harry potter

  • Lemon Drop & Other Fine Passwords

    ByHeather Bailey

    HPBannerFinalTall

    LemonDrops470_2

    Not
    all witches have time to concoct a full spread of Harry Potter recipes,
    especially if they are short a house elf or two!  So for those of you
    who would like to delve into the world of Harry Potter without the
    chocolate-dipping and butterbeer-mixing, I've searched out a few
    easily-accessible, store-bought options for you.

    ChocolateFrogs470

    Lemon
    Drops, Chocolate Frogs, and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans are my top
    choices for store-bought, trolley-worthy treats.  They can be enjoyed
    by first years and ministry wizards alike.  Honestly, I can't believe I
    found chocolate frogs with so little searching.  (See 'Where to Buy'
    list below.)

    Another non-alcoholic beverage option includes Lemon Drop Soda.  Mix 2 parts sparkling water with 1 part Stirrings brand Lemon Drop Mixer, and give that Dumbledore a toast. 

    If
    you prefer a lighter soda, reduce the Lemon Drop Mixer to your liking. 
    Isaac swears by the addition of a tablespoon of vanilla flavoring syrup.

    LemonDropSoda300wWhere to Buy
    • Old-fashioned lemon drops – Pier One Imports.
    • Chocolate Frogs – Pier One Imports or mold your own chocolate frogs.
    • Every Flavor Beans – Jelly Belly brand
    jelly beans – your local grocer — or for an authentic Bertie Bott's
    mix, including nasty flavors, such as vomit & ear wax, here are a
    few links: one, two, three.
    • Stirrings brand Lemon Drop Mixer — spotted this week at Pier One, World Market, and SuperTarget, or purchase online.
    • Sparkling Water or Club Soda – your local grocer.

    Now
    take your sugar high and do something good with it, like treat your
    kids to a movie or some broom-crafting, then come back home and crash-out. That's the way the sugar goes. I have some experience with this
    now. 

    Next week, I'm off the broomstick, cauldron-less, and
    back in Little Winging, I swear.  Have a great weekend Harry Potter
    fans — don't forget to brush your teeth.

    • Cockroach Clusters recipe here.
    • Butterbeer recipe here.
    • Mini Broomsticks tutorial here.
    • Chocolate Wands recipe here.

    LemonDropSoda470

  • Swish, and Flick.

    ByHeather Bailey

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    Chocolate
    wands are a Gryffindor favorite.  Even Dumbledore has been known to
    stash a few candy wands in his desk.  Young witches and wizards can use
    them to practice basic spells, then pause for a bite!  For a variety of
    wand ‘types’, have crushed cookies, nuts or sprinkles handy as options
    to roll freshly-dipped pretzels in. 

    ChocolateWands470

    For
    this batch of wands, I first dipped pretzel rods in melted caramel.** 
    I then dipped each one in melted chocolate, and finished with a
    dappling of nuts.

    PretzelTray470b

    For
    best results, melt caramel in a tall cylinder and dip pretzels
    carefully.  The taller the cylinder, the deeper you can dip the
    pretzels. Set freshly-dipped pretzels on parchment-covered cookie sheet
    till caramel has set.  Then dip chocolate in the same manner.  Once
    chocolate has partially set, roll dipped end in desired topping.

    Dipping320w2 Package a few wands together in cello bags and personalize by tying with ribbon in your house colors.

    **Alternatively,
    use flat sheets of caramel used in caramel-apple
    making.  Each caramel sheet comes sandwiched in parchment paper.  Cut
    sheets into strips while still lined with paper.  Then, peel off paper
    & wrap strips around end of pretzel
    rod.  I've seen caramel sheets in the produce section of several
    grocery
    stores — but these might be seasonal.

    • Cockroach Clusters recipe here.
    • Butterbeer recipe here.
    • Mini Broomsticks tutorial here.

  • The Three Broomsticks

    ByHeather Bailey

    HPBannerFinalTall

    ThreeBrooms
    Use these miniature Firebolts to add a bit of magical flair to your favorite Harry Potter party drink.  Or use the broom handles to skewer together any tasty morsels that threaten to scurry away on the dessert table.

    Broomstick Picks

    Materials Needed
    Raffia
    Wooden skewers
    Colored embroidery floss
    Brown thread

    Tools
    Sewing machine
    Hot glue gun & glue
    Scissors

    BroomA

    1. 
    Gather small bunch of raffia – about 20 strands. Stitch bundled raffia
    together. (Seam is about 3/4" long.) Trim raffia to 5" wide, with seam
    centered.

    BroomB

    2. 
    Place medium-size dot of hot glue to left of thread seam. Place the
    blunt end of skewer into glue, extending skewer about 1" past thread
    seam.

    BroomC

    3.  Fold right half of raffia over skewer. Secure with glue or simply keep a hold on raffia till Step 4 is completed. 

    BroomD

    4. 
    While holding raffia ends securely, wrap colored embroidery floss
    around broom bristles, about ½" from folded end of raffia. Wrap thread
    3-4 times and secure with knot. Trim raffia to even out end of broom.

    These brooms are surprisingly easy to make — bookmark for next Halloween : )

    • Cockroach Clusters recipe here.
    • Butterbeer recipe here.

  • Bottoms Up, Butterbeer

    ByHeather Bailey

    HPBannerFinalTall Butterbeer
    Madam
    Rosmerta would agree that no wizard party is complete without a pint of
    freshly-brewed Butterbeer. With our house elf now missing, it took us
    quite a few iterations before we discovered the perfect potion for this
    usually overly-sweet concoction. A hint of ginger and the sweetness of
    butterscotch combine to create a delightful and refreshing non-alcoholic drink,
    capable of making even Severus Snape smile.

    Butterscotch300 Butterbeer Recipe

    12 oz. (one bottle) ginger beer
    36 oz. (three bottles) cream soda
    3 T butterscotch ice cream topping

    Thoroughly
    chill unopened ginger beer and cream soda in refrigerator until
    icy-cold.  Refrigerate empty, glass pitcher as well.  Once beverages
    are chilled, in a small mixing bowl or tall glass, stir 1-2 oz. of
    cream soda into butterscotch topping till thoroughly combined.  Pour
    all remaining soda into chilled pitcher. Quickly add butterscotch
    mixture to pitcher.  Stir till just combined;  do not over-stir.  Pour
    over ice and serve immediately.  Serves 6.

    For a frothy sparkle, dip the rim of each glass in corn syrup,
    pulling drips of syrup downward with a toothpick.  Then dip
    each glass rim in a mixture of colored sugar.  Before dipping, spread
    the corn syrup & sugar mixture each onto a separate, flat-bottomed
    plate.

    SugarRim

    For
    an old-world, textured effect, mix fine, yellow sugar with coarser,
    gold sugar.  Colored sugars are available at many grocery stores and
    craft chains.  The sugars shown here are both from Michael's.

    Isaac
    & I went to a midnight showing of The Half-Blood Prince with friends last
    night.  It was amazing — definitely my favorite HP movie so far — BY
    FAR.  We were surrounded by eight packed theatres of screaming,
    costumed teenagers.  It was a sight.

    • Cockroach Clusters recipe here.

  • Candy-Coated Roach Control

    ByHeather Bailey

    HPBannerFinalTall HBaileyCockroachBrt3 Don't look like a Muggle at the big Harry Potter movie premiere
    this week, snacking on Milk Duds and Raisinets.  Line your cloak with a
    proper wizard's feast of sugar munchies.  Start with every student's
    favorite, Cockroach Clusters. 

    HBaileyPopcornWbrt2
    Our house elf, Floozy, has been working away all weekend to formulate
    the perfect Cockroach Cluster recipe, using only the finest Pecanese
    cockroaches.  With Floozy's polished recipe, the process is easy —
    almost like making popcorn balls.

    For a final touch, let a
    batch of greedy insects loose on your tray of hand-rolled popcorn balls
    and they'll crawl right into place and get stuck — like magic. The
    hardest part is de-winging the little buggers while they're still
    wiggling, but you'll get the hang of it.

    When Floozy threatened
    to rest her sticky fingers, we made her stay up an extra two hours to
    design candy tags for your homemade treats.  That'll teach her.  Click here to download a print-ready pdf of uniquely-appetizing Cockroach Cluster tags.

    Spread the news around Hogsmeade and the floo network, I'll be posting magical recipes all this week.

    Update: 
    About Floozy's sticky, sticky state.  No worries.  We had her wash up for the next recipe & gave her a clean, new apron to wear.

    Oh shoot!  Oops — no wonder I haven't seen her all morning.

    HappyTreat

    Cockroach Clusters

    Glazed Pecans

    1 lb pecan halves
    1/2 C light corn syrup
    1 T butter
    kosher or sea salt to taste

    Directions:
    Preheat oven to 200º. Coat baking sheet
    with butter-flavored cooking spray. Spread pecan halves in single layer on
    baking sheet. Toast in 200º oven for approx. 5 min. Remove pecans from oven and pour in mixing bowl. Set aside. Increase oven
    temperature to 300º. Re-coat baking sheet with cooking spray.

    Melt butter in
    microwave. Add corn syrup &
    butter to pecan halves. Stir until pecans are evenly coated. With
    slotted spoon, remove pecan halves from bowl and place in single layer
    on baking sheet. Bake for approx. 15 minutes or until pecan glaze is
    brown and bubbly. Remove pecans and lightly
    sprinkle with salt. Allow to cool. Pecans should be prepared in advance
    of
    popcorn balls.

    CockroachClusterTags Popcorn Balls

    18-20 C of popped popcorn
    2 T butter
    2 C sugar
    1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
    1/2 C light corn syrup
    1 1/3 cups water
    1 tsp white vinegar
    1 tsp vanilla extract
    1/2 tsp almond extract

    Directions:
    Pop
    popcorn in air popper — or use plain microwave popcorn. Set aside. In
    medium sauce pan, combine butter, sugar, salt, corn syrup, water and
    vinegar. (The vinegar helps the sugar to reach a smooth consistency.)
    Cook on high until sugar mixture reaches hard-ball stage (approximately
    255-265º). Remove saucepan from heat, then stir in vanilla and almond
    extract.

    Quickly
    coat large mixing bowl and mixing spoon with butter-flavored cooking
    spray. Pour 18-20 cups of popped popcorn into the greased bowl.

    Slowly pour
    sugar mixture onto popcorn, tossing as you go. Wait till mixture is
    cool enough to handle, but still very warm, then lightly form coated
    popcorn into 3" balls and place on wax paper.  Before popcorn balls
    cool, decorate with glazed pecans. It helps to have a second person to
    help add pecans while the popcorn mixture is still warm.

    Holy cricket, these are tasty!

    • Butterbeer recipe here.