Hogwarts Herald

Until the premiere of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” - It’s very exciting!

Time to jump on the…

Yet another piece of scenery for our Harry Potter Party!

Things are really coming together for the party - less than a week to the movie (woo woo!) and just about 2 weeks until the book release! A couple more recipes to plan…

Here’s a nice summery salad/snack - again, we’ve been inspired by Molly Weasley - this time it’s Cauliflower…

Cauliflower Salad
1 head cauliflower - florets separated into bite size pieces
4oz (or more if you like) of each: Oil cured ripe olives; spanish olives; black olives and green olives. Mix and match as you like.
Optional add ins: Artichoke hearts; caper berries; red bell pepper; button mushrooms; really, anything that tastes good marinated…

Marinade/dressing
2 green onions - either minced or cut into 1/4 inch “circles” - your choice
1 teaspoon “real” garlic powder - reconstituted in 1 tablespoon water
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh flat leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flake
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup olive oil

Prepare:
1. Mix onion, garlic powder, herbs, red pepper and vinegar in a glass bowl. Whisk to combine.
2. While whisking, drizzle oil into bowl. Whisk in salt and pepper to taste.
3. Toss cauliflower and olives (and any other additions) in dressing.
4. Transfer salad to air tight container and refrigerate for 4 hours (at least)
5. Bring up to room temperature before serving.
6. Serve with crusty bread.

The vinegar will break down (ie cook) the cauliflower as it marinades - if you’re making this salad way in advance and still want some “crunch” - add the vinegar to the mixture a few hours before serving.

Harry Potter party, Harry Potter recipes

Here’s a picture of the Hogwarts Sign we made for the party - it’s a loose reproduction of the Coat of Arms depicted in the Harry Potter Movies.

I know that the Badger looks more like a dog - but that’s kinda the way the crest looks.

Planning is in full swing - We’ve decided to make a Hogwarts Express train cake (yes, a train cake) for added yumminess and decoration! Can’t wait!

My how the time flies. We been working on decorations for the party (pictures soon!) - including a Hogwarts sign, Track 9 3/4 (complete with stone wall “entry way”), the entrance to Diagon Alley and much more.

We made a Professor McGonagel hat (complete with feather and tartan trim) in addition to the Dumbledore hat.

Dips are always a big hit at parties - and I’m sure that we can conjure up some “crafty” recipes. I would note, however, that there is a chance that it will be mercilessly hot the night of our party - so if any dips require “cooler” temperatures - be sure to serve appropriately (in chilled thermal containers, by placing the bowl of dip in a larger bowl of ice or inside).

Polyjuice dip (black olive tapenade)

1 1/2 cups Kalamata or other oil cured olives, pitted
4 garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Mix olives, garlic, parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a food processor until very finely chopped.
With processor running, drizzle in oil - should result in a pasty spread. I usually like my tapenade a little chunky, but for this batch - it should be as smooth as possible (adding some canned “black olives” will help with the texture)

Berty Botts Vomit dip (creamy salsa dip)
8oz sour cream
8oz mayonnaise
8oz pre-packaged salsa

Mix all ingredients together and let chill for at least an hour (longer is better) - **note, if you find that your salsa is a bit watery, drain it before adding to the mixture.

Nearly Headless Nick’s mold dip (blue cheese onion dip)
16oz sour cream
1 packet dried onion soup mix
6oz (more or less depending on taste and strength of flavor) blue cheese

Mix all ingredients together and let chill overnight - the flavors will be more pronounced the longer it sits.

Serve the above dips with crackers, corn chips, toast points, raw vegetables…

Harry Potter book release party, recipes

4 weeks until party time!

mmm, more snack recipes please…

Licorice Wands
As much of a novelty as a treat (although I do love licorice)

1 bag of licorice sticks (black and/or red)
1 bag of white melting chocolates - you can get these at the craft store
bamboo skewers
sprinkles (optional)
styrofoam/oasis/some sort of base

1. Skewer each licorice stick with bamboo skewer
2. Melt chocolate according to package directions
3. Brush (or dip, roll, etc) chocolate onto one end (non-skewered) of licorice (this will be the handle)
4. cover with sprinkles (optional)
5. place skewer into styrofoam base to dry
6. allow to set in cool (even the freezer) place
7. to serve, either remove skewers and serve in glass or decorate styrofoam and serve right from there!

Harry Potter Party, Licorice wands, party planning

mmm, more snack recipes for the party - inspired by the treats served by Molly Weasley at the Burrows…

Dark Chocolate Fudge
3 C semisweet chocolate chips
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 t salt
1 C chopped walnuts
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

In over low heat, mix chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat; stir in walnuts and vanilla. Spread evenly into non-stick aluminum foil lined 8 or 9 inch square pan. Chill until firm (about 2 hours). Flip fudge out of pan and onto a cutting board; peel off foil and cut into squares.

Nut Brittle Block
Recipe from Martha Stewart Holiday Handmade Gifts, December 2006.
Makes one 9-by-13-inch pan

Unsalted butter, softened, for baking sheet
Vegetable oil, for spatula
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
Pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups unsalted nuts, such as dry-roasted peanuts, cashews, hazelnuts, almonds or pecans, or toasted pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Brush a 9-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet with butter, and oil an offset spatula; set aside. Put sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Wash down sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the mixture registers 238° on a candy thermometer (soft-ball stage). Stir in nuts, and continue to cook, stirring often so that the nuts do not burn, until the mixture is medium amber in color, 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Carefully stir in vanilla and baking soda (the mixture will foam up).

3. Pour onto prepared baking sheet, and using oiled offset spatula, quickly spread into a 1/2-inch-thick layer. Let cool completely.

4. Break brittle into pieces if desired; store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Harry Potter Party, chocolate fudge, nut brittle

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I knitted, as a sort of prototype, a Hufflepuff scarf and I’m currently working on a Gryffindor scarf. It’s a pretty simple pattern - but it’s a long scarf - so I recommend knitting while re-watching some past Harry Potter films or listening to some peppy music.

Harry Potter Party, knitting crafts

Our party is just 5 weeks away. We’ve sent out invitations and were knee-deep in planning.

I’m still brainstorming on activities -

we’ve already decided to make bookmarks, and have a “door prize guessing game” - I’ve decided to fill one jar with gumballs (a smaller number) for a kid’s size house scarf and a larger jar with (un-inflated) balloons for an adult size house scarf - whoever guesses the number of items in the jar (or gets the closest) wins!

I’ve made a “suggestion box” and slips of paper with different “plot” questions (similar to the Scholastic questions) for guests to speculate how things will unfold in book 7.

If we need a “filler game” - a rousing game of charades is always fun - even more so with a Potter theme!

Now, let’s review our menu so far…

Beverages:
tea, I think would be nice.
butter beer sodas

Snacks/food:
cornish pasties
sandwiches

Treats:
Chocolate covered pretzel “wands”
raspberry trifle

So, I’m thinking that we need to plan more food! Look for more recipes next week!

Harry Potter Party, party planning, party games

So, as you may have read, I’ve been experimenting with a recipe for a summertime butter beer.

I think I’ve got it - butter beer sodas.

What you need:

1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 container butterscotch ice cream topping (or, if you’re game, make it from scratch)
1 bottle butterscotch italian soda syrup (pretty much the same stuff they put in the fancy coffees)
1 liter soda water

Do ahead…
Allow ice cream to soften to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
Once melted, transfer ice cream to a medium sized bowl.
Fold in 3/4 cup of topping. The more “air” you can get into the mixture the better (more fizz later). Be sure to throughly combine (topping will tend to sink, and stick to, the bottom of the bowl).
Return ice cream to container (it make not all fit; if so, put in a clean plastic container) - and freeze until set.

Ready to serve:
place a small scoop of ice cream mixture into a chilled beer mug (or a glass) - drizzle syrup on top of ice cream (check specific directions for portions - and adjust to taste).
top with soda and serve!

butterbeer, harry potter party

So, I’ve been trying to come up with a recipe for a summertime butter beer - I know that it’s usually served in (magical places) cooler weather - but it’s such a big part of the Harry Potter experience, that I wanted to try and come up with some thing for the party (which is, of course, in July).

I had read a few online “recipes” from other Potter People - almost all of them called for a warmed sparkling beverage of some type. One caught my attention - mostly because it had ice cream in it, but also because of the flavorings.

I have always imagined butter beer to be very butterscotchy - and frothy. So the icecream idea was intriguing.

What I did was allow 1 pt of vanilla ice cream to “soften” for 30 minutes at room temperature. Once soften, I folded in a good 1/2 cup of butterscotch syrup, returned the mixture into the container and “re-froze” until firm.

Once the right consistency, I scooped (again, about) 1/2 cup of ice cream into a glass. I next poured Ginger Beer (not ale) over the ice cream - it created a pleasing color - and was reasonably tasty. I tried two different ginger beers - one was a little too bitey and the other was a little too sour.

But I’m not giving up - sparkling apple cider and cream soda are next on my list.

butter beer, harry potter party

Invitations are in the works. We’re inviting a bunch of magical friends - of all ages.

On to decorations - Since the party is going to be outside, I was thinking that we’d go for a “Hogwarts’ grounds” theme and utilize as much of the natural “scenery” as possible. Luckily, the backyard has a lot of greenery - so we don’t have to worry about fabricating trees and shrubs. First off, we’ll string fairy lights through the trees and shrubs (for effect as well as additional lighting) -

I have found, through experience, that balloons are a must for any party that involves children (under the age of 99).

We plan to decorate the tables, chairs, trees - basically anything that will stay still long enough to get covered!

Because you can never be sure of the weather, we’ll have a canopy (regularly used for picnics and tailgating) and decorate that as well. It can serve as a cover from the elements, as well as a “specialty” area - We could make it into one of the classrooms at Hogwarts, or (a mini) Great Hall - I’m not quite sure yet, it will depend on what supplies we’re able to find…

My next shopping trip will be to a craft/fabric store. You can check on-line or at your local fabric shop(s) for sales and clearance items. Joann Fabrics has a whole section on remnants and “odd sized” fabrics that they sell for reduced prices. Many of the fabrics are left-overs from local upholstery and designer shops - and the fabrics are of professional size and quality. Check it out and see what inspires you.

What we need is:

table clothes - a heavier but pliable, dark or jewel toned fabric -
fabric for draping (on everything) - a lighter, gauzy, shimmery fabric - maybe in a metallic
canopy - dark for underneath and a lighter fabric for accents.
miscellaneous fabrics for crafts and other decorations

It may be a little daunting (and expensive) to use so much fabric, so you can always switch in tissue paper, crepe paper, and/or plastic table covering (it comes in those long rolls).

I think we’ll take a preliminary trip out to the store to see what’s available before we solidify our vision - and as we decide…

Next week - Activities!

harry potter party, party planning

Mmmm, Cornish Pixies, I mean Cornish Pasties. Mini ones for the party.

Note - there is no pre-cooking of the ingredients in a traditional pasty - however, you can (but don’t tell anyone) pre-brown the meat and par-boil the vegetables.

Short Crust Pastry for three 9″ crusts (usually 1 and 1/2 recipe or 1 and 1/2 boxes of “roll out crust”)
2 pounds lean beef
3 medium potatoes (starchy)
1 lg onion
1 rutabaga or turnip (swede)
1 beaten egg
beef gravy (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION:
1. Finely dice the meat, potatoes, onion & rutabaga. Mix together in a large bowl and season to taste.
2. Roll out dough and cut into 2 to 3 inch rounds.
3. Put a teaspoon of the meat mixture on the pastry circle and top with gravy (optional)
4. Seal the edges with water, fold in half and crimp.
5. Brush beaten egg on top of each pastie and cut slits to vent.
6. Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 for 25 - 30 minutes - or until golden brown.

Harry Potter Party, Cornish Pasties