Al principio de cada capítulo se introduce un poco la temática de las recetas que se van a ver en dicho capítulo, por supuesto, siempre a través de referencias a los libros de Harry Potter. Me parecía interesante comentar el título de cada capítulo porque entiendo que más o menos os haréis una idea del contenido (aunque bueno, igual hay que echarle imaginación). Lo que sí os puedo aclarar es que podemos cocinar de todo: sopas, caldos y gachas, carnes, pescados, huevos, verduras y guarniciones, postres, helados, caramelos y golosinas, bebidas y panes, bollos y pastas. Una vez que tenemos los títulos y los tipos de comida (que vienen siendo todos), ahora toca adentrarse en el contenido de cada uno de los capítulos. I love Harry Potter. I love food. I love the food from Harry Potter. Reading about treats like butterbeer and treacle tarts used to make me want to be a witch just so I could enjoy them. I thought this book and I would get along great. Unfortunately, this cookbook is mediocre at best.

However, some of the recipes leave something to be desired. I agree with other reviewers. Really, a recipe for eggs and bacon? I think most people who are capable of cooking the rest of the recipes in this book know how to cook bacon and eggs. The sugar-mice are just fondant? Who wants to eat just plain-old fondant? Why not add some flavoring (I don't count vanilla extract) and then roll the mice in sugar to make...SUGAR mice?I am not sure why, but this Treacle Fudge recipe peeked my interest. I love fudge, the texture, the sweetness - so dreamy. With the addition of molasses, I had to try it. The note in the margin of the book stated that "some speculate that a batch of caramels came out wrong - fudged - but it seems it was invented in the United States." I have never had fudge that wasn't chocolate or peanut butter, so this was a fun new baking adventure. It looked like a lot of steps in the directions, but with my mixer, it was fairly easy. Real cooking takes some effort, people. Real cooking isn't about throwing three ingredients into the microwave and hoping it doesn't taste like rubber when it comes out. These recipes are the REAL DEAL. Real cooking, real home cooking. So it will take some effort. While the blurbs paraphrasing episodes from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series have generally been entertaining enough (although also often much too repetitive in scope and feel, and to such an extent that I actually ended up skimming quite a large chunk of the second part of The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook as far too many of the presented examples of Harry and his friends enjoying different types of foods actually just ended up feeling as though one was reading the same types of scenarios over and over again), I cannot really say that I have at ALL appreciated the manner in which author Dinah Bucholz has approached her 150 odd recipes. For since all of the recipes featured in The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook are of course and naturally United Kingdom based and that a goodly number of them also do appear as being potentially rather difficult and complicated to make, with intricate instructions as well as sometimes necessitating ingredients with which many American and/or Canadian cooks might be not that familiar, I for one would have assumed that Dinah Bucholz to also the include at least a SOME pictures, some accompanying photos of what the end products would and should look like (and that there are NO accompanying visuals whatsoever featured and presented in The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, this really does make me quite massively and personally livid).

Not particularly easy looking recipes. Again ... kind of depends on what you're looking for in a cookbook. Willing to put forth a little effort? This might be just the thing for you. Most of it was a little complicated for my tastes, much as I think it would be grand to plan an HP party.

Dinahs 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.

Okay, so being one of the few people who actually has cooked out of this recipe book, I wanted to say a few things about it. But I was a bit confused as to who the intended audience was. Initially, I thought it was a cookbook aimed at children. The introduction seems to make it seem so, and I thought, what a great idea! Lure boys and girls into the joys of cooking by exploiting — er, capitalizing — on children’s love for the Harry Potter books and movies. Each recipe references a dish or treat mentioned in one of the seven Harry Potter novels, complete with quotation and citation. Lo interesante es que en la zona superior, y al principio de cada receta, existe un pequeño texto que relaciona un momento o situación acaecido en la saga de Harry Potter con el contenido de la receta. There are also cake recipes to imagine what types of cakes Harry's friends would send for his birthday while the Dursleys were on a diet. None of these cakes is traditionally British.

Books Multibuys

Chapter Six: Breakfast Before Class includes some of Harry's favorite breakfasts like fried sausage patties, porridge with cream and treacle, the classic English fry up, traditional English marmalade, lots of fried foods and the odd one out-cinnamon pull-apart breakfast rolls. That last one sounds good and is topped with cream cheese icing. This section is very classically British and what I would expect to be served at Hogwarts. Nulla più di una bieca operazione commerciale che sfrutta il nome del mago più famoso del mondo per vendere copie di uno pseudo ricettario...ricette che non hanno niente a che vedere con la saga della Rowlings, spiegate male e impreparabili...la ricetta più interessante? Il gelato: prendete una pallina di gelato alla crema e mettetela in una coppetta, poi aggiungete una pallina di gelato al cioccolato, una pallina di gelato alla nocciola e ricoprite il tutto di granella di pistacchio...questo è il livello del libro.

So many recipes within Harry Potter are normal, everyday items in England and, like Bulchoz, always wondered what does the food taste like? Some of the recipes are great. I totally enjoyed the Yorkshire pudding with our roast (we did pork since I don't eat beef; otherwise the recipe was exactly the same). My husband loved the treacle tart, but it wasn't my thing...but it was a good recipe. I also made the English Strawberry Trifle, which was very complicated but worth every moment of sweating in the kitchen. You can't get that type of food from a box. The Shepherd's Pie was also quite tasty (and relatively simple). 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. The most exciting things that happened in her childhood were getting her pony tail pulled by various brothers, also getting teased by the same, and enjoying spectacular good times and spectacular fights with her twin sisters. Since reading this book, I've kindled a huge passion for cooking and baking. I've found excuses to try recipes out on anyone and everyone I know.Dinah Bucholz, a huge Harry Potter fan and food lover, has always been interested in what the characters are eating. Grease an 8x8 inch square pan and set aside. Combine the sugars, butter, heavy cream treacle and cream of tartar in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted and the ingredients are combined. Was down the sides of the pot with a pastry brush dipped in hot water if sugar crystals form on the sides, to prevent recrystallization. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot and continue to cook without stirring until the mixture reaches 240 degrees on the candy thermometer. Ni que decir tiene que amo el mundo de Harry Potter y todo lo relacionado con él. De pequeña seguí las publicaciones de los libros y vi todas las películas en su estreno, así que cuando descubrí este libro lo primero que pensé es que necesitaba tenerlo en mis manos. Y dicho esto, ¡aquí tenéis mi opinión! It starts with a nice introduction and has some helpful hints. I did like the way it was divided, which was by location. That way you could look specifically for food from Hogwarts or at the Weasleys'. The steps are numbered, and the recipes are peppered with hints and fun historical facts, as well as guides for making substitutions, which I appreciated. I also liked that each recipe came with a paragraph explaining which book and chapter the recipe was from, along with some context. If you're undecided about introducing someone to the wizarding world or diving in yourself, we've got you covered. We've pulled together some frequently asked questions to help you out.