Among the many foods I wish were more common in America, pasties are high on the list. When I was growing up, my Croatian grandma and her sisters would often make pasties when we visited; these big pastries were filled with meat and potatoes, and I loved drowning mine in ketchup when I was small. On my first trip to England in 2011, I was delighted to discover that pasties are more common there – I bought a Cornish pasty from a window shop. I might have been one of the few kids reading Harry Potter to know what pasties are for these reasons – but I had never had…

If there’s one thing we can all agree on when talking about the year 2020, it’s that the world seems so uncertain and stressful right now. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could use some of the magic in the world of Harry Potter to help us stay calm and relaxed as we face the challenges before us? It turns out that is possible! Easily overlooked in favor of other more popular potions, the Draught of Peace is a potion that produces the exact sense of relaxation and calm we all need a little more in our lives. While the potion in the magical world is incredibly complex...

Say what you will about Butterbeer: it’s delicious, easy to make, and everyone loves it. Sometimes though, you just need something a little stronger. Luckily, there’s an option from the magical world that compounds the effects of Muggle alcohol with a little extra enchantment. Whether you’re toasting an occasion or need to calm your nerves, Ogden’s Old Firewhisky is the go-to for most adult wizards and witches. I’ve always wondered what Ogden’s Old Firewhisky tastes like, so I decided to try my wand-work at making some of my own. This magical potion – I mean Muggle recipe – is super easy to make, but it takes almost as long as…

If you could have one potion from the magical world right now, what would it be? You probably know immediately – it’s gotta be Felix Felicis, also known as “liquid luck.” I mean, who wouldn’t want a potion that makes “all your endeavors tend to succeed… at least until the effects wear off.” (HBP, Ch. 9) If you want to know how to make Liquid Luck, read on for my Felix Felicis recipe. Potions wasn’t my strongest class at Ilvermorny, and it isn’t easy to make Felix Felicis – but it’s much more complicated in the magical world than in the Muggle one. I’ve scoured the sources and reviewed other…