Harry Halloween

Last night we went to David & Bonnie's annual Halloween Party. Halloween is Bonnie's favorite holiday and they go all out for this party each year. This year it had a Harry Potter theme. The invite was delightfully creative and instructed us to bring a Harry Potter themed dish. The best dish won a prize. To build some suspense, pictures of the attendees first.

David & Bonnie as James & Lily Potter (l). Bonnie's belly as Harry (r).


Oliver as an adult Harry (l). Kristen as a muggle who doesn't care (r).


Julie as a witch (l). Bruce as a ????? laughing at ????? (r).

Pete and Mika sans girls (l).

Jared and Kristen as a wizard and witch trying to dress like muggles (l).

Scott, as a wizard, with Jared (r).

Rob, Jared's brother, as Harry (l). Rob's wife, Erin, and her sister Fiona (below).

Now on to the dishes. Let's start with the winners Scott & Jen. They brought Bacon-Wrapped Goblin Toes. Luckily, Jen brought two dishes. They were a definite favorite. The goblin toes were water chestnuts wrapped in a piece of bacon cooked in a tangy yet sweet sauce. The crunch in the middle, from the water chestnut, was a pleasant surprise that went well with the strong flavor of the sauce and the bacon.

Bruce & Julie were the runners-up. They brought two dishes, one of which was probably the most labor intensive: Butter Beer and Pumpkin Pasties. The butter beer had so many intense flavors combining to a drink that could only be sipped. Yet, nothing overwhelmed. There was balance to the drink. I kept coming back and sipping my butter beer as the night went on. The Pumpkin Pasties (pictured below) were one of my favorites. The crust was flaky, with excellent space between the layers of pastry. The filling was 100% pumpkin heaven, nicely seasoned. That is one of my favorite things about Julie's cooking, her ability to create combine spices in new and different ways to bring out a completely new side of foods. I gobbled down one too many of the pasties.

Jared & Kristen brought Potter's Peanut Butter Pasties. Major points for creating an original name for their dessert. The cookies were a good combination of soft and chewy while still having a strong constitution, both in flavor and in substance. There's nothing worse than a cookie that crumbles in your hands or where the flavors don't come together in your mouth. Usually I am not a proponent of creamy peanut butter - Skippy Extra Chunky 4Ever - but concede that these cookies, with their creamy peanut butter, were perfectly made.

The host and hostess came through with dishes designed, not so much to dominate but rather, to complement what was sure to be slew of sweets brought by the invitees. A cheese bludger was paired with Hagrid's Hardtack, Professor Sprout's Greens were served with Curdled Dragon's Milk, and Flobber Worms stood on their own. (NOTE: David and I love Vienna Sausages, those dreadfully unhealthy little cocktail sausages that you buy in cans. What better way to slip them into a Harry Potter themed Halloween Party than by calling them flobberworms!) The bludger, hardtack, greens, dragon's milk, and flobberworms filled my 'savory' plate. If you've never had one of Bonnie's 'cheese bludgers' you are missing out. Fiona is espeically fond of them. It was a mix of cheese and a bunch of over stuff. I'm not a fan of overly powerful cheese, so I appreciate that she made the dish without any of those hey-let's-kick-you-off-your-seat cheeses. At the end of the night, Bonnie wrapped up half the bludger for Erin. Erin is also a major fan.

Pete & Mika, who have traveled around a fair bit and know them some British food, brought Hagrid's Stone Cakes and Crumpets & Lemon Curd. The stone cakes had currants in them and were topped with large granule sugar and ginger. I brought a bunch of these home and ate them over the next few days. Mika was kind enough to point out that the stone cakes were 1 point a piece. The crumpets and lemon curd were a new one for me. The crumpets were pretty bland - Mika explained that for this reason the lemon curd was served as a topping - and the lemon curd tasted like the lemon filling in a Krispy Kreme donut. When paired together, they did not disappoint. Mika & Pete also brought some British hard candy made by Nestle called Smarties. They were nothing like American Smarties and everyone enjoyed trying them. The box was empty when it was time to head home.

Three more to go: Fiona's, Rob & Erin's, and Kristin's. Let's start with Fiona's, as it was one of the more creative dishes. The name Hedwig's Cheesy Mouse Puff is enough to make you strongly consider whether or not you're going to try a dish. In my case curiosity got the better of me (there's a bad pun lurking around here about the cat's curiosity resulting in getting the mouse) and I found myself grabbing one before the party began. They were excellent! Ground sausage was cooked, then mixed in a cheese batter mixture with green chilies, and baked. The chilies added quite a kick, so I started dipping them in the curdled dragon's milk to soften the bite. Its often been said that with sausage and cheese it's hard to go wrong. Fiona proved how right that statement is.

Rob & Erin brought two dishes. The first, Madame Pomfrey's Patronus Enhancing Pumpkin Bread, was still warm as it had barely come out of the oven. Pumpkin and other squashes are such a staple of fall dishes. And nothing beats pumpkin baked goods. The second dish were some preserves that Erin & Rob stole from Professor Snape's storeroom when no one was looking. Who knew that Snivelus enjoyed eating spiders and snakes suspended in green goo. I forget who was the first to try them, but I tried some at the end and was surprised how much Snape's green goop tasted like lime jello. I guess even great magicians turn to the magic of jello every once in a while. I wonder what Tom Riddle's favorite flavor of jello was...

We wrap up with the tray of treats from Honeyduke's brought by the ever lovely Kristin. She picked up the goodies on a recent trip to Hogsmeade. The Cauldron Cakes disappeared first, followed by the cockroach Clusters. We made it home with a few Licorice Wands and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and Acid Pops. I didn't even get a Cauldron Cake. I later found out that Bonnie thoroughly enjoyed them and devoured no less than five. Bonnie, you make me proud.

During snacks and chatting, each person filled out a questionnaire. Based on the response to the questions (and some tweaking so the teams were even) we were sorted into three houses. Sorry, no Slytherins. Kristin was sorted into Gryffindor. I was sorted into Hufflepuff. We played a game of Cranium with special Harry Potter questions created by David and Bonnie. Gryffindor ended up winning, but Hufflepuffle had the most team spirit and team pride. After Cranium we played Scene It? Harry Potter Edition, boys versus girls. The girls won. We then put the Scene It? DVD in "play lots of questions" mode and sat around answering questions, munching on goodies, and talking.

I must say, I had a wonderful time. I have no idea what David and Bonnie will have to do next year to top that one. I have faith that they will! Maybe little Rufus will play a part. If he needs any help, have him give Clara a call.