Cookbook Obscura
The podcast that turns obscure recipes into awesome conversations.
Join good friends and comedians Shannon Devido (Lucky Hank, Terrible People, Best Summer Ever), Aubrie Williams (ManiPedi, Goat Rodeo), and Ralph Andracchio (King Friday, Sad Trombone) as they challenge their guests (and each other) to make obscure recipes from obscure cookbooks and then eat them together. It's like saying "Ew this is weird...try this" but in podcast form.
Do you like odd recipes? Or cookbooks with weird merchandising tie-ins? How about baloney as a vital ingredient? If so, then this show is for you!
Please eat responsibly.
Cookbook Obscura
S01E08- Nic Novicki and the Quest for Ned's Potato Pancakes
Welcome to the show that turns obscure recipes into awesome conversations, Cookbook Obscura! This week, the gang welcomes Nic Novicki on our Quest for Ned's Potato Pancakes! We talk about swimming, stir-fry, Antarctica, and MORE.
Nic Novicki is an actor, comedian, and producer who has performed on six continents.
He is the founder and Director of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. His television credits include: Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos, AXS Gotham Comedy Live, Jack and Triumph, The Neighbors, Austin and Alley, Private Practice and Drop Dead Diva. He has appeared in several movies, such as Life Happens, November Rule, The Last 5 Years, Boston Girls, Breaking Wind , and Dead Ant. He is the voice of Lego Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
As a stand-up comedian, Nic has toured all over the world, including several tours for the troops overseas through Armed Forces Entertainment. He has performed stand-up on AXS Gotham Comedy Live.
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And now... Let's eat!
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The Cookbook Obscura Podcast
Season 01
Episode 08
Nic Novicki and the Quest for Ned's Potato Pancakes
[MUSIC INTRO PLAYS]
Aubrie Williams
Welcome to the show that turns obscure recipes into awesome conversations. It's Cookbook Obscura. Do you like bits about Antarctica, swimming, and stir fry? Then you're in the right place. This week the kitchen staff welcomes Nick Novicki. Nick is an actor, comedian, producer and the founder and director of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge! Want more weird recipes in your life? Don't forget to hit that subscribe button and share the show with your friends. Want to see what we're eating? Then check out our YouTube channel for the complete video of this episode, as well as our Insta for the recipe and behind-the-scenes clips.
Ralph Andracchio
What a what a wonderful soul. I can't wait for everybody to meet him.
Aubrie Williams
That'd be way great. Yeah.
Ralph Andracchio
We don't get a lot of good souls on this show.
Shannon Devido
No. They've all been the worst.
Ralph Andracchio
They've all been the worst common people in the world.
Shannon Devido
I hope that's recorded.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh, this is being recorded! All of our guests are wonderful.
Aubrie Williams
Yeah, this is a torturous podcast though.
Ralph Andracchio
It is.
Shannon Devido
So it takes a brave soul to come on this thing.
Ralph Andracchio
We need that. Yeah, in these dark times, we need a bright soul.
They're all brave, brave souls. We need a bright spot. Speaking of bright spots, I, uh, I bought...Aubrie, you, uh, you told me about this bug light.
Aubrie Williams
Yes.
Ralph Andracchio
The, the one that plugs in. It's really like compact, cute. We've had it. We've had it forever. I can't find it because we're renovating the kitchen and the guys left all the windows and the doors open because they were bringing in all this stuff. And now our house is like Lord of the Flies.
Aubrie Williams
Oh, no.
Ralph Andracchio
I know. That's a bad analogy. But...
Aubrie Williams
Yeah, they eat kids in that one, right?
Ralph Andracchio
There is a Ralph in there too, right? So.
Aubrie Williams
Maybe?
Ralph Andracchio
Do I get a rock pushed on top of me? I never...I don't think I read it or it's been a long time but something happens to Ralph I think.
Aubrie Williams
Yeah, that might be...I think there is a rock. Someone is crushed. Is there a character named Piggy? I haven't read it since middle school, so...
Shannon Devido
There's a Ralph in The Simpsons version. I remember that one.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh, yeah.
Aubrie Williams
Nice.
Ralph Andracchio
Simpson's. Man. 30..what is it? They're going on like 40 seasons right, or something like that? It's ridiculous.
Shannon Devido
It's something insane.
Aubrie Williams
Yeah.
Ralph Andracchio
How? How?
Shannon Devido
Those people are very rich.
Aubrie Williams
Yeah.
Ralph Andracchio
Very rare. I think they have, like Minority Report that, the movie where they have the pre-cogs and the tub that are telling the future. I think they have that too, because the Simpsons have been batting 1000 In terms of predicting the future. So far. I want whatever they have.
Shannon Devido
Money.
Aubrie Williams
Money. Haha! Ralph if you need me to walk over a dynatrap I can unplug mine in the backyard.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh, you're very sweet. I. It's here somewhere. I just, it's in a box somewhere and I just need to find it. I don't know. How's everybody doing this week? Good.
Aubrie Williams
Good. Pretty chill. Yeah.
Ralph Andracchio
It's 90 degrees outside. Always.
Aubrie Williams
Yeah. And the air quality is still not great here. Keep getting those warnings, baby. But I still sat out in my backyard for hours because I do not care about my lungs or stomach at all.
Ralph Andracchio
Obviously.
Aubrie Williams
You know, go big or go home. YOLO, they say.
Ralph Andracchio
Yeah, no, I'm a big fan of sitting outside but not when the air is still.
Aubrie Williams
Oh, fair.
Ralph Andracchio
It just it's like yeah, I don't know. I don't, it's like sitting in a waiting room or something. It just feels like, I don't know. I don't know what I'm waiting for. Death?
Aubrie Williams
Ominous. Yeah, it's ominous a little bit.
Ralph Andracchio
Ominous. Yeah.
Aubrie Williams
There was a breeze today but I don't know if it's just because I have like these weird weed trees in our backyard. Like they're just weeds that keep growing but they have leaves and they they have these like, they look like monkey balls. They're filled with like red goo so we always, like, cut most of them down. Yeah, they're common in South Philly. I'll take a picture of the weed tree.
Ralph Andracchio
I, I worry for your safety. Don't, please don't play with that.
Shannon Devido
Yeah, don't feed it.
Aubrie Williams
Well, it's growing in the alleyway behind our cement back yard, and whenever we cut it down it immediately grows because it's a weed.
Shannon Devido
Yeah, that's gonna eat you.
Ralph Andracchio
Yeah.
Aubrie Williams
Yeah, Seymour's...those little balls turn into Seymour.
Ralph Andracchio
Check that there's a pod that has something growing inside that looks like you because then.
Shannon Devido
Yeah, Audrey. Aubrie. It's same.
Aubrie Williams
There was a little heartbeat last time.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh.
Shannon Devido
Aubrie Two.
Ralph Andracchio
Aubrie Two. Listeners please, the next episode, concentrate on what Aubrie is saying. If she sounds different, we'll know she's been replaced.
Shannon Devido
She has a much lower voice and is just saying "feed me" maybe we should be concerned.
Ralph Andracchio
She actually likes the food we're cooking. Dead giveaway.
Aubrie Williams
Oh my God can't wait for the musical in my South Philly square backyard. Just gonna invite people, it's going to be performance art.
Oh, yeah.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh boy. Speaking of inviting people, we scored a big one another big one. Another big get this week.
Yes. Let me tell you what this guy's done. Not only is he an actor, comedian, producer, performer on six continents. I'm assuming the last one is not North America, so we'll we'll talk to him about that. In television credits, he's been on Boardwalk Empire, the Sopranos, Private Practice. He's been in a bunch of movies like Life Happens and The Last Five Years, and you can hear him in the new Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse movie. Ridiculous. Biggest get we've gotten so far. He's a stand up comedian. He's toured all over the world. And most importantly, he's the founder and director of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. Folks, please give it up for our guest Nick Novicki.
Shannon Devido
Yay!
Nic Novicki
Hello!
Ralph Andracchio
Yay!
Hello!
Aubrie Williams
Welcome.
Ralph Andracchio
I hope I did you justice with the intro.
Nic Novicki
You did justice, and you know what, to be honest, I have actually never performed in North America. So that is the one thing that I am trying to you know, I gotta get out here. Antarctica is great, but North America. That's actually my home base, Antarctica. So. That's where my mail gets sent. Uh.
Ralph Andracchio
I would hate to see your mail carrier. Every week they're like, Oh, man, another letter?
Nic Novicki
Yeah, they they really don't like me. They're, they're pretty frustrated with me.
Shannon Devido
Can't win 'em all.
Aubrie Williams
You know what. The mail system sad, right? It's fine. They'll deal with it.
Ralph Andracchio
It's not as bad as it used to be. It was, remember when during the like the beginning of the pandemic or something it was really bad. It's gotten better.
Aubrie Williams
And that's not on them, either. Like that's totally not on them. The conditions are crazy, but it's, uh, yeah.
Shannon Devido
Is that guy still the head of the post office? The guy with the big mug.
Yeah.
Ralph Andracchio
DeJoy?
Uh, don't know.
Shannon Devido
Great.
Aubrie Williams
I have no clue.
Nic Novicki
If he is or if he isn't, he's still, he actually is the one that delivers my mail to Antarctica for me.
Ralph Andracchio
Personally.
Aubrie Williams
You heard it here first.
Shannon Devido
That's why he's never at work.
Ralph Andracchio
Uh, I think the first question is, how how, how much do you love food? What brought you on the show?
Nic Novicki
I love food. I. It is my thing. It forces me to swim a lot because as I am three foot ten I I love to eat and you know you got to kind of stay active and all all of that. But yeah, no, I love food and I love that this is a show about exploring food and and cooking and I would assume based on just what I my disaster in creating on my side that there becomes a lot of comedy involved in in cooking with funny people and.
Ralph Andracchio
Gotta laugh or you cry on this show. Are you a big swimmer?
Nic Novicki
I am. Yeah. I love to swim.
Ralph Andracchio
Do you have a favorite stroke?
Nic Novicki
I actually used to be like, we used to be the backstroke swimmer, believe it or not, and all kinds of stuff. It was nice to compete in the Dwarf Athletic Association and we'd do all these things and you know, and now I'm like old and I just try to, whatever hurts the least is my stroke of choice.
Ralph Andracchio
Welcome to being old. We have a blanket waiting for you.
Aubrie Williams
I know, I just rejoined the Y and I love to swim but I'm not a good swimmer or trained swimmer. So whatever will not make my heart go crazy or my shoulders like die the next day. That's what I'm doing so usually like a little butterfly.
Nic Novicki
That's actually the hardest one. The butterfly is like, the, that's like your training like a Navy SEAL.
Aubrie Williams
Wow. Okay.
Shannon Devido
That's what I told you. She didn't listen to me. Okay, I would have, I would like to go on record by saying I am not an athlete, clearly. And I was like, Aubrie, I think that's the hardest one. Why don't you just do the breaststroke? That seems easier. She's like, no, no, I do the butterfly to cool down. I was like, I don't think that's how it works.
Aubrie Williams
Let me let me inform you that I've never been trained in swimming. I actually believe I do the breaststroke but I do a thing that's, like, not any, like, professional swim person has ever seen it. So I'm just calling it what your brains might identify it as. It's just like a real lazy...
Shannon Devido
Do you know what the butterfly is?
Aubrie Williams
That?
Shannon Devido
No! That's the breast stroke! Have you watched the Olympics? Over, and you like hurt your shoulders.
All right, it's your own stroke.
Aubrie Williams
Yeah. I do a little bit of column A and little bit of column B.
I've done no professional swimming in my life and I took an adult class at the YMCA like three years ago, and I'm pretty sure those teenagers did not know what they were doing so, I rock a butterfly but it's not a good one. I do like that one, though. I'm like, I'm limby so I'm like Stretch Armstrong so I feel like that one's like the least crazy for me cause freestyle's, like, I I'm not fit so. All right, on to food.
Ralph Andracchio
I'm very awkward and I don't float for some reason. I've tried floating in a pool and I just don't so I'm very careful when I go in the water because I will sink like a stone. Because I'm so ripped. I'm dense. I'm dense with muscle. You can only see me from the shoulders up. But trust me, folks.
Aubrie Williams
You're full of cement. Oh my god, we should all go, yeah, we should all go swimming one day then you can see how little I know about actual things. I'll GoPro myself next time. I'll get your notes. Okay.
Shannon Devido
Thank you.
Aubrie Williams
Done.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh, boy. Nick.
Shannon Devido
Do you regret this yet?
Aubrie Williams
Mail.
Nic Novicki
No. Are you kidding me? I love this. We're talking my favorite things. Food. Swimming. Antarctica.
Ralph Andracchio
Is it true you have to wait a half hour before you go swimming?
Nic Novicki
I don't believe it. I think it's been, I try to eat in the pool.
Aubrie Williams
My hero. My hero, Nick. If I knew that were an option at the Y, I don't think I can get away with it, but.
Ralph Andracchio
Best, best poolside food.
Nic Novicki
I think chips and guacamole.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh that's a winner.
Aubrie Williams
Oh yeah.
Nic Novicki
It's kind of messy though because it requires like, you know, water could get in to the guacamole or salsa. Yeah, so that's the only, so you have to, it's like a, it's an art form. You gotta like stab the chip and not drip into the you know, dip.
Ralph Andracchio
Are you are you a coater, or are you a, a big glob of dip like there's, so, I like to coat my chip and not necessarily get a glob of it on there.
Nic Novicki
You know, I, I don't like to coat but what I will do is sometimes I like to do a little mix. I take one chip, I'm gonna do a dip. If I get too much, I'm taking another chip and I do a little mix and match.
Aubrie Williams
Ooh, genius.
Ralph Andracchio
Any, any dips, you would not eat with a chip?
Nic Novicki
I'm lactose intolerant so I quickly, anything that looks like it's creamy. I basically don't eat anything that's like white and I'm like that looks like there's milk in there.
Ralph Andracchio
Very good call. How about we, you want to move on to the recipe? See what we're eating today?
Aubrie Williams
Today we're cooking, uh, Ned's potato pancakes. Real simple one. We got three or four large potatoes, one egg, one teaspoon salt, one tablespoon flour and cooking oil. So keeping it simple, keeping it simple. And no dairy. No dairy.
One egg, one teaspoon salt, one tablespoon flour and cooking oil. So, keeping it simple, keeping it simple.
Ralph Andracchio
And no dairy.
Aubrie Williams
No dairy. You can dip these in applesauce, which doesn't have milk in it, to my knowledge.
Ralph Andracchio
Did you do the applesauce today?
Aubrie Williams
I did some applesauce because I wanted to see if it was...
Ralph Andracchio
I think that was a bridge too far for me, the applesauce. How did they turn out for you, Nick? Good? Oh, nice.
Nic Novicki
I fear that I may die as I eat this.
Aubrie Williams
Oh no!
Nic Novicki
So this may be the last sighting of me.
Shannon Devido
Oh, we're so honored.
Nic Novicki
A couple of things. One, I don't know if we're able to jump right into, like, problems that we've had along the way.
Ralph Andracchio
Yes, please.
Nic Novicki
Um, so I get, I got the potatoes. That was the easy part. Then we get into salt. I had Himalayan salt. It was pink, which could be why mine turned pink.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh, that's why.
Nic Novicki
Um, and I used, you know, I don't know. A tablespoon is a hard thing. A teaspoon, tablespoon. I'm like, I just start measuring and like, I'll, you know, I don't follow rules like that. My wife is a much better, like, rule following cook. I'm like, eh, one cup is easy. I know we have that. Everything else is like a spoon and I try to import things into it and everything just goes over it, so I think I threw a ton of flour in. I used olive oil instead of cooking oil, so also I feel like that could have been a little crazy. And then I mixed the egg but I did not mix the, all the other stuff together because I threw the potatoes in which I also didn't dry. There was like a "dry potatoes." I don't know how you dry potatoes. I feel like that's a crazy art form.
Aubrie Williams
Yeah, shredded potatoes are impossible to dry. I also had a bunch of, like, water in the pan because I tried to drain some of it. But then I, like, kept doing it and nothing would come out and then I looked in and there was like a puddle of water underneath.
Nic Novicki
Oh yeah.
Ralph Andracchio
Yeah. Potatoes are, have so much water in them. And oil, speaking of oil. Protip, um, olive oil and vegetable oil. Vegetable oil is much better to cook with because it has a higher smoke points than olive oil does. So, olive oil keep for, like, bread and, like, salad dressing and after cooking. Vegetable oil for cooking.
Aubrie Williams
So I also only had, uh,
Ralph Andracchio
A lot of people only have olive oil. Yeah. You can still do it but it's just gonna, it's gonna smoke a lot quicker and it's gonna,
Aubrie Williams
It's not burnt at all. It's, like, no,
It's just straight potato.
Nic Novicki
Yeah, I feel like I didn't mix it well enough. So I was like, I'm gonna burn this thing. You know, I feel like that's my safest chance to live. It just looked, it looked less pink and like scary looking as, in, once it got cooked down.
Aubrie Williams
That's a good rule, too. I like to like make sure the outsides are burnt cause then you know it's like a little safer.
Ralph Andracchio
Let's dig in. Yeah.
Nic Novicki
Yeah.
Aubrie Williams
Should we dig in? I'm going applesauce on the first bite, going.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh, you're not going to try it by itself first just to get the
Aubrie Williams
Mmm, no I did it by itself first. It's actually good. Just tastes like cold hash browns to me.
Nic Novicki
I wonder too, does, uh, is flour in a lot of potato things? That seems to be the crazier part of it. Everything else, eggs and potatoes rolled together, salt, oil. The flour, I was like, that's the part where I'm like am I gonna die cause I didn't mix this.
Aubrie Williams
I mean, I don't think flour will kill us. Um, we've eaten a lot of it almost raw at points.
Nic Novicki
Yeah.
Aubrie Williams
My cheese, I made a cheese dip and it was basically like a bowl of flour. Um, so yeah. I think you'll be OK. It doesn't make sense though in this recipe because the egg glues it together, right?
Nic Novicki
Yeah.
Ralph Andracchio
Yeah. Mine, as everybody knows so far, my kitchen is under renovation so I don't have a cook top. So I've been baking everything in my toaster oven and these turned out like muffins. They are, they are very cake-like and it adds a different dimension of mouth experience. Trying to be. That's what we should've named the show! Back to one!
Nic Novicki
It's a great name, mouth, like a great 80s Rock Band.
Ralph Andracchio
That's next up.
Aubrie Williams
Add it to the list. Although I feel like if our podcast was named that we might get some like people in corners of the Internet. Mouth experience? I don't know.
Ralph Andracchio
That's true.
Aubrie Williams
We might invite...it's a Nancy Drew cookbook, though, so.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh, yeah. Tell us, tell us about what story this is based on. Do you remember?
Shannon Devido
Oh yeah. Who's Ned?
Aubrie Williams
So Ned is her boyfriend. Ned Nickerson is her boyfriend in this and he appears, uh, he just like shows up and then he leaves. Like they don't really have a fully formed relationship. But he'll like take her out on dates when he feels like it. It's real...
Ah, a real man.
A real man. A real 1930s man. Uh, but yeah, so this is just based, uh, this is named off of Ned Dickerson, uh, Nancy's boyfriend. So he's in I think most of the books. I tried...this might be him on the cover. I tried to get one with like a cover with some, like a man on the cover because it's all Nancy and her like two friends.
Shannon Devido
That looks like a dude named Ned.
Aubrie Williams
Yeah, I feel like it could be Ned but the thing about these books is like you can't really tell based on the drawings of who looks like who you just know Nancy Drew because she's iconic but in this one she has like red hair, and there's a robot behind her.
Shannon Devido
Oh no, that's Ned.
Aubrie Williams
We cracked the case. Um, I'll read this one next. It's 48, so it's not next in line for me. But that would be great if Ned was that robot the whole time. And Shan, I'm gonna give it to you if it is. Prophetic.
Ralph Andracchio
Speaking of dating, Nick, do you have any fun date stories that you feel comfortable sharing?
Nic Novicki
Date stories? Um, I've been married for so long, I feel like now is like, it's like my brain is like, do we have a babysitter? I'm like so old and like, uh, it's like the, yeah. We were just with family so it's like so nice, so I have like a built in family babysitter where you're like, hey, you like our daughter! You want to hang out with her so we can go out? Um, but yeah, no, I think..I mean I don't know, involving food?
Ralph Andracchio
If...yeah, sure if so, but if not just something fun that pops up.
Nic Novicki
Ah, I'm like, I am getting so boring. It's like as I'm starting to like answer these I'm like, we're, we went to the movies.
Ralph Andracchio
That counts!
Nic Novicki
And uh, we, we ate food. They validated our parking.
Shannon Devido
Now we're talking!
Aubrie Williams
Oh yeah, there we go. Hot date, hot date.
Ralph Andracchio
That is a hot date. Validated parking.
Nic Novicki
I've been with you know my wife whose name is Teal. I've been, we've been together for, since 2009. So it's like
Ralph Andracchio
Wow.
Nic Novicki
It's, you know, for so long. I feel like the fun like dating stories are like, right when you start to date, and then it becomes you're just like, you're like buddies. Basically. You're like, uh, let's let's hang out or let's go. You know, I don't know. It turns like, you become all of a sudden once you're married past over eight years, we're like, we're like the Grumpy Old Men like the two of us are like the neighbors. They like go out together. We're like, we have a babysitter! No, she's amazing. Wife is awesome. We have a lot of fun together. The baby's good. Uh, date stories? I'm also just trying to, like sometimes as you're like stalling, you just keep saying things out loud and see if the story comes up. I'm like, baby's good. Wife is good. I like this potato thing. I'm still wondering if I'm gonna die. I don't know why the middle is mushy. Uh, you know. I would say overall date stories, the...I'm lactose intolerant. So that's the, that's something that is unique. Like once you're married, like, you could bring anything up and it doesn't matter.
Aubrie Williams
Yeah.
Nic Novicki
But new dating like it's like, let's just get Chinese food. I don't want to explain it, you know, that I can't have milk, you know? So I feel like there's definitely times where you know, all that awkwardness. Uh, I also have question too. I pointed out to my wife that I feel like I've never been on a date. I, I, you know, I kind of feel like I just all of a sudden was in relationships, that there was never a period of like, we were dating. And they probably, they probably weren't dates, but pre-her I feel like I was just like hanging out and next thing I know like I'm in a relationship.
Shannon Devido
What was your first date like with her? What did you guys do?
Nic Novicki
We...now that you bring it up, that was a date. We had sushi together. So now that you said, I guess I've been on a date. No we, but we did, but I just felt like we're hanging out, you know? I wasn't like I never said hey, you want to go out? You know I just was like we just started eating together I guess. So we met and and we met through a mutual friend and so we got connected and and I think the first date...now, you see how quick I go from "I've never been on a date" to like I'm now fully committed to this memorable date with my wife was sushi in New York City.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh, see? That's nice. What what's your favorite kind of sushi to get?
Nic Novicki
I like spicy tuna rolls and my new thing is crispy rice with the tuna. It's like I feel like this is like a new thing. It's like amazing. I never knew about it up until you know, five years ago or something. And now it's it seems to be popular in a lot of places but it's very good. It's basically like fried rice. It's like let's take this healthy rice and make it unhealthy and throw some spicy stuff.
Aubrie Williams
Yeah. That's the way to do it. Turn anything healthy unhealthy. That's my, uh
Nic Novicki
Yeah.
Aubrie Williams
motto.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh yeah. Hey, Shannon. I noticed you're not eating what we're eating.
Nic Novicki
Yeah.
Shannon Devido
Oh, yeah. Thank you so much for asking. Um, so this segment is called Shannon DeVido is the worst cook of all time. Now, I didn't make this, one, because I would have died. Um, but two, I was trying to think of like a really good story for today. And this actually has nothing to do with me cooking although it sort of does. We were supposed to make breakfast and I shouldn't so we went out and we went to the, uh, the Cracker Barrel for my cousin's, it was right after my cousin's graduation from college. So we went to the Cracker Barrel and wherever James Madison University is. And we we all ordered pancakes and I ordered plain pancakes because I'm a child. And the waiter brings out pecan pancakes and I was like, no, no, I don't want these. I want plain ones. Because I'm a child. And but I said, I have an allergy. I don't. I just don't like them. So so the lady, she goes okay, fine. So she takes them away. Five more times they bring out pecan pancakes. I'm not lying to you. This is not an exaggeration. I am not like pretending for comedic effect. This is how many times they brought out those damn pancakes. I did not eat anything because by the time they decided to not bring out pecan pancakes, everyone else was done. So anyway, I'm not allowed around pancakes anymore, which is why I didn't make this.
Aubrie Williams
That's traumatizing. So
Shannon Devido
It was.
Ralph Andracchio
Is that their default pancake is the pecan pancake?
Shannon Devido
I've never been back.
Aubrie Williams
Yeah, was that before nut allergies were like you literally can't have like you would get in big trouble. Was that like before they were on the forefront?
Shannon Devido
I mean, I think nut allergies have always kind of, if you murder someone with a nut...
Nic Novicki
Airlines were all about murdering through peanuts.
Aubrie Williams
Yeah, some restaurants take it more seriously, but like if you said you had a nut allergy they should not, like someone could have called the authorities if they brought you pecans again.
Shannon Devido
Well, it was Virginia and I don't think they cared. It was, so I think I think the combo of the two...
Aubrie Williams
Well I guess if you don't touch or eat them like you'll be fine and you can see a pecan like you can't, they can't be like "oh this is a plain pancake" like you'll notice.
If you look between the pancakes and it's just lousy with pecans.
Shannon Devido
Yeah, like the Double Dare pancakes, like that's the flag in the middle.
Ralph Andracchio
Awww, yeah!
Aubrie Williams
Like fall out like, like rocks tumbling.
Ralph Andracchio
And also it sounds like we're all pe-can and not pe-cahn on this?
Nic Novicki
Ah.
Shannon Devido
That's a fair question. Which...wait, do you say pecan? What did you say, Aub?
Aubrie Williams
I say pecan.
Shannon Devido
Nic, what do you say?
Nic Novicki
Pecan.
Ralph Andracchio
Pecan.
Aubrie Williams
Nice.
Nic Novicki
I feel I'm not fancy enough to pull off a pe-cahn.
Aubrie Williams
Yeah, that's what...I always check myself because I'm from Delco. And I've tried to say that once and everyone looked at me like why are you saying that?
Ralph Andracchio
Get out of this house and never come back! I wonder if there's a dividing line in the country of like where pe-can turns into pe-cahn.
Aubrie Williams
Oh. Is it like the Mason Dixon...uh, I don't know.
Nic Novicki
It's England.
Ralph Andracchio
The Atlantic Ocean.
Nic Novicki
The original divider.
Aubrie Williams
It's Antarctica.
Nic Novicki
They say they say both. It depends on if you're on the east or west Antarctica.
Aubrie Williams
So different I hear.
Ralph Andracchio
We joke but that's actually one place I would love to go before I die is Antarctica.
Aubrie Williams
Same.
Ralph Andracchio
I would love to take an adventure and go. And I think I know somebody, I think a friend of mine actually went on a cruise to Antarctica. Like, they have them. It's a weird it's, I'm probably getting the story wrong but she went on some kind of trip to Antarctica.
Nic Novicki
That would be cool. I mean,
Ralph Andracchio
I would love that.
Nic Novicki
penguins.
Ralph Andracchio
Right.
Aubrie Williams
Whales and stuff.
Nic Novicki
Just brutal cold.
Shannon Devido
Santa lives at the other one, right?
Ralph Andracchio
What now?
Aubrie Williams
Santa is not in Antarctica.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh no, Santa is at the Arctic not the Antarctic. Yeah.
Aubrie Williams
Nic's the expert though so we'll have to
Nic Novicki
Yeah, I'm the expert in both. I've been in my share of Christmas movies and I worked for Santa and I currently live in Antarctica. So it's like you know, any way around it, I'm the guy in this subject.
Aubrie Williams
Wait, I want to bring this up because I was like sending a bio and like your website to Ralph and up pop Santa Paws 2. Were you
Nic Novicki
Yeah.
Aubrie Williams
in fact in Santa Paws 2. Beautiful.
Nic Novicki
Yeah, Santa Buddies. Santa Paws, Santa Paws 2. I was in quite a few Puppy Star Christmas. I've had a lot of...if you want a dancing and talking dog movie, I'm your guy here. Yeah, I we, they were so fun to do.
Aubrie Williams
Oh my god, I'm binging all of them and you're a hero.
Shannon Devido
So how many Christmas movies have you been in?
Nic Novicki
I've been in four. Actually, five.
Shannon Devido
Plus the ones with dogs
Nic Novicki
Four Christmas movies with dogs. And then also total, I was in one more where I played Elvis completely unrelated. It was Christmas movie.
Aubrie Williams
What.
Ralph Andracchio
What.
Shannon Devido
That's amazing.
Aubrie Williams
Oh my God.
Ralph Andracchio
Have you ever done a Hallmark movie?
Nic Novicki
I've never done a Hallmark movie.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh man.
Aubrie Williams
Hallmark.
Nic Novicki
Hallmark.
Ralph Andracchio
Next stop, Hallmark Christmas movie with the dogs.
Aubrie Williams
With a dog!
Nic Novicki
You know what? My, I got a French bulldog and she she would be great for the Hallmark, you know, movie. I think. She's not good at following directions and she sleeps a lot. But, it's, she's a good dog.
Aubrie Williams
She'd steal our hearts for sure.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh, man. Yeah. Ready for questions?
Aubrie Williams
Time to get into the questions?
Ralph Andracchio
Time for questions.
Nic Novicki
Wait, can I bring one thing up about the potato?
Aubrie Williams
Yes, please.
Nic Novicki
First of all, I have some photos and some you know a little bit of video of me in the struggle that I was in. The, the grading process I've never graded before I honestly didn't even know what a grater was. You know my wife is an amazing cook and she does like high level cooking with following instructions and I'm more like a improvisational like stir fry guy. You know like throw veggies in, a little soy sauce. This, but so the grading process was so hard. I I took the potato and it was just like I was like I feel like my arm was going to come off it was like so it was ridiculously hard. I have so much respect for chefs and people have to do that a lot. It's like amazing how hard that was.
Aubrie Williams
It's crazy. Yeah, it's like very tedious work and the potatoes like if you...I found out if you shred them very finely they'll turn brown immediately. So don't do that. Get a little
Nic Novicki
That happened too.
Ralph Andracchio
You know what? That's probably what the flour's for, to stop them from turning brown.
Aubrie Williams
Oh.
Nic Novicki
Mmm.
Ralph Andracchio
I just that just popped into my head. You're right.
Aubrie Williams
Does that do it?
Ralph Andracchio
I don't know because my turned brown too.
Aubrie Williams
I looked online and they said you can add lemon juice but I didn't know if that would affect the flavor. I assumed it would. But to stop the oxidation process, apparently lemon juice. But since we're we're hardcore going by this Nancy Drew cookbook, I didn't want to get off the beaten path too, too much. All right, so this is our world famous Cookbook Obscura questionnaire, Nic. So what is your best food memory?
Nic Novicki
Best Food memory? I would say I gotta go somewhat recently, my wife and I went on vacation to Spain two weeks ago and we had paella in this market that was kind of like a farmers market. And it was so good. I am like, everything about it was just like, you know you're eating this seafood. And it just, it was so good. I love Spain. The food was great everywhere. But that was a great food memory. Recent.
Aubrie Williams
That's awesome.
Ralph Andracchio
Awww.
Aubrie Williams
I love that.
Ralph Andracchio
Is that like besides Antarctica, would that be a place where you would like to retire is Spain?
Nic Novicki
Uh, yeah. Well, you know, once I'm done with my penguin fishing, which is what I do for a living in Antarctica, yeah. I you know, I love Spain. I I just love it. I got to do a play there crazily enough in Madrid years ago. And I loved it then and this the first time we went to Barcelona and I love it. I don't speak Spanish so that would be a little hard for me. I'm like, you know a 30s cartoon character. I gotta be like with my hands like "ehhh, eh."
Shannon Devido
Um, OK, what is your favorite unsolved mystery?
Nic Novicki
I would say why I'm living in Antarctica. I mean, that's like, I'm really wondering about it. People are asking, they say "it's so difficult for you to get places." And I'm like, I know but I need to be here. I would say the Hoffa, you know the Hoffa story has gotta be up there.
Ralph Andracchio
Ah, that's a good one.
Nic Novicki
Jimmy Hoffa. I mean, it's just so crazy, because he's just there's so many layers where it could have been the mob, it could have been the government, it could have been, you know, and why no one has been able to find him.
Ralph Andracchio
That's yeah, if anybody doesn't know, and help me fill in the blank s. Team? No. Teamster, union guys, something like that. And he, he, he he pissed off the wrong people. And the mob and the government were like, gunning for him for some reason. And he went to a meeting at a diner one day, and that's the last anybody saw them. And a lot of people think he's like in the pylons in a in a stadium somewhere. In a football stadium, like
Nic Novicki
In New York. Giants Stadium.
Ralph Andracchio
First time we've had Jimmy Hoffa on the show.
Aubrie Williams
Alright, a another kind of crime related question. If someone you loved was in prison, what food would you hide a file in?
Nic Novicki
I would say Chinese food. You know, I love Chinese food. I always want, you know, I'm a Kung Pao chicken fan.
Oh, nice.
And I feel like everybody needs Kung Pao chicken, especially if you're in prison. And I kind of feel like it would also be crazy to sneak that in, if I have it like in my pockets and you're just sweating. You're like trying to sneak it in and you know, cayenne pepper all over the place. But you know, and you just smell like Chinese food or, all the way through you're like "Eh, this. Did somebody stop by Panda Express?" You know, and you're just like, "No?" and then you gotta like creep in, and then. Nah. I love Chinese food.
Ralph Andracchio
Do you do you eat the spring rolls that come with everything? Are you a spring roll guy?
Nic Novicki
You know, I'm not really. I'm more like, I like the you know, the dishes, and I got, in fairness, kind of more American Chinese style versus like, authentic. You know, I don't really love a ton of seafood and dumplings. So I like more, you know, noodles and stuff that, Kung Pao, you know. I feel like I'd be very boring in China and people were like, you know, exotic dishes, I'd be like "Ehhh? I don't know."
Ralph Andracchio
And you'd be kicked out of the country immediately. Get out!
Nic Novicki
Yeah.
Ralph Andracchio
Back to Antarctica!
Nic Novicki
Back to Antarctica. On Santa's sleigh, I leave. That the plot of my
Aubrie Williams
Pulled by talking dogs
Ralph Andracchio
Turning our attention to breakfast, if you were a breakfast cereal, which one would be and why?
Nic Novicki
I feel like I'd be Cheerios. I'm just like, I'm boring. I'm, you know I'm able to, you know, just get the job done. But you know, no, no craziness. You know, I'm reliable. I can teach you how to swim. You know, it's like you need it. Just, I like Cheerios, too. My daughter is now starting to like Cheerios at two and so we eat Cheerios together.
Aubrie Williams
Aww. That's sweet.
Ralph Andracchio
That's a good...I know a ton of people who have done that with their kids when they're growing up because Cheerios are like, easy for kids to eat, right?
Nic Novicki
Mmhmm. Yeah.
Ralph Andracchio
And they get the job done.
Nic Novicki
Cause you know what? It's like, it's just there, you know? And you're, like, "I don't know, are we gonna have eggs again?" And you're like, let's just have Cheerios. You know, you're like, they're just, it's just easy. You don't have to think about it. You're not really gonna love it. But you'll eat it and you're, you know,
Ralph Andracchio
Cheerios, if you're listening, we've come up with some great tag lines. Gets the job done. It's there.
Nic Novicki
If you want to learn how to swim the butterfly and be able to live and survive in Antarctica, Cheerios.
Ralph Andracchio
Gets the job done.
Aubrie Williams
There we go. Just pulling that sound clip. Sending it right over.
Shannon Devido
Do you put sugar on your Cheerios or do you just eat them healthily?
Nic Novicki
I, with like, sometimes with berries, and then soy milk. But I actually like am wildly wasteful with it because I just I just like it so that it's not so dry. I don't really drink the milk. I use it more as like, you know, something, and then kind of like, almost like dumping the milk out before you eat it. Like I'm better than it. I don't know. I just, you know what? I don't like milk.
Aubrie Williams
Well, for good reason. Yeah.
Ralph Andracchio
Another good tagline. "Milk. I'm better than you."
Nic Novicki
That's, that's actually the commercial for Lactaid pills.
Shannon Devido
All right, number five. What is, what is your, do you guys have a favorite family recipe or dish that you guys used to cook together?
Nic Novicki
We're really big into stir fry, you know, and kind of Asian dishes. My wife and I that's like my favorite kind of food. So we make a lot of stuff like that, you know, stir fry. We went to Thailand and we learned how to you know, we took a cooking class in Thailand and I've completely forgot and it's so hard to get all the ingredients, but that was really fun to make.
Aubrie Williams
So cool.
Nic Novicki
Yeah.
Ralph Andracchio
I'd love for you to start a podcast where you just tell people how to keep a relationship going because it sounds like you know what you're doing.
Nic Novicki
Ah, you know.
Aubrie Williams
I mean, you have a lot of projects, but
Nic Novicki
You live in Antarctica and then there's nowhere to go but with me.
Ralph Andracchio
Gets the job done. Cheerios.
Nic Novicki
Gets the job done. Cheerios.
Ralph Andracchio
Uh, Nic, we're careening towards the end of the podcast, probably the end of the whole podcast.
Nic Novicki
I ruined it.
Ralph Andracchio
You ruined everything.
Nic Novicki
Come live with me in Antarctica. We could become Antarctican farmers.
Aubrie Williams
Antarctican Farmers.
Ralph Andracchio
Antarctican farmers. If anybody would like to follow you, connect with you on social media, see your projects. This is your chance to plug everything you got.
Nic Novicki
Yes. You can follow me at Nic Novicki on all social media. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. I have a TikTok account but I don't go on. I'm new to that one. But yeah, so you could find out about comedy shows, projects I'm doing. It will also link you to the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. And you could go separate to that at Disability film challenge. You can see amazing films. Shout out to Shannon DeVido, Nominated Best Actor this year. Her film that both you guys worked on and did such a great job two years in a row nominated and you guys are just so talented. And this has been so fun to be on.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh. Thank you!
Nic Novicki
And the minute this ends I'm throwing out the rest of these potatoes.
Ralph Andracchio
Right? Your health is more important.
Aubrie Williams
Yeah. Don't die onstage, you know. Not because of these pancakes.
Nic Novicki
You know what, I would eat it even that it's just the mushy part in the middle is like the part that's like you're just like, I can't. You know.
Aubrie Williams
I mean, yeah, I think raw potatoes won't kill you but like you don't want a cold mushy like, bleh.
Ralph Andracchio
Yeah.
Nic Novicki
Yeah.
Ralph Andracchio
Aubrie or Shannon, any short final final thoughts about anything that's happened today?
Aubrie Williams
Um, I think we all survived this recipe. And yeah, thank you, Nic. Nic does such good work and like it's a pleasure being a part of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. Everyone's like hanging out in and meeting up and it's so cool and like, it's always something to look forward to. It's really fun. So thanks, Shan, for letting me be a part of it. It's just been really awesome.
Shannon Devido
Thank you for being a part of it.
Aubrie Williams
I have my fry, you can't really, I have fry socks on right now. So I'm trolling with Cindy and Piper. I'll never stop. I'm sorry, Nic.
Nic Novicki
I love that. That was such a great movie. I love that.
Aubrie Williams
Aww, thank you. It was it was a friendship romcom about McDonald's so kind of our MO.
Ralph Andracchio
Can't go wrong with that.
And Ralph was the villain so we're all represented.
Nic Novicki
And I highly recommend you watch that movie and watch it fully. In the end credits, I am pointed out. If you think I'm bad with instructions on potatoes, picture me, you know, dealing with 1000 people and a lot of emails. I will, I am not the greatest at grammar so. What did you, I forget exactly what you said or what you caught me with? What was it?
Shannon Devido
Oh, so every year, Nic sends out the challenge like information and in it, one of the things he includes is like there's a theme and a genre every year and one of the things he includes is the genre like type movie examples from said genre. And last year was the superhero genre, and so he included a bunch of movies you know, Avengers and all the normal ones. And he also included Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle because I believe the year before that was like buddy cop, like buddy films or whatever and he didn't take it out. And so I was like, "Well, guess what?" And so I wrote an entire film making fun of that. Thanks for being such a good sport about it. It really did make me laugh and I know you deal with so much stuff, you deal with stuff all day long and millions emails and you send out 100 million emails and deal with 100 million questions and I was being such a jerk and I appreciated you being such a good sport.
Nic Novicki
I thought it was funny. It just was like, I also was like it was, I missed it honestly too. My attention to detail is not like I'm not the king at that. So until you pointed it out and then once I saw it I was like ah, that's so funny. It just, it's great.
Ralph Andracchio
Oh boy. And on that note, on that nice remembrance, we'll we'll bring this episode to a close. Thank you Nic for being here. Thanks, everybody. And please remember to eat responsibly. Have a nice night everybody. Good night.
