Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Culinary Movie Night Guide
Difficulty Level: Medium
Table of Contents
The Full YouTube Video Guide is now Live!
Equipment
Here is a list (with links) of all the equipment and decorations I used for my Harry Potter Culinary Movie Night. I would be incredibly grateful if you used my links. I will make a little commission, and that would really help with the cost of the website and related expenses. You can find my full Amazon List here!
Harry Potter PDF Printout
Tips
- Personalizing the Menu– When planning your menu for your movie night, don’t feel pressured to serve exactly what I chose to serve. Feel free to remove/add/replace dishes so it makes sense for you and your guests. I’ve included an editable menu in this guide to make it your own!
- Managing Your Time– These movie nights can take a lot of time to prepare, especially if you plan on doing everything yourself. If you are planning a culinary movie night with a group, I suggest doing a potluck style. Have each person contribute a dish or two, and it’ll be very manageable. If you are planning on preparing everything yourself, here are some things I’ve learned while doing these often:
- Make A To-Do List– I can’t stress this enough! It’s very easy to forget simple things like opening a bottle of prosecco before you start the movie so you aren’t fumbling with the seal before serving. I have done this so many times! Your to-do list should include absolutely everything you need to do leading up to pressing play.
- Start Early– I learned this after a few very long days of trying to cook, prepare, and host all on the same day. Anything that can be done in advance should be done during the days leading up to the movie night. Some examples include pre-mixing cocktails, making desserts and other foods like soup that hold up well in the refrigerator, and pre-making any handmade decorations. Hosting is stressful enough without having to make a multi-course meal in one day, so get as much done as possible before.
- No Pausing– The question I get asked the most is “Do you pause the movie to bring out the next dish?”. It’s important to me that I don’t disrupt the flow of the movie, so I do not pause. It’s also important to me to enjoy the movie with my guests. Setting up everything I need before the movie helps me bring out each dish efficiently. The setup usually includes plating each dish and storing it in the refrigerator, so all I have to do is quickly microwave it before serving. I set out any garnish or decoration on my kitchen counter so it’s easily accessible. I even pour the cocktails into their cups and store them in the refrigerator, so all I have to do is add ice and any finishing touches before serving. Always think about how you can do the bare minimum during the film. I always include the setup in my to-do list as well, so I don’t forget about any aspect of the preparation.
- Optional– If your budget permits, I recommend ordering food that you may not be confident in cooking or food that may take a lot of time to cook. I do this occasionally, and it helps cut down the preparation time and supports local businesses. Win Win!
- Decorations- Have fun and decorate your space and serving tray! Add elements from the theme of the movie, but make a budget and stick to it! I usually use things I already own because these movie nights are DIY, and I don’t need to spend a fortune to make it fun. If I do buy decorations for the movie night, I try to find cheap or reusable things. If you are curious about some of the things I’ve used during the movie nights, here is a link to my Amazon List. All these items are things I bought with my own money and enjoyed using.
- Manage Stress- Culinary Movie Nights are fun and a great way to show your friends and family you love them. Sometimes, things you envision in your head will not come out perfectly. When this happens to me, it can be discouraging and stressful, but the people I do these for have NEVER expressed anything but appreciation. Go easy on yourself and remember that your guests are just happy to be there and to experience something you put so much thought and time into making.
Menu
I have created a free, editable, and printable menu for all the dishes I served for this Culinary Movie Night! Feel free to change it to what will work for you and your guests.
Cues
These are the cues I used during the movie night so I knew when I had to get the next dish ready to serve.
Please note: Each cue describes a scene that happens a few minutes before I have to serve the dish. It does not describe the scene the dish is based on. Some people get confused with that, so I thought I should specify. Because the cues only give you a few minutes to prepare the dish, it’s very important to have everything cooked and set up before the film starts. Review the “Tips” section above for ways to make this seamless.
I often get asked why I don’t use timestamps to keep track of when to serve the next dish and the simple answer is, I don’t find those helpful. If I used timestamps, I would have to have a separate timer going or keep disrupting the movie to check the timestamp. It makes much more sense to have cues to indicate when the next scene is about to happen. This allows me to enjoy watching the film with my guests.
Below is the link to the cues I used. This document is editable, so you can make updates if you decide to take out or change dishes.
Recipes
Bon Voyage, Aunt Marge
Brown Sugar Balloons
Ingredients:
2 Boxes (8 packets) gelatin
1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of cold water
Instructions:
- Bloom the gelatin by adding it to a saucepan with the brown sugar and cold water. Mix and let sit for a few minutes to absorb.
- Then heat it on the stovetop until the gelatin and brown sugar dissovles. Then transfer to a deep an dwide dish.
- I suggest having the balloons already blown up so you can work fast. Dip the balloons and tape them to your cabinets. I recommend doing 5 coats so the gelatin comes out firm.
- Let them hang on your cabinets for 24 hours to firm up.
- The next day, gently peel the balloons off of the gelatin or serve with the balloons still intact. Tape the cartoon Marges to a toothpick and gently puncture the balloons.
- This is very extra, so if you want something simpler, you could blow up small brown balloons and just tape the Marge heads directly on them.
The Leaky Cauldron
Pea Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
2 tbsp of butter
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 diced shallots
3 diced garlic cloves
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Thyme
1/2 tsp Marjoram
1/4 cup White wine
4 cups of chicken stock
1 Parmesan Rind
1 Russet potato, pealed and sliced
3-4 cups of frozen peas
Instructions:
- Add the butter and olive oil to a pot and heat on medium high heat. Add shallots and cook for a few minutes. Then add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Season with salt, pepper, thyme, and marjoram. Then deglaze with white wine.
- Add chicken stock, parmesan rind, and potato. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender. Then remove the parmesan rind and add the peas. Cook for only a few minutes and then add everything to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add back to the pot and cook fir a few more minutes before serving.
Shrunken Head Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 pound of ground beef
1 pound of ground chicken
4 eggs
1 cup of bread crumbs
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Thyme
Smoked Paprika
Instructions:
- In a bowl, add the beef, two eggs, 1/2 a cup of breadcrumbs and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme and smoked paprika. I don’t measure, but it’s probably around 1 tsp of each.
- Mix everything together and roll into balls. I placed them on a parchment lined baking sheet and stored them in my freezer while I made the chicken.
- In another bowl, add the chicken, two eggs, 1/2 a cup of breadcrumbs and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme and smoked paprika. I don’t measure, but it’s probably around 1 tsp of each.
- Add a layer of the chicken on top of the beef. Then using a sharp utensil to carve out the eyes, mouth an dnose of the shruncken heads.The goal is that the beef will show through the eyes, and mouth.
- Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes.
- Add on top of the Pea Soup
Frozen Chocolate Martinis
Ingredients: (makes about 2)
4 handfuls of ice
6 oz of vodka
1/4 cup of chocolate liqueur
1/4 cup of irish cream
Chocolate syrup for glasses
Chocolate bar
Instructions:
- Blend all the ingredients until smooth.
- Add a chocolate syrup swirl in the glasses.
- Pour the frozen cocktails and serve with a chocolate bar garnish and skeleton stir stick.
Honey Duke’s
I served “Pepper Imps” (Junior Mints), Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans (Jelly Beans), Chocolate frogs, and Homemade lollipops.
Lollipop Recipe:
Ingredients:
1 cup of sugar
6 tbsp of watter
1/3 cup of light corn syrup
red food coloring
Flavoring drops (like cinnamon, cherry, or strawberry)
Instructions:
- Add the sugar, water and corn syrup to a sauce pot and heat on high heat until it comes to a boil.
- Then keep boiling for about 10 more minutes until it thickens a lot.
- Then remove from the heat and add a few drops of food coloring and a few drops of flavoring. You can also just leave it as sugar flavored.
- On a parchment lined baking sheet, pour your candy mixture into a circular shape.
- Add the lollipop stick and using a rubber spatula, fix any imperfections while it’s sticll warm.
- Let it rest and harden on your counter for a few hours before enjoying.
Tea Leaf Reading
I recommend using black tea for this. I added one closed package and one open package to a teapot so there are some loose tea grounds. Add your hot water and let it steep for a few minutes. Then give the teapot a mix and serve your tea. I like sugar and cream in mine so I added that and enjoyed as normal.
Try to drink all the tea, using your teeth to make sure you don’t drink the tea grounds. Then flip your teacup upside down, tap a few times and rotate clockwise or counterclockwise three full turns. Then reveal your tea cup and thats your reading.
Our readings were a bit ruff… yikes. LOL!
Mischief Pie
Cattleman’s Pie Recipe
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of diced onions
1/4 cup diced carrots
1 tbsp of minced garlic
1 pound of ground beef
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tsp of beef base
1 tbsp of wine
1 tsp of rosemary
1 tsp of italian seasoning
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of black pepper
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup of peas
2 tbsp of chopped parsley
1 large russet potato
Half and half
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Butter
Instructions:
- Add oil to a pan and cook the onions and carrots for a few minutes. Then add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add beef and cook while breaking up the large pieces.
- Then add the tomato paste, beef base, wine, rosemary, italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, and bay leaf. Keep cooking for a few more minutes, mixing often.
- Add everything to a pie dish and remove the bay leaf.
- To make the mashed potatoes:
- Boil the potatoes in water until fork-tender. Peel the potato while it’s still warm.
- Mash the potatoes.
- Add some salt, half and half, shredded cheese, and butter. I don’t really measure this part. I just taste the potatoes after mixing to see if I’m happy with the taste or if I need to add more of anything.
- Add the mashed potatoes on top of the pie.
- Bake in the oven at 375 degrees F for about 30 minutes.
- To decorate the pie, I wrote “The Marauder’s Map” on edible parchment paper and secured it down with toothpicks.
- Then I used an edible ink pen to draw the footprints on top of the pie.
Dementor’s Kiss Cookies
Chocolate Kiss Cookie Recipe
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of sugar
3/4 cup of melted butter
2 eggs
A dash of vanilla extract
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
2/3 cup of cocoa powder
2 cups of flour
Chocolate kisses
Instructions:
- Add sugar and butter to a large bowl and mix.
- Then add eggs, vanilla, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder and mix.
- Mix in the flour and roll dough into balls.
- Freeze and when you’re ready to bake, add them spaced out to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees F.
- You’ll know when it ready because the top will start cracking.
- Add a chocolate kiss on top.
