By GERRY BARKER
North Palm Beach Life

Every film aficionado -- like us -- knows pairing your favorite movie with your favorite munchie is a must. No one knows that better than photographer, food stylist, kitchen warrior and pun master Rachel Riederman, who gives us "Once Upon a Rind in Hollywood: 50 Movie-Themed Cheese Platters and Snack Boards for Film Fanatics."

This book is chock-full of ideas for charcuteries, platters and snack recipes that will up the ante on your movie nights with friends and family, or even if you're watching solo. The puns come hot and heavy, such as "You're Gonna Need a Bigger Goat (Cheese)," "Pulp Stilton" and "The Goudafather." You can guess what movies they go with.

The author sections the recipes by movie genre, including "Romance," "Action and Drama," "Horror" and "Comedy." Each suggested platter comes with detailed directions for how to prepare and stage your culinary creation, and by the end y,ou could easily qualify for a Masters in Charcuterie.

We also appreciate that she includes some recommended cocktails as well, such as our personal favorite, the French 75, which she pairs with viewing "Casablanca" ("Here's Looking at You, Curd"). There's something satisfying about curling up on the sofa with a bowl of dip and a drink and saying the dialogue Bogart is about to speak. Yes, we have seen it that many times, and it never gets old.

The accompanying photographs are art in themselves, and will inspire you to jump right in. Now, whether the finished product looks like the photo may take some practice. But doesn't everything worthwhile?

With the holiday movie season coming up, your mission -- should you decide to accept it -- is get this book and get ready to snack. And as the author says, "May the Fromage Be With You."

                                                          "Once Upon a Rind in Hollywood" is available on Amazon.

By GERRY BARKER

​When you open "The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook for Kids," you almost feel like Shakespeare wrote those lines to set the mood for these "50 fun and easy recipes for tricks, treats, and spooky eats inspired by the Halloween classic."

This is a follow-up by author Bridget Thoreson to her original, best-selling "Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook," both inspired by Disney's cult-classic, 1993 movie, "Hocus Pocus." There's everything here you would want for a Halloween party, tailored for kids who like to cook, ranging from easy to needing an adult sous-chef.

Categories include "Breakfast," "Mains," "Sides," "Desserts and Treats" and "Drinks." Kids will take delight in the recipe titles alone, such as "Newt Saliva and Fries," "Dead Man's Toes," "Black Magic Meatballs" and "Baked Witch Ziti." Each one is accompanied by photos guaranteed to make kids reach for the pots and pans.

​Of course, the best way to judge the book is turn it over to your own kid. In my case, it was our 10-year-old granddaughter, Cate. Not surprisingly, the recipe she landed on was "Witches' Buttercream Cake Pops," since cake pops have been one of long-time favorites. So with grandfather's assistance, we went to work in the kitchen.

Following the recipe, we started by assembling the vanilla cake from a box mix and getting it baking. Once it's done, you have to let it cool completely before moving to the next step. So far, so good.

While the cake was baking, we started on the buttercream frosting. For this step, Gigi (her grandmother) helped Cate sift the four cups of powdered sugar needed -- is there anything more messy than powdered sugar? -- and we got that ready to go. After the obligatory taste test, it was "thumbs up" on the frosting.

​The final steps are dipping the pops in melted chocolate and adding the decorations of your choice. We used some Halloween-themed sprinkles.

We had a few learning curve moments, and our cake pops weren't as pretty as the ones in the book, but they were delicious and certainly best of all, it was great fun. We sent Cate home happy, with enough for all her friends. Then came the clean-up. But it was worth it.

"The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook for Kids, retailing at $17.95, from Ulysses Press is available on Amazon and from other book sellers.