The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook: From Cauldron Cakes to Knickerbocker Glory--More Than 150 Magical Recipes for Muggles and Wizards [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Dinah Bucholz (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

With this cookbook, dining a la Hogwarts is as easy as Banoffi Pie. With more than 150 easy-to-make recipes, tips, and techniques, you can indulge in spellbindingly delicious meals drawn straight from the pages of your favorite Potter stories, such as:

• Treacle Tart, Harry's favorite dessert
• Molly's Meat Pies, Mrs. Weasley's classic dish
• Kreacher's French Onion Soup
• Pumpkin Pasties, a staple on the Hogwarts Express cart

With a dash of magic and a drop of creativity, you'll conjure up the entrees, desserts, snacks, and drinks you need to transform ordinary Muggle meals into magical culinary masterpieces, sure to make even Mrs. Weasley proud.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Wall Street Journal: "Cooking dishes from popular fantasy books—from Harry Potter to A Game of Thrones to the Twilight vampire tales—has become a pastime for fans seeking to immerse themselves in their favorite fictional worlds. Literary foodies are trading tips on how to cook eel pie and nettle soup, sharing ideas on blogs, YouTube and Twitter, and occasionally scoring cookbook deals. The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, which came out last year, has sold more than 150,000 copies."

About the Author

Dinah Bucholz taught English before working as a copyeditor for a book publisher. A passionate pie baker known for her fine desserts, Bucholz is now a full-time mother to her four children in Philadelphia, PA. Visit her website at www.unofficialharrypottercookbook.com.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media (September 18, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1440503257
• ISBN-13: 978-1440503252
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (143 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,633 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Children's Books > Cooking with Kids
  • #1 in Books > Children's Books > Sports & Games > Cooking

More About the Author

Dinah Bucholz is the official author of The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook. Dinah was born to a large family and grew up in a small New York City suburb called Monsey.

Dinah's first experience with baking occurred when she received for her ninth birthday a toy mixer from her mom that actually worked. She mixed up a chocolate cake batter without following a recipe and then poured the brown glop into plastic bowls and set them in the oven. Thankfully, she forgot to turn the oven on.

Today, Dinah lives in Philadelphia with her husband, and to the sorrow of her four children, no pets. She spends her time cooking and writing and wearing a professional-looking white chef's apron when she remembers to put it on.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The cookbook we've all been waiting for!, September 6, 2010

By 

Aviva - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook: From Cauldron Cakes to Knickerbocker Glory--More Than 150 Magical Recipes for Muggles and Wizards (Hardcover)

This cookbook is geared for children and young adults but it will please readers, cooks, and Harry Potter fans of all ages. My kids (ages 14, 12, and 8), have finally found an activity they can all agree on - cooking and sampling savory Harry Potter recipes. This book covers every single recipe that appears in all seven of the Harry Potter books. Ever wonder what Pumpkin Juice tastes like? Or Treacle tart? Well, you're about to find out!
Just crack open this book for easy to follow recipes, that have been authenticated and thoroughly researched and tested. Adults and children will delight in tracing their favorite Harry Potter delicacies back to the original source, while recreating some of these magical moments.

53 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, February 14, 2011

By 

PenP - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook: From Cauldron Cakes to Knickerbocker Glory--More Than 150 Magical Recipes for Muggles and Wizards (Hardcover)

Heard about this from a well-known fansite and immediately put it down on my wishlist. Well, whilst the idea is good, the execution is very disappointing. As a Brit, I have already eaten a good number of the recipes mentioned and have made quite a few of them. However, the recipes in this book seem terribly over-complicated for even me to follow. And as far as things like trifle are concerned, the main wow factor is the presentation, which must be very hard for those who have never seen these foods before. Photos would have made it better.
Not to sound harsh, but I don't think the author herself has actually been to the UK and sampled these foods from restaurants or peoples kitchens. To really demystify them for non-Brits, you can't just experiment and hope for the best; you need to compare them to the real thing and then try to adjust them to suit whatever products are sold in America.
As for the example pages shown, I have never heard of two rashers of bacon being called a "gammon". They're just rashers. It might be a regional thing, but I've asked others and they don't call them that either. Gammon is meat from the hind legs of a pig. I might be nitpicking, but if you're going to add in interesting asides, they have to be accurate.

117 of 138 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Veal?! Strange recipes, no pictures, and no butterbeer. Still a good book., April 19, 2011

By 

Amy Small - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook: From Cauldron Cakes to Knickerbocker Glory--More Than 150 Magical Recipes for Muggles and Wizards (Hardcover)

* Recipes: Some of the recipes are a little bit silly and overly simple (I'm thinking of the recipe for bacon... Ingredients? Bacon). Some of the recipes sound disgusting to this non-foodie American, like Haggis or Steak and Kidney Pudding.

Most of the recipes fall into the category of VERY simple, like mashed potatoes and buttered peas, or VERY complicated, like the Herbed and Spiced Fried Sausage Patties that call for ingredients like veal (?!), grated lemon zest, and dried marjoram.

Still, I've tried a few of the recipes, and the Cinnamon Pull-Apart Breakfast Rolls are seriously delicious, as are the Cheesy, Chivy Scrambled Eggs.


* Not really party food: Almost all of the recipes in this book are for sit-down meals. If you're looking for a book that has more fun-sized treats and appetizers for a Harry Potter party, I'd recommend The Unofficial Harry Potter Party Book: From Monster Books to Potions Class!: Crafts, Games, and Treats for the Ultimate Harry Potter Party, which includes more of the party-food type of recipes.


* Biggest Annoyance: No pictures. It's really hard for me to tell if something is appealing enough to make without seeing a picture first. Some of the recipes in here are for things I've never heard of, so I would have no idea what it should look like, like mince pies.


* No Butterbeer: I assume because of trademark issues. Too bad.

Here's my favorite butterbeer recipe of the many I've tried:
1 can of Cream Soda
1 teaspoon of Rum Extract
1 teaspoon of Butterscotch Extract
1 tablespoon of Brown Sugar
1 cup of Vanilla Ice Cream

It's delicious and very frothy - it looks just like beer.


Overall, I think this is a fun and useful cookbook. I'll be pulling it out at holidays, especially Christmas.
Any Harry Potter fan would be happy with this cookbook, but they might have to look up pictures for some of the more foreign recipes.