In the Kitchens at Hogwarts

Young witch hard at work on her O.W.L. examinations.
Note the shrunken mandrake's head.

The Picky Eater and I have a long and most pleasant association with that esteemed wizarding institution The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, she as a prefect and Head Girl in her year, and I as an instructor at our annual Hogwarts short course. During the week-long course life takes on the soothing routine found in schools where the students are happy and excited to attend, the staff are benignly voluble, and the food is excellent. While life at the "real" Hogwarts may be filled with drama, strife, and uncertainty, it's all good fun, lots of wizardry crafts & potions, quidditch matches, and scrumptious snacks for elevenses during the Short Course.

In the stead of Mssrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, we offer not a Marauders' Map, but the makings of the aforementioned elevenses and a bevy of potions which would even satisfy Prof. Snape. After a long morning of classwork in Charms, Divination, Herbology, or Ancient Runes and a brisk quidditch practice, young witches and wizards are ready to tuck in. Elevenses always includes a bracing cup of tea or cocoa, toasted English muffins, crumpets or scones with butter, lemon curd and jelly, and Hagrid's famous Rockcakes. (Although we can assure you that these cakes are quite delicious and most decidedly not the jawbreakers that Hagrid bakes!) Pass the recipes on to your house elves, or in an elve-less household like Mrs. Weasley's, make them yourself.

While acceptable English muffins (and even crumpets) can be conveniently procured from your local purveyor, store-bought scones pale in comparison to those conjured up in the Hogwarts kitchen, best baked and served the same day.

Scones with lemon curd & crumpets with raspberry-lavender preserves.

Tea Scones
Using cake flour gives these scones a tender crumb; but you will also have excellent results with unbleached flour. Makes 8 generous sized scones. *See the note about cutting smaller ones.

2 c. cake or unbleached flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 Tb baking powder
1/4 t. salt
6 Tb chilled butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
1/2 c. cold whole milk

Preheat the oven to 400°.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly sprinkle it with flour.

Combine the  flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub it with your fingertips until the mixture is like course meal.

Beat the egg and milk together in a bowl. Pour over the dry ingredients, and combine with a fork. Gather the dough into a ball.

Turn the dough out on a floured surface and shape into an 8” round about 3/4” thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet. Cut the dough to make 8 equal wedges and separate them on the cookie sheet. *Alternately, you can use a simply shaped cookie cutter, like a heart, to cut out smaller individual scones.

Scone dough cut in wedges before separating.

Bake about 15 minutes, until the scones are firm to the touch in the center, and golden brown. Smaller scones may have a shorter baking time. Start checking at about 10 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.  Recipe adapted from the May 1998 issue of Bon Appetit.

Lemon Curd 
Just keep stirring! If you work hard enough you won't need to strain out any pesky lumps. Worth the effort.

3 large eggs
1/2 - 3/4 c. sugar (use less for more tartness)
1/4 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 Tb unsalted butter
2 Tb grated lemon zest

In the top of a double boiler over simmering water, whisk the eggs and sugar until smooth. Add the other ingredients and cook over medium heat, whisking continuously, until the mixture resembles slightly whipped cream.

Remove from the heat, cover, and stir the lemon curd frequently as it cools. When cool, strain (if necessary) and store in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Makes 1 ½ cups.  Adapted from The Village Baker’s Wife by Gayle Ortiz.

Rockcakes iced & cooling.

Hagrid's Rockcakes
Spicy, tender and guaranteed not to break any teeth. It's easy to eat four or five of these hardy drop cookies in the blink of an eye (or the swish of a wand.) They freeze nicely if well wrapped.
Makes 3 dozen cookies.

1 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
3 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. cloves
1 c. nuts, chopped
1 c. raisins

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Sift the dry ingredients together, and stir into the butter mixture. Then stir in the nuts and raisins.

Drop teaspoonfuls of dough on greased (or parchment papered) cookie sheets about 2” apart. Bake 8-10 minutes, until golden around the edges. These cookies are better slightly underdone.

While still hot, gently brush the cookies with this glaze:
Vanilla Glaze
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 Tb. soft butter
2 Tb plus 2 t. light cream
1 t. vanilla
pinch of salt

Mix ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. The mixture should be the consistency of mayonnaise. Cover when not in use.

Edible Potions
Potions Class, in the absence of Snape, offers a splendid opportunity for young witches & wizards to devise their own snacks and potables. We offer two examples of exemplary potion lessons- the "Eat-Your-Veggies Potion" based on a favorite recipe of Mrs. Wesley's from the tome Charm Your Own Cheese, and a simple draught known as the "Babbling Beverage."

In concocting both potions, insist that the results be totally tasty and edible, forewarning students that they will be eating and drinking them as their elevenses snack. If your class is divided into houses (we like to name our houses Unicorn, Dragon, Phoenix, and Hippogriff to avoid disappointment) members of each house can work cooperatively on their own batch of potion. Trust me, you won't want, or need, any more!

Eat-Your-Veggies Potion
Potion base:
1 cup sour cream
1 cup yogurt

Stir the potion base ingredients together and distribute a portion to each house or wizard in a small bowl or cauldron.
Add any desired combination of these herbs and flavorings to taste. Encourage young scholars to be prudent when flavoring their potions- adding components in small doses until a pleasurable balance is attained.

• Fresh and/or herbs: Parsley, cilantro, basil, thyme, oregano, tarragon                                             Make sure that the fresh herbs have been washed. They can be chopped fine with a knife or chopper or, more safely, snipped with a clean pair of scissors.
• Soy sauce
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Balsamic vinegar
• Worcestershire sauce
• Mustard- yellow or Dijon
• Hot sauce

Serve with crackers, breadsticks, and crudites- sliced carrots, celery sticks, bell pepper, cucumber, etc. Encourage witches and wizards to try potions made by other houses.

Babbling Beverage

Be sure to warn your students that overindulgence may result in the dreaded motor mouth syndrome

Beverage base:

Offer a reasonable assortment of the following: Ginger ale, 7-up, apple juice, sparkling water.

Measure 2-3 cups of mixed-as-desired beverage base into a large cauldron or pitcher.

Add some or all of these additions to make a tasty brew:

• Spoonfuls of undiluted frozen juice concentrate- orange or lemonade
• Flavored Kool aid mix (various, blue is always nice)
• Spices & flavorings- vanilla, almond extract, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg

Add ice and ladle into cups. Enjoy and try not to babble uncontrollably.

A Visit to Hogsmeade- 

Young witches and wizards delight in their weekend visits to Hogsmeade, and are more than happy to pitch in and help Mr. Honeyduke replenish his stores. After a spell spent making magical candies, nothing is better than quaffing a tankard of pumpkin juice or butter beer at Madam Rosmerta's esteemed establishment, The Three Broomsticks.

It is possible for students to assist Mr. Honeyduke by making two of his best sellers- chocolate frogs and chocolate wands.

Chocolate Frogs & Wands

24 oz bag of chocolate chips

Gummi frogs

Bag of pretzel "Rods"

Colored cake decorating sprinkles

Double boiler

Inexpensive/disposable paint brushes

Parchment or wax paper

Melt the chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Alternately, melt and transfer to a small crockpot for safer house elf working conditions.

Use the paintbrushes to coat the frogs with melted chocolate. Set on a piece of wax or parchment paper to cool.

Dip about half the length of the pretzel rods in the melted chocolate to coat. Hold vertically over melted chocolate to allow the excess to drip back into the pan. While the chocolate is still soft, hold the wand over wax/parchment paper or a plate and coat with the sprinkles. Cool until chocolate is hard on paper.

Pumpkin Juice

Icy cold, this is the young wizard's thirst quencher of choice.

Makes 4-6 servings

32 oz. bottle of apple juice

14 oz. can of canned pumpkin

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

optional: 1/4 cup honey

Measure about 1 cup of apple juice into a 2 qt pitcher, bowl or cauldron. Gradually beat in the canned pumpkin and about half of the honey, along with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Once the mixture is smooth, gradually add the remainder of the apple juice until well mixed. Taste and add additional spices and honey to taste. Serve over ice if desired. 

Butter Beer
The exact recipe for Butter Beer is a closely held secret, and much controversy surrounds it among its aficionados. Young witches and wizards seem happy to drink any of its many iterations.

For 4-6 servings

2 12 oz. bottles of cream soda (note: there appear to be many new gourmet varieties available which are less sickeningly sweet than the high volume manufacturers, and they will produce a much more palatable product)

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup caramel sauce (homemade** or store bought)

Chill the cream soda. Whip the cream in a clean bowl with either a hand or electric beater until it forms sturdy but not stiff peaks. (Note: young wizards may enjoy the novelty of operating a Muggle egg beater.) Gently stir in the caramel sauce, trying not to deflate the cream.

Fill a tall wine or beer glass with 4-6 oz. cream soda and add several large dollops of the caramel whipped cream. Clink glasses and enjoy.

Quick Butter Beer

Alternately, for a quicker brew, pour a quantity of cream soda over several scoops of butter caramel ice cream in a tall glass. Stir together gently and enjoy.

**Homemade Caramel Sauce

Quite a wizardly concoction in and of itself. Watch plain sugar and water transform themselves into nectar of the gods.

Makes 1 cup.

1 c. granulated sugar 

1/3 c. water 

An additional 1/3 to 1⁄2 c. water 

1 c. heavy cream

Boil the sugar and 1/3 cup water in a small heavy saucepan, swirling until the sugar is dissolved. Put a lid on the pan and boil slowly until the sugar bubbles thicken considerably.

Uncover and boil without stirring until the syrup begins to caramelize. Swirl the pan until the syrup is walnut brown. Remove from the heat, and continue to swirl. Avert your face and pour in the additional water.

Simmer, stirring frequently, until the caramel has melted into the water. Boil the mixture until it is a light syrup. Add the cream, blend in thoroughly, and boil, stirring, for 2-3 minutes to reduce the cream slightly. Serve warm or cold. 

Adapted from Julia and More Company by Julia Child.

Hogwarts in Gingerbread

Many young wizards and witches of our acquaintance enjoy rendering gingerbread house versions of Hogwarts. Shown below is a splendid rendition by our young friend Frank.

Can you spot Nagini, the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid & Nearly Headless Nick?