A Harry Potter Dinner

Caraway and Parmesan Grissini

from Spice It, Murdoch Books, 2010.

I’ve ben engaged with Harry Potter in some way or another since the first book in 1997 so when the final film arrived it seemed appropriate to have a special little dinner before attending.

What would be suitable? I made grissini to serve as wands. There was a cocktail, Serpent’s Sting. Then two courses, missing out the main, because the students would probably prefer to go straight to sweets. Therefore we had a minestrone soup and a cheery tiramisu cheesecake.

Spice It is not the easiest book to handle because, due to its shape, it keeps flipping shut. It’s too thick to place in a book holder and too small in shape to place weights on it. So you need a bookmark and hope that you don’t get sticky fingers as you’re cooking and need to refer to it again. Much of the material inside looks good so it's worth persevering.

The grissini were such a lot of fun to make. I’ve always avoided yeast recipes because I’ve not had a great deal of success when using it but I seem to be gradually getting the hang of it. Rolling out the sticks was a pleasant exercise and cooking them no problem.

They turned out well. Mine were somewhat rugged in looks but this did not influence the taste.

Enjoyed the movie also, though the 3D was more distracting than of benefit.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔