We all know well that what we eat has a huge impact on our bodies, skin, and health, so in the literal sense, beauty really does come from the inside.  I do my best to eat well and always prepare healthy, balanced meals for my husband and myself.  However, I am not and will never be a dieter, calorie counter, or carbless eater.  Forget the fact that I’m hypoglycemic and tend to get fairly unpleasant when I’ve gone too long without a snack, I simply love food.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I definitely try to watch what I eat and veggies are probably the one food group I could never live without, but when I see an amazing book of recipes that by no means could be classified as a “healthy eating” tool, I buy it and immediately start planning which dishes I’ll try first.  Especially when it’s based on Harry Potter’s food adventures through the Muggle and Magical worlds.

Before I get to the cookbook that inspired this post, you all must know just how much I love Harry Potter. I have read all of the books way too many times to count, listened to the audiobooks on repeat for the last couple of years, watched the movies enough to have memorized nearly all the lines, and now I’m working on reading the books in Chinese. Yes, I said Chinese.  My wonderful husband got me the complete series in Mandarin for Christmas. For Valentine’s Day, he surprised me with tickets to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  We went for the first time last year, but when he told me our plans were to return this Vday, I lit up like a kid on Christmas.  I’ve truly met my Prince Charming.

So happy at Hogwarts! The perfect Valentine’s Day.

We stopped by Hagrid’s for a cuppa and some of his infamous Rock Cakes (recipe page pictured below).

Just the other night, he wanted to take me on a date to Downtown Disney (Disney is another love of mine since I grew up about 25 min down the street from Disneyland) to have a nice dinner and get the cookbook I drooled over last time we wandered around down there.  So we walked straight in to Mickey’s Pantry, a charming store with all of the Disney themed kitchen supplies you could imagine, and picked me up a copy of The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz.

Finally got myself a copy of The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook.
(This was taken the same day I shot my last tutorial, so outfit info can be found here and similar Banana Republic pants can be found here.)

Up close and personal with your guide to your favorite Harry Potter recipes.

Dinah takes famous Harry Potter treats, such as Pumpkin Pasties and Sugar Mice, in combination with all of the traditional English and Irish dishes that are mentioned in the series to create this fascinating and educational cookbook.  She doesn’t just list out the recipes for some of the foods mentioned most often in J.K. Rowling’s work; Bucholz truly goes above and beyond to include helpful hints and cooking basics, the history behind each dish, as well as where the foods can be found in the series.

At the top of the page, Bucholz reminds readers where the Rock Cakes were mentioned in the books by providing a quick summary and citing the book(s) and chapter(s) in which they can be found. Off to the left in the little scroll, she gives a brief history on the cakes traditionally served with tea. Below the instructions, Dinah even tells you how to make them as Hagrid would…if you dare.

The chapters are cleverly arranged by theme and all begin with a summary of what’s to come as it pertains to Harry’s adventures. Some of my favorite chapters were “Good Food with Bad Relatives” (a collection of the cuisine Harry had or was denied while living with the Dursleys), “The Favorite Cook’s Dishes” (a wonderful assembly of Molly Weasley’s delectable dishes), and “Treats in the Village” (full of Hogsmeade’s delights).

I couldn’t even wait to get home to dive into the pages, so I started reading as soon as we got in the car.  By the next day, I had read through the entire book and was so overwhelmed with all of the new recipes I wanted to try! For all of you Harry Potter fans out there who enjoy trying your hand in the kitchen, the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook is a must-have!

**As I re-read this, I had to giggle over my very clear obsession with Harry Potter.  Unintentionally, I had Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone playing in the background while I worked on this post.