsmeade. So it's a very dejected Harry who heads to the Gryffindor