"Happy Birthday Harry!"

So the kids and I have kind of been a on Harry Potter kick for the last few months. We've been listening to the CDs in the car, and Lincoln has been reading the books. They build wands out of all sorts of things around the house. And the other day I asked Lincoln to go get me a diaper for Ollie, and Linc said, "Wouldn't it be great if I was a wizard, then I could just say 'Accio diaper' and Ollie's diaper would just come flying down the stairs." Yes, Linc, that would be sweet, in more ways than one. When Ivan's mad at us, he does the "Avada Kedavra" curse on us, like he expects something to happen. :)

Needless to say, we're a little obsessed.

I'm good with it though, because it's motivated Lincoln to read really long chapter books, and it's built Ivan's vocabulary immensely. For example, the other day during Ivan's reading lesson, I was showing him some flash cards for beginning word blends. The card 'trunk' came up. So Ivan reads the word, and then says, "Oh trunk! Like what Harry Potter uses to pack all his school things in." Why yes, Ivan, you are correct. I totally thought he would say elephant trunk. And that's just one example. There have been lots of instances when Harry has come up in our vocab.

At one point I'd entertained the idea of throwing Lincoln a Harry Potter themed bday party this year. But it's not his year to have a party with friends, and I wasn't really feeling up to it. BUT, then I was reminded by Michelle Noonchester (Ryan's wife Melissa's sister) that July 31st was Harry Potter's birthday. And I thought it would be fun for the kids if we had a small celebration. I've been looking for a good excuse to try out this butter beer recipe anyway.

So we had butter beer for a treat tonight. The kids were thrilled, and Aaron thought I was slightly off my rocker. (That's normal though.)

It was really good, but VERY VERY VERY rich. Would probably could have made due with a shot glass each, instead of regular sized drinking glasses. I'll remember that next time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!

Harry Potter Butter Beer

Start to finish: 1 hour (10 minutes active)
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 cup light or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
6 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
3/4 cup heavy cream, divided
Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda

Directions:

In a small saucepan over medium, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer.
Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes.
To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass). Add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass, then stir to combine. Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each.