It wasn't until last year, I think, that I finally watched Hocus Pocus, when my wife decided the twins, age 8, were ready to enjoy it. It was fun, and I'll probably watch it again with the family this year, but I'm not sure I quite understood why it achieved its cult status.

Still, my wife and I both like to cook, so I jumped at the chance to review The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook. Now this I can sink my teeth into!

I'm not sure why Bridget Thoreson decided that 28 years was the right time to wait to cash in on the Hocus Pocus merchandising market. (Who knows, rumors of a sequel abound, so maybe she's ahead of the curve on this one.) But note, this is an unofficial tie-in, so don't expect movie stills or other overt connections in its pages. Instead, Thoreson draws inspiration from the movie, a homage drawn from dialogue and casual references in the script.

It's a lot of fun, and anyone who's even remotely handy in the kitchen should enjoy trying out some of these recipes. The recipes themselves are presented in a straightforward, easy to follow format, with Thoreson providing brief introductions to each explaining its connection to the film. (Some are obvious, others more tenuous, but let's not quibble if the result is a tasty concoction.)

The book is divided into convenient sections: Life-Giving Fall Favorites for cinnamon bread, a hearty breakfast frittata, pumpkin bread and pumpkin pancakes, apple pork chops, Black Magic beef stew, pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie, and more; Recipes for Salem Townsfolk, offering dishes such as a baked witch casserole, witches' hair pasta, salty sweet caramel corn, chocolate witch pops and a tuna biscuit dinner for a very helpful cat; From the Witches' Spellbook, with A Little Child...on Toast (egg and sourdough, not an actual child), Bones of 100 Chickens (a recipe for wings), and Dead Man's Toes (substituting hot dogs for actual digits); Bewitching Brews and Beverages, including Oil of Boil Cocktail, Newt Saliva and Burning Rain of Death Punch; Way to Go Virgin Drinks, with some smoothies and mocktails; and Odds and Ends, like a perfect pie crust, homemade pasta, whipped cream and "Bubble, Bubble Bourbon Caramel Sauce."

It's a fun little collection of Halloween-themed recipes that, whether or not you like the movie, will offer a lot of culinary confections to try your hand at making and, of course, eating. I mean, serving. But I figure you should go all out -- put the movie on, make yourself a pitcher of cocktails (but not "midnight margaritas," that's the wrong film) and get cooking.