I gave this book a try, thinking it would be a fun themed excursion from my usual. My experience was more frustrating than anything. Nothing in the recipes is called by its real name which made my initial go-through a slog. Guacamole by any other name is still a mediocre guac. There are a lot of veg options, which is a saving grace. This book will be a fit for some Halloween/Burton/Beetlejuice lovers. Unfortunately, it didn't hit the mark for me.

The Nightmare Before Dinner is a dream come true cookbook. The theme is all things Halloween and Tim Burton. The dishes are amazing and inspired, the layout is perfect and the pictures are amazing. The colour format works wonderfully to make you feel like your in a Tim Burton film. A must have cookbook.

I was fourteen when the movie Beetlejuice hit theaters. I tried my best to recreate Lydia Deets' wardrobe but in the corn belt of America that was difficult. My daughter has a new found love for all things Beetlejuice and I still wear styles reminiscent of the movie. When I saw a cookbook was coming out that honors for themes present in Tim Burton movies I was very excited to say the least.
The recipes in this book are amazing and imaginative and delicious. Fans will be rushing to buy this book for holiday entertaining. I am giving a copy to my daughter.

Beetlejuice!

I love that this book is a celebration of Halloween, horror culture and all things Burton-esque. The recipes are from Beetle House, a restaurant that’s now on my bucket list because I need to experience the atmosphere and food, but more importantly its owner wasn’t allowed to celebrate Halloween as a kid and has found a way to make it a daily occurrence. I celebrate people finding ways to triumph over any kind of repression, especially when they can turn it into creative expression, so it fills me with joy that this restaurant exists.

All of the recipes can be veganised; there’s a page dedicated to vegan alternatives to specific ingredients before you make it to the first recipe. While I obviously want to try most offerings on the menu I decided to give myself the daunting task of choosing my ‘Most Want to Taste Test’ item in each chapter. Here goes…

Sauces & Dips for the Recently Deceased: Dead Sauce - with butter, honey, garlic, sea salt, lime juice, sour cream, mayonnaise and sriracha sauce, this “super-tasty citrus sauce is spicy, sweet, and garlicky.”

Nightmares Before Dinner: Beetle Bacon Bread - “a hearty sundried tomato and bacon “pizza” with a sweet balsamic reduction, soft mozzarella cheese, and crisp scallions.” Mmm, bacon! 🥓🤤

Herbs, Plants & Cauldrons: Fall Salad - this includes such yummies as butternut squash, roasted red peppers and dried cranberries.

Platos de los Muertos: Big Fish - salmon, sweet corn succotash, roasted red pepper purée, basil oil and micro shiso leaf.

Tricks & Treats: Willy’s Mango Panna Cotta - “topped with passionfruit foam and served with diced kiwi, fresh strawberries, and Cocoa Puffs”.

Poisons, Potions & Elixirs: The Franken-Martini - “combines vanilla vodka with a double chocolate liqueur” and topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and a chocolate bar.

There’s also a Put the Fun Back in Funeral chapter with ideas for menus, props and accessories for themed parties.

Beetlejuice!

I loved the photos of the droolworthy food with accessories including skulls and scissors, and the fun gothic touches in the layout. I was disappointed that not all of the recipes come with photos, although a higher proportion were pictured than most of the other cookbooks I’ve seen. The best compliment you can give the majority of my cooking is that it’s edible so I like to have a reference to show me what the final product is actually supposed to look like. I was glad to discover that the recipes in this book don’t need a bazillion ingredients or dozens of steps to make them, and I’m pretty sure I could even give some a whirl.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Race Point Publishing for the opportunity to drool over this book.

B-! On second thought, maybe I don’t need him in my life right now.

What a fun book! Think "Beetlejuice writes a cookbook". The recipes are from Beetle House Restaurant and are fun during the Halloween season and all year long. The author, Zach Neil, covers sauces, appetizers, soups & salads, main dishes, desserts, and drinks. There are even suggestions for parties. For those of you who simply adore Halloween, this is the cookbook for you. There are tips and tricks as well as pairing suggestions. Ingredients are real, recipes are easy to follow, and some of the recipes are even vegan. You know you have a friend that absolutely NEEDS this cookbook.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What an interesting concept! These recipes and dinner theme ideas featured in these books are so creative and fun. The lack of pictures is the one thing that I would have changed about this book. After reading and owning many cookbooks, I feel like the photos are al,ost the entire selling point because the food items look so good, you want the recipe to try to make it and try it yourself. There were not that many tempting photos in this book at all. The cute names and themes were good, but now enough for me to actually want to purchase this book to encourage anyone else to buy it as well. I think it was a good idea, but in definite need of more visuals.

I could think long and hard before coming up with a movie that I love more than The Nightmare Before Christmas. Tim Burton is and always will be one of my very favorite directors and Jack Pumpkin.. well, I just wish I was Sally! <sigh>  So, when my Goodreads friend, RedemptionDenied, recommended this cookbook based on the movie, I literally begged to read and review it!

The Nightmare Before Dinner is a collection of over 60 (!) recipes that are featured at the Beetle House Restaurant in LA and NY. The theme of the restaurant is, of course, based on Tim Burton’s amazing works of genius from Edward Scissorhands to Beetlejuice and, naturally, Nightmare. The recipes feature ghoulish names based on the movies from which they were inspired, but the dishes themselves are amazingly marvelous and, well, they don’t technically have to be dressed up for Halloween.   Each recipe comes with non-vegan and vegan options and creative suggestions for making the dish more delightfully goth. They are relatively simple to prepare but magnificently gorgeous to behold – and devour!

My daughter and I had a blast preparing several of the dishes during her visit here at The Wisteria House Inn. Each one that we cooked was perfect and delectable! There are appetizers, finger foods, soups and main dishes as well as drinks and desserts. It is so rare to find a cookbook by restaurant owners or chefs that actually replicate the dishes in their establishments, but this one does and the recipes exceed all expectations for authenticity and taste! My favorite? Edward Burger Hands, of course.

Regardless of your cooking skill level, I wholeheartedly recommend giving The Nightmare Before Dinner a peek. You and your taste buds will be glad that you did!
My eternal gratitude to #Netgalley, #QuartoKnows, #RacePointPublishing and Zach Neil for my copy of this cookbook!

This book made me so hungry! So thank you for that. I love the food in the book and I am planning to make some perhaps for a party... hmmm maybe a winter party. So many ideas so little time!

Making great recipes in the theme of spooky!!!!

I LOVE that this cookbook is truly dedicated to the fall season. Each recipe starts off straight to the point! Title of the recipe, prep time, cook time, servings and what the recipe is all about!

There are many Vegan options for a lot of these recipes.

There’s a great chapter dedicated to sauces!!!

I LOVE this author’s sense of humor! They get serious about the inspiration about a recipe and then BOOM, say something incredibly joyously funny just out of the blue! (Thank you for that!!!)

Occasional bad words are used perfectly and beautifully!!!!

Not a ton of photos, but the photos that ARE in this book offer great ideas for spooky inspiring presentation. In some recipes, they also give serving ideas within that particular recipe theme-major plus!

Pro Sriracha sauce!!!!

What really PULLS me into these recipes are the short intros to each one. Not only do they explain what sauces might be used for, but they also include inspiration for what to expect from that particular recipe. In other words, WHY should I make this recipe is ANSWERED!!! 😀

Bonus is that it starts with Beetle House Must-Haves…tools, ingredients, a whole page on how to “Veganize it”-great call on including that!

Their chapter on drinks “POISONS, POTIONS & ELIXIRS Deadly Drinks, Creepy Cocktails is really fun and super creative!

…or get this book just for the picture of their recipe called Big Fish Bowl…Hahahahahaha!!!! 🐟🐟🐟
The “Themed Parties” chapter is a nice touch to this book! Seriously, loved that chapter!
And now…what is it that I actually made from this book? Well, since I’m completely obsessed with sauces and cocktails, I went with the following….

I’ll start with the Soul Sauce
This sauce is supposed to be a Southern BBQ-ish sauce to haunt your dreams! A BBQ meets basting sauce.

The ingredients and recipe were very simple and includes bourbon and 1/2 a tangerine, which for me is already very adventurous and a must try!
Here is the sauce as it breaks down, cools off, and gets stored in to jars for our taste test later!

I also made the Edward Sauce. This was a sour cream/mayo type of sauce that I thought would be fun to sample with…well, french fries, of course!

Next, I created their cocktail The Beetle’s Juice.

This one uses blackberry schnapps and tequila (How very spooky of them!)
I couldn’t resist so I went out and bought most of the ingredients …apparently I forgot the cranberry juice that was supposed to go in it! I also left out the blackberries…oh, and since I had lemons on hand, I used lemon juice instead of lime juice.

Now on to the sampling….

The Soul Sauce (BBQ sauce) turned out to be a bit more on the Asian side-like a hoisin sauce. Husband said he would love this sauce with dumplings or egg rolls.

The Edward Sauce…oh wow…THIS one is especially YUMMY!!!! Husband said it tasted very classy and old school. To me, it tasted like an old school burger sauce.

Not but a moment after this sampling had I realized that I had forgotten to add in the freakin’ sriracha sauce!
The Edward Sauce was still amazing without the sriracha and after it was added in, husband said it went from it’s previous classy delicate English/French flavor to a more Southwestern type of sauce. Both ways certainly are winners and perfect to serve with french fries!

Not long after, I decided to mix the two sauces together (meaning the soul sauce and the Edward Sauce), and found the Edward Sauce brought a really nice flavor to the Soul Sauce so…

We are going to make burgers this weekend using BOTH sauces, either mixed together or layered! What fun! They will go perfectly!

As for The Beetle’s Juice…A WINNER WINNER WINNER for an inspiring and delightful aperitif!!! The flavor is spectacular, although I got a pretty big buzz from that little glass, lol!!! Husband said The Beetle’s Juice (without the juice, lol) tasted complex and sweet, spicy and mysterious!!!

This will definitely be our go-to cocktail for this fall/holiday season….WITH the cranberry juice!!!

So big kudos to author Zach Neil (and his mom!) and to ALL the co-creators that were a part of this very fun, wild and wonderful cooking/cocktail/party planning themed book! Definitely worth giving as a gift!!!

Whether you Halloween all year long, or just during its season, this cookbook is for you. Zach Neil creates Tim Burton inspired recipes such as Frog's Breath & Nightshade Risotto, Shrimpy Hollow and Edward's Lemonade can now be enjoyed at home.

Love this unique book. Great for anyone who is a fan of Tim Burton films or the Beetle House. Great cookbook for display and hosting your not so average dinner party. Recommended for public libraries as well as schools with culinary programs.

An absolutely fabulous book for themed and halloween type parties. The recipes are all styled around Tim Burton characters and films. It provided a great talking point over the dinner table.

The Nightmare Before Dinner by Zach Neil features recipes from the Beetle House. The book features everything from sauces to desserts. I found the sauce section to be most interesting. A large section of the book is cocktails which did not appeal to me. Only one includes directions for a non-alcoholic version. I did expect to see a few more recipes for main dishes. My husband quickly nixed the burger which included chocolate covered bacon. That might work well in a theme restaurant but not in the average home. If you are a Halloween fan, you would enjoy this cookbook though.

This is awesome! I love it, the photos are mouth watering but I would have liked more through the book to be honest.
The recipies have brilliant names and are tasty.
The drink combinations are fabulous too.
I love the fact you have the option to change each recipie vegan.
The menu plans and table decoration are a wonderful addition to help you throw a quirky, unique and unforgettable dinner party.
This is a really original book and would make a great gift.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Quirky and unusual cookbook with some very fun recepies... great book. I thoroughly enjoyed looking through it although I haven’t yet cooked anything from it.

This is a must-have cookbook-for not only fans of Tim Burtons but in general. Easy to read/make recipes. Will be using a few of these for Halloween coming up.

Not only is it a fabulous and informative cookbook, but it also includes how to throw your own Burton inspired party. Such an added bonus to an already great book.

I especially loved that each recipe could be made vegan-and even included how and what to include to do so.

I will be picking up a copy myself. Highly recommend this one.

The Nightmare before Dinner includes recipes used in the famous Beetle House restaurants in New York and Los Angeles.

There are chapters for sauces, appetizers, soups/salads, entrees, and desserts. Most look more tasty than scary though they do have clever names like Edward Burger Hands, Silence of the Lamb Chops, and Bloodbath Cobbler. The best part is the cocktail recipes that look both scary and tasty like the bubbling This is Halloween. Also included are menu and decor suggestions for four different dinner parties.

I wish the food recipes included nutritional information. However, they all seemed simple to make with mostly easily acquired ingredients. The drinks looked delicious. I can’t wait to try The Beetle’s Juice with tequila, blackberry schnapps, lime juice, bitters, and simple syrup. Yum!

The Nightmare Before Dinner is recommended for hosts who want something different for their next party. 3 stars.

Thanks to Race Point Publishing and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book... and it is a great book, especially before it offers vegan alternatives for every recipe. However... for such a great book that is tied in with such great films, the lack of pictures (there are a few pictures) really hurts this book - especially when it offers party menus and uses the same pictures presented for the recipes. That is simply lazy or maybe the menus were unplanned and they were just fillers, there's no other way I can explain the use of the same photos.

But I did save some recipes, because I am excited to try them. Some of them have a bit too many ingredients for my simple taste, but I am excited to try some.

The Nightmare Before Dinner by Zach Neil is a recipe book that is sure to spark some creativity into your kitchen. This whimsical Tim Burton themed cookbook has so many fun and tasty ideas that can be created for any occasion. However, those seeking inspiration for a Halloween party will find everything they need to set the stage for a bash suitable for the King of Halloween himself.

Having never heard of Zach Neil’s restaurant chain, The Beetle House, I am even more excited to make a trip to New York to experience what sounds like an amazing culinary adventure. Neil starts the book off with a bit of personal history as to how he became the owner of these unique restaurants. It is truly an inspiring story that sets the stage for these yummy dishes.

Inside the book are quite a few recipes for the food and drinks offered at The Beetle House. If you are already a fan of the restaurant, favourite menu items, such as Brains and Chips, are all revealed for you to create at home. The ingredients are simple and easy to source, as are the directions. Vegans will also be happy to discover that many of the recipes offer alternatives for the dishes included in the book.

If you are after some tips for your next Halloween party, The Nightmare Before Dinner is one book to check out. At the end of the book, you will find specific theme parties for many of Tim Burton’s films. The author pulls all sorts of recipes together based on each movie and gives some advice on decorations as well. I am really excited to put one of these parties on myself.

I was excited to receive a Kindle ARC of The Nightmare Before Dinner from NetGalley.

As a Tim Burton fan, I can't believe I wasn't aware of Beetle House but, judging from the reviews on Yelp, I'm not missing much.

The Nightmare Before Dinner, however, is great. Its dark, lurid, goth, creepy, puny and morbidly humorous.

Each recipe is an ode to director Burton's imaginative and original movies like Beetle's Juice and Edward Burger Hands.

I'm a mediocre cook, but I would make these recipes just so I can say the recipes hilarious names aloud.

I loved the introductions to each recipe, especially when it referenced movies and horror and the pictures are bright and gorgeous, though it featured less photos than I expected. I love food porn and I wanted more photos!

The cookbook has a nice touch in that it ends with instructions on how to throw your own theme party though it was a bit light on details and repeated photos from previous pages. I can tell.

Additional point for the author in adding vegan substitutions for those inclined.

A fun cookbook with easy to follow instructions but light on photos makes this a four star read but definitely a book to add to your collection, even if you're not a Tim Burton fan.