Cru Oyster Bar Nantucket Cookbook: Savoring Four Seasons of the Good Life

The team behind Nantucket’s landmark Cru Oyster Bar shares solid, if familiar, menus inspired by the island’s events—parades, sailboat races, golf tournaments, cranberry festivals—in a collection geared for weekend entertaining, waterfront picnics, or cocktail parties. The recipes rely on seasonal produce and feature local fish and shellfish—not surprisingly, lobster is ubiquitous in rolls, salads, and soups. A chapter called Raw Bar Basics explain how to create Cru’s signature tower of fresh blue crab, oysters, and scallops, with its various sauces. A menu inspired by the island’s kick-off sailboat race weekend is a lunch of fried oysters, citrus quinoa lobster salad, fluke meuniere, and strawberry shortcake. Autumn recipes reflect Nantucket’s “fading lights and fleeting days” in bacon-stuffed clams, lobster bisque, roast chicken, squash with pear and mint, and pear tart; Christmas Brunch includes buttermilk and pecan-butter soufflé pancakes, smoked salmon tartine, and cranberry cinnamon buns. Creative cocktails featuring cucumbers (with vodka and toasted sesame syrup) or strawberries (in a tequila Valentina) highlight the restaurant’s “farm-to-glass” approach. While there are no surprises to be found, this will certainly appeal to Nantucket’s many visitors. (May)