Everything I Cooked on Nantucket

I’m freshly back from a glorious week on Nantucket- famously one of my favorite places based on how often I wear my Nantucket sweatshirts in my videos. It was, in short, fabulous as expected. This is only my second trip, so I’m hardly an expert, but there truly is so much on the island to enjoy and savor, despite the crowds and long lines that collect there this time of year.

We're nearing that twilight of summer, where the juices of the season have collected at the bottom of the bowl, begging to be sopped up and enjoyed- some might say it’s the best part. And I can hardly think of a better place to spend it.

Escaping the 110+ degree Texas heat might have been the greatest blessing, followed, of course, by the incredible east coast summer produce, and the fact that I had an actual kitchen to play in this year.

Cooking in a rental kitchen can be tricky, and it’s a challenge that I’ve written about before here on The Dinner Club. You don’t know where anything is, there’s only one cutting board, pots are missing lids, and seemingly universal kitchen tools like tongs and cheese graters are nowhere to be found.

There’s also the challenge of what the hell to do with all of your leftover ingredients. Shelf stable things like vinegars or seasonings can be left for subsequent tenants to use, but I was hesitant to buy bulky or superfluous fresh ingredients like whole bunches of celery or a half gallon of milk that might only be used in a small quantity for one recipe- the leftovers sentenced to death by the cleaning crew.

It’s a little like playing Cutthroat Kitchen except without the prize money, and you’re the one paying to do it. (Do they win prize money on Cutthroat Kitchen? I’ve never seen an episode.)

I spent the week romanticizing my life from behind the kitchen counter. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to cook for my friends and luxuriate in some beautiful and tasty staples from the island like local lettuces and corn, fresh lobster and locally sourced littleneck clams. What a treat for this suburban Texas boy! And when I finally get into a kitchen with better natural light, it’s seriously over for y’all.

I chronicled the whole thing for my latest YouTube upload, which you can watch below- in case you’d like 1 hour + of cooking and chatting to play in the background this weekend:

I take my role as rental house den mother very seriously. Cooking there really ran the gamut from simple, semi-homemade dinners to cocktails to a full on dinner party with some guests who were in town. It was the most fun I’ve had in the kitchen in a while, so let’s get into the recipes!

Some of these are brand new like the Lobster Cobb and the Ranch Crackers, but I also leaned on some familiar go-to’s that are shared again below for you!