Bangers and Mash - The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook

Big Man received The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook for Christmas which he was pretty excited about. After Bear had gotten to help with some cooking then Big Man was excited to have a turn as well. Hubby and I are all about helping the boys learn skills like cooking to help them out later in life, and it's fun to do as a family.

The first recipe that Big Man decided he wanted to try was Bangers and Mash, and I'm not even sure how he picked that one. However, we happened to have all the ingredients and so it was easy to say yes. He got to use some different kitchen tools for him too, he used the micro plane to zest a lemon and the small chopper to make fresh breadcrumbs. Big Man tends to get easily distracted and kept attempting to leave the kitchen to do something else when we had another step to work on, so keeping him in the kitchen was the biggest challenge.

The recipe had a lot of parts going on for an eight-year-old to complete without help and knowing how to time everything to be ready at the same time. That's why Mom helps out to make sure steps are happening at the right time.

I think using his hands to combine the ingredients for the meat mixture was his least favorite part. He tried to convince me that a spoon would work better, but from experience, I know that of course hands are the best tool for this job. He did it and shaped the meat mixture into little sausage shapes to cook. He got the potatoes boiled and mashed. Big Man even made a fantastic roux mixture for the gravy.

He did a great job and was so excited to taste everything. He declared upon tasting it that there should be no lemon flavor in the meat and he did not want to have this again. Although then he ate three servings of the potatoes. Mr. T didn't mind the meat flavor and ate quite a bit. Not my favorite meal. We explained to Big Man that this was his first time making the recipe and he could certainly try it again making changes to his preferences, like leaving out the lemon zest.

Timing: Recipe States: , My Actual Timing: 1 hour
Servings: Recipe States: , Servings For My Family: 7 servings
Leftovers:

Family Ratings:
Me: It reminded me a lot of salisbury steak and was not something that I would want to eat regularly. I thought the gravy was the best part.
Hubby: Hubby didn't like the lemon flavor much, but felt the dish was best when tasting all the elements together.
Big Man: He did not like the lemon flavor at all.
Bear: The picky Bear did not really like any of this meal.
Mr. T: Mr. T couldn't get enough of the meat.

Will I repeat: It wouldn't be my choice to make this meal again, but if my family wants it we can try it.

What will I change: I would not use the lemon zest.