With our Book Club series, we shine the light on our Experts and brands— their work, thought processes, and best tips. The following is an excerpt from Il Buco Vita founder and owner Donna Lennard’s book Il Buco Trent'Anni, published last month.

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Feast: noun: a large meal, typically one in celebration of something; a plentiful supply of something enjoyable, especially for the mind and for the senses; verb: eat and drink sumptuously.

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Since its very first days, feasting has been woven into the fabric of Il Buco. Back in the early 1990s, Alberto and I would feast at a little restaurant called Bernard’s on Avenue C. We traveled through Spain and Portugal in search of a million different shellfish varieties, the perfect jamon Iberico, the sharpest pecorino, or the greenest olive oil. We would feast at home on East 11th Street between Avenues B and C, roasting fish, meat, and wild mushrooms in our fireplace while making pasta al pomodoro on the stove. The humble meal was accompanied by Umbrian Sagrantino his father used to drink back in Foligno. Feasting was simply part of life.

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Eventually, those feasts expanded. Our friends and neighbors on Bond Street would join us for a snack in the antique store on a quiet afternoon. As we became a legitimate restaurant, that community expanded too. On the 10th anniversary of Il Buco, we threw a Pig Roast or Sagra del Maiale. Following the Umbrian tradition, the entire neighborhood was invited. Once we began, the Sagra took root and our celebrations continued yearly to mark another year of il Buco. Just as Il Buco grew, so too did the scope and the cast of the celebration.

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With Francis Mallmann, we turned the Alimentari rooftop into an open-fire kitchen. With dear friends Fabio Chizzola and Laura Ferrara, we celebrated the local produce of Westwind Orchards. Out East, we roasted whole fish with Greg Kessler from Hoppy Acre Farms and Heidi Lender of Campo and spread the word about her Uruguayan artist-in-residence program in Garzon, Uruguay.

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All of this started with those early nights with Alberto, a celebration of a sumptuous world. From the simple breaking of bread with our friends and neighbors in a newly built antique store on cobblestoned Bond Street to the thousands of meals that followed, both at home and around the globe, feasting has been our way of sharing meals, ideas, and stories. Yes, a feast is a large meal, typically one in celebration. But for me, it’s also a path of friendship and warmth and connection over time. When I think back to all the people with whom we’ve celebrated over the last thirty years, I imagine a very long table indeed.

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Yellowtail Crudo

Serves 4

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Ingredients

½ cup fine sea salt, additional for finishing

½ cup sugar

1 lime and 1 lemon, zested

8 oz yellowtail

⅓ cup EVOO, additional for finishing

1 clove garlic, sliced thin

2 tbsp shallots, small dice

½ cup maitake mushrooms, petaled

1 cup oyster mushrooms, petaled

½ cup beech mushrooms, petaled

1 ½ cups mushroom stock, unsalted

1 sprig thyme

1 sprig rosemary

1 bay leaf

¼ tsp fennel pollen

1 tbsp white soy

1 tsp shio koji

1 ½ tsp maple syrup

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Blackberry Purée

1 pt blackberries

⅔ cup water

½ tsp honey

1 bay leaf

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Finishing

6 pieces wood sorrel

1 tbsp sesame oil

¼ tsp calamansi juice

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1. Make a cure for the fish using sugar, salt, lemon, and lime zest. Season fish generously with cure, and let sit refrigerated for about 20 minutes. Then rinse off under running water. Slice fluke thinly (like sashimi) and re-refrigerate.
2. In a medium-sized pot, sweat garlic and shallots until translucent. Add all mushrooms and roast until golden brown.
3. Add mushroom stock, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, fennel pollen, white soy, shio koji, and maple syrup. Heat until just before boiling, then set aside to cool. The mushroom conserva is ready.
4. Meanwhile, place blackberries, water, shio koji, honey, and bay leaf in a medium-sized pot, and let simmer until berries and water form a syrup. Remove bay leaf and place in a blender until a smooth puree is formed. Set aside.
5. Spoon mushroom conserva in a narrow line onto the center of each of 4 shallow bowls. Layer fish on top of conserva, using four or five slices per plate (about 2 oz).
6. Add a dollop of blackberry puree to the side of the plate.
7. Pour 2 tablespoons of the conserva liquid into each bowl and finish with a few drops of sesame oil, and calamansi juice (yuzu or lime juice also works great).
8. Garnish with wood sorrel (can substitute basil, cilantro, or mint). Finish with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of EVOO.

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Long Island Duck Breast

Serves 4

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Ingredients

4 duck breasts (Long Island, Crescent Farms)

2 ½ tsp fine sea salt, additional to finish

2 tsp black pepper

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

1 cup tamarind paste

5 tbsp plus ½ cup EVOO, additional to finish

2 tbsp butter

16 peeled cipollini onions

1 cup kumquats, sliced

1 cup chardonnay vinegar

1 tbsp coconut palm sugar

¼ tsp chili flake

1 tsp salt

flake salt to taste

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1. Season the meat with all combined dry ingredients (salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powders). Refrigerate for 24 hours.
2. The next day, lather duck with tamarind paste. Let it marinate for 15 minutes.
3. Place the duck breast in the oven on a roasting rack, positioning it skin side up, at 140° F for 1 hour, 15 minutes, or until internal temperature is 130° F, checking with a meat thermometer. Once cooked, allow to rest.
4. Meanwhile, in a medium-sized mixing bowl, place all kumquats, chardonnay vinegar, coconut sugar, chili flakes, ¼ tsp salt, and ½ cup EVOO and incorporate well. Set aside to marinate for 1 hour. These are your pickled kumquats.
5. Sear the duck breast skin-side down in a pan in 2 tbsp EVOO over moderately high heat, for approximately 6-10 minutes, until deep golden brown. Set aside.
6. Heat a large Dutch oven or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp EVOO and butter, then add onions, and sear both sides until golden. Cover the pan, and allow onions to steam until tender.
7. In a mixing bowl, add the seared cipollinis, 1 tbsp chardonnay vinegar, 1 tbsp olive oil, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp peperoncino, and kumquats, straining them from their pickling juice. Incorporate well.
8. Place a full dinner spoon of the cipollini/ kumquat mixture onto each of 4 plates. Place the duck breast parallel to the mixture.
9. Season with fresh black cracked pepper, crunchy salt, and a drizzle of EVOO.

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Olive Oil Cake Redux

Serves 6-8

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Ingredients

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

1 lemon, zested

1-2 oranges, zested

½ tsp salt

1 ½ cups olive oil, additional to grease pan

2 cups AP flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ cups milk

3 eggs

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1. Preheat oven to 325° F
2. In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, combine the sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and salt at high speed until light and fluffy. On low speed, drizzle in the olive oil until incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder until incorporated.
4. With the mixer on medium speed, alternate adding the milk and dry mixtures to the egg mixture—starting with the liquids—in two installments of each. Mix until a smooth batter forms.
5. Grease an 8–9 inch loaf pan with olive oil and pour the batter in the pan in an even layer.
6. Bake in the center of the oven, rotating halfway through, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

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Order Il Buco Trent'Anni for more hosting tips, and shop Il Buco Vita’s entertaining essentials to bring your dinner party to the next level.