# Nicholas - The Cookbook (from restaurant Nicholas in NJ)



## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

I'll paste what I wrote in my blog....but, I love this cookbook!! I don't think it's available on amazon yet, but perhaps you can email the restaurant. https://www.restaurantnicholas.com or get it here Advanced Signed Copies Available at Special Wine Dinners in November

Restaurant Nicholas is my favorite restaurant. I also enjoy cooking at home, photography, and blogging (see: my other blog, and my chef's table review) . When I heard Nicholas Harary was coming out with a cookbook, needless to say I was excited.



After looking at the cookbook, I became even more excited. I have many cookbooks. I'm a cookbook addict. Old, New, Good, and Bad. The fact is, while I have all of these cookbooks, there aren't many cookbooks that I actually use! Many have great photography and list some great dishes, however, the recipes are not home friendly unless you plan on spending 7 days on one part of one dish. For example, Thomas Keller's, The French Laundry Cookbook. Others, like Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, have delicious and simple recipes, but lack pictures. Nicholas - The Cookbook, is the only cookbook I've found that combines the two. The photography, quality of the book, and dishes are on par with The French Laundry Cookbook, and the recipes are easily executable by a home cook. Restaurant Nicholas is the only NJ restaurant to get 4-stars from the New York Times. It's obvious that Chef/Owner Nicholas Harary and his wife do things 110%, and this book is no exception. My only negative of the book, if I had to be picky, is the cocktail section being a little weak. I'll let Dale DeGroff's "Essential Cocktails" be my bible for libations.

I jumped on the bandwagon of "the cooking through a cookbook blog" -- if you guys are interested Cooking My Way Through Nicholas - The Cookbook


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## missyjean (Nov 5, 2009)

I love cookbooks from good restaurants. Thank you

What type of cusine does Nicholas serve?


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

I'd say it's a mix. It's described as Contemporary American on Open Table.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

What dishes of his do you like the best? Why is it your favorite restaurant. Details please. Details!

Make my hungry to go across the country.


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

His suckling pig dish is my favorite. A pile of suckling pig, topped with a braised/crispy part of the skin...served with parsnip puree and some poached quince over kale. 


then Followed by the parisienne gnocchi with snap peas and artichokes is good too....very very light. 

I did a chef's table review you can check out the link above...i also put the review on here, but dont have the link handy...

the restaurant is just perfection. The chef/owner has that 100%, everything must be perfect disease that I also have. He was head sommelier at Jean-George at like 25 or 27..then started the restaurant....from scratch. No investors, nothing. 

I've never had a bad dish there. not once. I've seen them send back plates from the pass for not being 110% perfect. The food is pretty creative, but not "look at me, i wanna be overthe top creative but fail on execution" 

The napkins/towels in the bathroom are nice. Soft. I'm talking down to that detail. 

Lauries fav dish is a butter poached lobster dish. 

Ya'll know I don't eat seafood all that much, but I will from this place

The barmenu is smaller plates @ half the price...we can sit and order a few dishes each and taste everything. 

The bar program needs some work, but most in NJ do. it's in an area where they kinda have to serve those crappy oversweet vodka concoctions.


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## missyjean (Nov 5, 2009)

That meal you created looks so delicious! My husband doesn't particularly like lamb but a dish like that might win him over

May I ask an unrelated question? Which cookware were you using?


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

Le Crueset dutch oven I got from Marshalls for a steal. And a mix of calphalon tr-ply and all-clad that I also got at either marshalls or TJMaxx.


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

Just wanted to give an update on this book. So far I've cooked about 22 recipes from it. I'd say 20 were freakin' amazing, and 2 I either screwed something up or misunderstood something. (my wife KILLED some portabello mushrooms by overcooking them in one dish, and peanut butter sauce with jif, isn't so good!)

nonethless it's still the perfect book for us.

these guys 
Nicholas Harary: The Restaurant Guys

who have a kicka$$ radio show and podcast, interviewed the Chef and they talked about me and my blog too! Great interview....they mention me at 30 minutes in.

-Rob


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