Happy Harry Potter Party!

If you know Thatkid at all, you know he's obsessed with Harry Potter.  We've been reading the books since kindergarten, he's got an account on Pottermore so he could be officially sorted and he even owns the "Syltherin House" version of some of the books as he has embraced his house.

In June he got a talking sorting hat, and the idea for his birthday party came into fruition.  Nevermind that most of his friends didn't know Harry Potter, and those that did were really only familiar with the movies and not the books.  He wanted a Harry Potter party, and he got one.

When guest arrived, they were greeted with a shopping list and sent to Diagon Alley to retrieve their school supplies.

A stop at Madam Malkin's for their school robes.

Cauldrons

Ollivander's to pick out their wands.

And of course, Flourish and Blotts to grab their school books.

Here they grabbed both a Monster Book of Monsters

As well as a book containing information for all their classes.

Once most of the guests had arrived, they were ushered over to the Hogwarts Great Hall.

Here they lined up and waited to be sorted into their houses.

Pretty soon, Dumbledoor came out with the sorting hat.

He placed the hat on the head of each child, and once it announced their house, he gave them an identifying tie and they hurried off to join their table.

Once all the children were sorted, Professor Sprout came out for the first lesson - Herbology.

The kids learned all about venus fly traps and got to plant their own.

Then Hagrid came out to teach Care of Magical Creatures.

He taught the kids about nifflers and they competed against each other in a niffler game.

Professor Trelawny led the kids in a Divination game

Then Professor Lockhart helped the children discover their Patronuses.

In Transfiguration, the kids learned to turn pills into animals.

And in potions class, they each made a potion (slime) to take home.

After all those classes it was time to burn off some steam - QUIDDITCH matches!  I hid 2 snitches in the yard so we could have 2 games - Gryffyndor versus Slytherin, and Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw.

While the kids played Quidditch, the house-elves magically cleaned the tables and put out a feast for the kids to enjoy that was made up of sandwiches, fruit, veggies, house-colored deviled eggs, and sweet sorting hats.

And then it was time for cake.

Thatkid requested a strawberry cake with black mirror glaze.

On the way out, the kids all got to stop in Hogsmede for a trip to Honeydukes for some candy to take home.

I made peppermint toads out of marshmallow fluff, peppermint extract, and white chocolate.

Sugar quills were molded melted jolly ranchers.

I went with a more traditional interpretation of cauldron cakes - welsh cakes which are technically "pan" cakes, but could easily be made in a cauldron if one used that to cook.

My favorite were the ice mice.  Did you guys eat those chocolate ice cubes growing up?  They were one of Thatdad's favorites.  They seemed to melt in your mouth, while also making your mouth feel colder.  I found a recipe online and adapted it to work with white chocolate, which seemed more "ice-y".  These really did melt like an ice cube and chill your mouth!

It was sooooooo much work and I don't think I'll ever do anything like this again, but the kids had a great time!  Thatkid specifically picked out all the food that we served, from lunch, to cake, to candy.  He's the one who requested sorting hats with both regular and white chocolate. 

I especially like these because they're perfect for this time of year with treats and snacks take on that "spooky" aspect.  Because a sorting hat looks exactly like a witch's hat.  These are also incredibly easy, which is another plus.

 Sweet Sorting Hats

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup white chocolate chips

cocoa powder (use black cocoa powder for an especially spooky witch hat)

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Separate the dough into 8 triangles.
2. With the pointed part on top, place a Tbsp of either chocolate chips or white chocolate chips along the bottom of the triangle.
3. Roll the bottom up and over the triangle to contain the chocolate chips and create the brim of the hat.
4. Repeat with remaining triangles and chocolate chips.  Bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown.
5.  Use a sifter or strainer to sift cocoa powder over the warm hats.

November Wrap Up: Instant Pot Turkey a la King

This may have been the fastest November known to man.   I swear it was Halloween yesterday, and this weekend it's already Chanukah!

It's funny, compared to October, November was a lot more low-key.  October we've got an event every weekend day.  December is going to be the same.  But November?  November had weekends with nothing planned at all. 

We started and ended the month with Thanksgiving celebrations.   And between the two, there were birthday parties and school breaks.  Lots of school breaks this month.

Which is fine, because it meant Thatkid and I got to go on a great adventure.  

You see, one of my friends was due with her second child mid-October.  When she first told me she was pregnant I told her I'd be there right after the baby was born.  The issue?  She lives in New York.  And when Thatkid found out I was going to New York, he begged me to take him along.  Our original plan was to go over his break in October, but that was the week she was due, and we didn't want to show up mere days after she gave birth.

So, November it was.  We took the red-eye on a Friday night and found ourselves in New York at 4:30am on a Saturday morning.   We waited around for our luggage, changed clothes in the bathroom, then caught a car out to our hotel.  It was too early to check in, but we dropped off our luggage at the hotel and grabbed a train out to Brooklyn to visit my friend and her kids.

It was Thatkid's first subway ride and he was beyond excited.

Until he fell asleep.  He slept almost the whole way to Brooklyn, and I was glad - it had been an early morning for us!  We visited with my friend who had breakfast all ready for us, and Thatkid got his first taste of New York bagels - still warm from the oven.

Then it was back on the train and into the city.  And another little nap for Thatkid.  We had thought about trying to check into the hotel, but it was getting toward lunchtime, so instead we went and grabbed a slice.  Thatkid was VERY impressed with New York pizza.

One of the things Thatkid really wanted to do while we were in New York was to see the Statue of Liberty.  I was a little worried about tying us down to a timed ferry ride, since I wasn't exactly sure what we were going to be doing, but I knew we could get a really awesome view from the Staten Island Ferry, which left every 30 minutes.  So after lunch, we headed downtown.

The views from the ferry do not disappoint.

Right next to the Staten Island Ferry is Battery Park, which houses a "new to me" attraction.  The Seaglass Carousel.

The Seaglass Carousel is, as it sounds, a carousel comprising of glass sea creatures.

This is my new favorite ride ever.  And my new "Must Do" in NYC.  The music is fantastic, the glass lights up and is beautiful, and even the movement of the ride is unlike anything I've ever experienced.

Another thing Thatkid wanted to do in New York was see some Hamilton sights.  Hamilton's homestead, The Grange, was farther north than  I was planning on taking him, but I knew that Hamilton's grave was just a hop skip and a jump from Battery Park.  So we walked up to take a look.  

We found Alexander, Philip, and Eliza Hamilton, Hercules Mulligan, and Angelica Schuyler.  We also found a tour group.  Thatkid hasn't quite figured out all social niceties, so he joined right in, listening to the stories, until I gently guided him away.

Our next stop was dinner - a surprise for Thatkid.  I'd heard word about a special theme restaurant, called Ninja, that was a big hit with kids.  And so I made us reservations without telling him.   We got in and were ushered into a dark elevator.   At the bottom, a ninja jumped out at us and pointed us down a dark hallway.  At the end, another ninja showed us to our table.  This was pretty much the tone of the restaurant.  Ninjas, ninjas, everywhere.

Thatkid was sold.  From the light up drinks,

To the tableside magicians,

To the smoking entrees.  It was a good choice for a young boy.

Even the bathrooms were over the top - covered in cherry blossoms.

Our final stop for the evening was the thing that had driven Thatkid to want to come on this trip to begin with - Broadway shows.  I told him we could see two, and let him pick from everything out there.  And his first choice was King Kong.

I have SO many thoughts on this show, and I could write an entire essay about it, but the condensed version is that it was wonderful.  So much more than I was expecting.  Christiani Pitts, who played Ann Darrow, was a phenom, and she brought so much life to the character that I honestly feel the show was about Ann, not the giant ape.   And that giant ape?  A wonder of puppetry.  The show was everything that's amazing about Broadway shows, and Thatkid couldn't have agreed more.  Despite having been up since 1:30am California time, he sat spellbound and entranced the entire show.  It currently ties for first place for his favorite musical.  

Of course, being up so early Saturday meant our Sunday got a much later start as Thatkid slept until 10am for the first time in his life.  And I happily let him.  The original plan was to ice skate in the morning, but by the time we were showered and dressed, morning was almost over.  So instead, we headed out to get burgers and milkshakes.

And then we hit up the Christmas Markets at Bryant Park, which is one of my favorite things to do in the winter in New York.  

Thatkid loves ice skating, so I thought it would be fun for him to go ice skating while we were there.  We checked out the rinks at Rockefeller and Bryant Park, and I showed him pictures of the rink in Central Park.  He decided that Bryant Park was where he wanted to skate, which made me happy, because it's my favorite rink in the city.

After we did over 20 laps in the rink (he counted), we headed uptown to the American Museum of Natural History.  The plan was to check out the gem and mineral exhibit and see the giant T-Rex skeleton.  Of course, after we got there, we found that both those exhibits were closed.  

So we settled on checking out the other giant skeletons in the museum.

In December of 2005, Thatmom, Thatdad, Thatbrother and I spent Christmas in New York City.  I still have such great memories from that trip.  It was the last trip we took just the four of us; I got married the following August.  On Christmas Eve, we ate dinner at a restaurant my dad had found - Jekyll and Hyde's.  It was a theme restaurant, with animatronic wall decorations that spoke to you, and characters who wandered around performing.  The overall atmosphere was a little spooky, a lot silly.  

In December of 2008 I took Thatboy to New York for the first time.  And I thought he would get a kick out of the restaurant, so I took him there too.

So obviously, bringing Thatkid with me to New York for his first time, we had to eat at Jekyll and Hyde's.  While he didn't know about Ninja, he was really looking forward to this meal.  We got to sit right at the foot of Frankenstein's slab.  Which was really fun during the portion of the evening when Frankenstein comes to life. 

We kept up the gothic theme of the evening with Thatkid's second show choice - Phantom of the Opera.  Actually, this was technically his first show choice.  He's been asking to see it since last spring.  Long before we had even discussed New York.

Our last day in New York was a lazy one.  Thatkid slept in again, and then we went to grab bagels to bring home.

Our last stop before grabbing a train to the airport was Grand Central Station.  He was not excited at the prospect of another train station, but once we were inside, he was pretty impressed.

It was a pretty fast and packed long weekend.  We got in Monday night and he was off to school on Tuesday morning.  Luckily he only had to suffer through 4 days of school before his Thanksgiving break started.  And just like that we're here.  See what I mean about November passing quickly?

November passes so quickly, that Thanksgiving seems like just a little blip.  I've started a tradition the past two years of making my own turkey at home, so that I can stretch it out a bit.  Because turkey is delicious and shouldn't only be enjoyed on one day!  Plus this way I have leftover turkey to make sandwiches!  If you didn't get your fill of turkey, and don't want to make a whole bird for your family, I've also found this is a great time of year for stocking up on turkey breasts, or turkey cutlets.  I use them in much the same way I use chicken, but the turkey flavor just can't be beat!

Instant Pot Turkey a la King

2 Tbsp butter

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 Tbsp flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 lb turkey breast or cutlet, cut in bite sized pieces

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup frozen peas & carrots, thawed

1. Press "Saute" on the Instant Pot and add butter.
2. When butter is melted, add the turkey and mushrooms, cooking until mushrooms are tender, about 3 minutes.
3. Add flour and stir until smooth.
4. Slowly whisk in chicken broth.  Press "Off" on the Instant Pot and place the lid on.  Make sure the valve is turned to "Sealing."  Press "Manual" and adjust the time to 8 minutes at High pressure.  
5. When the Instant Pot beeps after pressuring cooking for 8 minutes, allow it to naturally release pressure for 13 minutes.  Press "Off" on the instant pot.
6. Add heavy cream, peas and carrots, and press "Saute" on the Instant Pot.  Cook until warmed through.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve over pasta, rice, potatoes, or even leftover stuffing!