It’s More Than Butterbeer by Cari Lynn Webb




I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and I was fascinated by the Butterbeer from the first mention in the Harry Potter series to watching the actors drink Butterbeer in the films. When our family visited Universal in Orlando, I beelined for Harry Potter world and The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley then bought myself a large glass of Butterbeer. I was not disappointed. It’s still my first stop every time I return to Universal.

More recently, I was reading Untouchable, by Jayne Anne Krentz. Her heroine invited the hero over for dinner and told him that roasted cauliflower and a salad was on the menu. I read several more chapters (because Jayne Anne Krentz’s books are hard to put down), but the idea of roasted cauliflower stuck with me. So much so, I found a recipe on-line, drove to the grocery store for cauliflower and added roasted cauliflower to our dinner menu that night. I’ve now eaten it quite often and it’s become one of my favorite side dishes.



This past week, I was reading an early version of Amy Vastine’s upcoming Heartwarming, Montana Wishes, the second book in The Blackwell Sisters series and her characters become addicted to chocolate cake donuts from the Maple Bear Bakery. Her heroine claims that particular chocolate cake donut ruined her for any other donut in the US. That’s quite the donut. And while I’m not the first one to grab a donut, I suddenly have the inclination to find the best, most addicting donut in the US. Thank you, Amy – I owe you for that.



That had me thinking – have there been any other culinary inspirations from books I’ve read. I’m fairly certain my mulled wine recipe came from my long-standing love of historical romance. I own a medieval cookbook. And I know I’ve researched the small cakes with butter icing that were served during afternoon tea in the Regency era. I believe those might be called Fairy cupcakes (and now my internal baker has stepped forward). First, I’m off to write, then it looks like small cakes might be on the dessert menu tonight.

How about you … have you had any culinary inspiration from a book(s) you’ve read?

Happy Reading and Happy Cooking!
Cari


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Comments

  1. Yum! I love roasted cauliflower, and donuts. I'm not familiar with butterbeer, but it sounds amazing. Yes, I've been inspired by food in books. A couple of mystery series I read even included recipes. When I finally got to visit England, I couldn't wait for a cream tea with scones, having read so much about them, and yes, a scone with clotted cream is delightful. I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can think of at the moment. How long until lunch?

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    1. Beth - I'm right there with you on the scone with clotted cream. When are we heading back to England? :)

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    2. Or maybe we should just go to Shirley's house.

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  2. While I can't remember the last time I grabbed took recipe inspiration from a book, I will say that discussion about food always increases my investment in what I'm reading.

    I'll be keeping a close eye on these comments to see if anyone else has a better answer than I do!

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    1. Evan - I'm invested whenever the conversation turns to food whether in person or in a book. :) There's something about food...

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  3. I've rarely been inspired by a book to go and cook something. (Craft something, now that's a different animal.) However, long ago when Harlequin romances were the only books to read (see how old I am), they were set in England and scones were always served. I'd never heard of them and wondered what they tasted like. One day Harlequin decided to do a little newsletters. It was two pages - front and back - and had little stories on it about the books that came in the mail order package. AND LOW AND BEHOLD, on the back was a recipe for scones.

    I already had all the ingredients, so I made them that morning and they were delicious. Now scones are on "my special day" serving menu. (I could buy them at the bakery, but mine taste better.)

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    1. Shirley - I love scones. Let me know the next time your baking ... I'd love to try one of your homemade scones.

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  4. I like to include food in my writing because sharing a meal is such an intimate thing, whether with your family or your true love. For a quick sweet read try Joanne Sloane's the Widow's Tea Challenge. She includes a year's worth of recipes for drinks and sweets that the ladies fix for their meetings. You'll find it on Amazon. She's one of the founders of the Southern Christian writer's conference.

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    1. Thanks - I'm going to Amazon to look up the Widow's Tea Challenge.

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  5. The Beekeeper's Ball and The Apple Orchard by Susan Wiggs brought on a bout of nostalgia for me. The recipes were so beautifully presented--one of the best uses of recipes in a book I've read. I had a friend who made every recipe in Nora Ephron's novel, Heartburn. She took those recipes very seriously. Fun post.

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  8. I'm just interested in food... I would like to try butterbeer, though--I'm also a fan of HP! I love cauliflower, but have never roasted it. It must be time. Nice post, Cari!

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  9. Can't remember anything from a book, though I'm sure there's been something. I love roasted cauliflower and like a combo with it, onion, carrots and Brussels sprouts. The one thing about food that I'm currently remembering is in Anne of Green Gables when she puts something that tastes horrible in (Marilla had put it in an old ?vanilla bottle--fortunately not poisonous). The pastor's wife was there and kept eating simply because she was a nice person.

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