Stilton and Onion Soup
In chapter five of “Harry Pottery and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” when Harry arrives at the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley whips him up a “thick steaming onion soup”. Since it is described as thick, perhaps it is a cheesy version such as this one. This recipe calls for Stilton, a British cheese. Adapted from
.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 baby leeks, chopped
2 cups vegetable stock
1 ounce stilton cheese
Bread for accompaniment
Directions
Preheat large saucepan. Heat olive oil. Add onion, garlic and leeks and fry until soft. Pour in stock. Bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer 10-12 minutes. Add the stilton and stir until melted. Puree in food processor or blender until smooth. Ladle in two soup bowls and serve with sliced bread.
Butterbeer
The famous Butterbeer is a recipe that many have tried to perfect, this is close, according to the folks at floo-network.org.
Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups vanilla ice cream
Rum (or imitation rum extract)
Apple cider
Directions
Mix butter, brown sugar, powder sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Beat in the ice cream and freeze. To serve, fill a mug about 1/4 full with the mix and 1 tablespoon of rum, or rum extract then pour the cider over it and presto, you’ve got butterbeer!
Treacle Fudge
A beautiful treat that goes equally well for dinner or tea. Be careful you don’t cook it too long, or it might turn out like Hagrid’s. From floo-network.org.
Ingredients
1/2 cup half and half or evaporated milk
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 tabelspoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
Directions
In a bowl, mix half and half, sugar and salt.
In a heavy saucepan, melt the chocolate with the butter. Remove from heat and stir in molasses.
Add chocolate mixture to cream mixture. Pour into a buttered 8-by-8-inch square pan. Let cool. Cut into squares and serve.
Pumpkin Pasties
Adapted from a recipe by Britta Peterson, a California Harry fan. From The Washington Post, makes approximately 20 pasties.
Ingredients
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 prepared, uncooked pie crusts
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Slightly beat eggs and mix together all filling ingredients in a
large casserole dish. Bake for 15 minutes.
Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake until knife inserted in
center of the filling is clean (approximately 40 minutes). Cool on
wire rack, but do not turn off oven.
Prepare pie crust or thaw store-bought crust to room temperature.
Cut crust into circles about 3 inches in diameter. Put a generous
spoonful of the cooled pumpkin mixture on one-half of the center of
the circle. Fold the crust into a semicircle and firmly pinch the
edges closed with a fork; slice three small slits in the top for
venting.
You’ll probably have quite a bit of pumpkin left over – serve it as
pumpkin pudding. (If you want to use all the pumpkin, you will need
about three times as much pie crust.)
Bake the pasties on a greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees until
they are slightly golden (approximately 20 minutes, or slightly
longer with certain prepared crusts).
Another Butterbeer
Adapted from “The Rosie O’Donnell Show.” From The Washington Post, serves 6.
Ingredients
1 pint of vanilla ice cream, softened
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 bottle (3 cups) sparkling apple cider
Directions
Allow ice cream to soften, about 30 minutes, and bring butter to
room temperature, about 2 hours.
Cream together butter, sugar and spices in large bowl. Add to ice
cream and refreeze. Heat sparkling cider in a pot until warm but
still carbonated (at least 3 minutes). Fill each glass with a
generous scoop of ice cream mixture and pour warmed cider over ice
cream. It will foam like beer; hence the name.
Disappearing Pretzel Wands
Make the wands more creative by adding food coloring to the vanilla
or using different varieties of sprinkles. They “disappear” while
you eat them! From The Washington Post, makes 10 wands.
Ingredients
1/2 cup chocolate fudge frosting
1 dish of candy sprinkles (1/2 cup)
10 pretzel rods (such as Snyder’s of Hanover)
2 tablespoons vanilla frosting
Directions
Transfer chocolate frosting to a microwave-safe glass baking dish.
Microwave on high for 10 seconds or until melted; stir until
smooth.
Roll each pretzel rod in the melted frosting, making sure to coat
completely. Dip each stick in candy sprinkles and lay on a piece of
foil or baking sheet.
Refrigerate to set the frosting (about 40 minutes). Transfer foil
to a countertop work surface.
Place vanilla frosting in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on
high for 10 seconds to soften. Dip the tip of each pretzel in the
vanilla frosting until coated; return wands to foil.
Let stand for 2 hours or until frosting is set.
