The New Jewel in Diana Yen’s Crown

Image courtesy of Roost Books

The credo behind Brooklyn-based caterer and food stylist Diana Yen’s first book, A Simple Feast: A Year of Stories and Recipes to Savor and Share (Roost Books), is delightfully straightforward. Unfussy, but elegant, recipes designed for gatherings of every creed, all of them separated by the season for which they are best suited—like fennel seed-crusted pork chops with sautéed apples for autumn; a maple braised beef stew for winter; mini pea, mint, and feta quiche for spring; and cantaloupe Campari granita with basil cream. There are dishes ideal for sunny afternoon picnics in the park and ones perfect for blustery evenings spent cuddled up at home. What they all share is the breezy style that has become Yen’s calling card and made her perpetually in-demand over the years by everyone from Martha Stewart to West Elm to Better Homes & Gardens. Recipes are interspersed with vignettes that reveal a bit more about Yen (her memory of her first snowfall, her ritual for breakfast in bed) and many a helpful charticle (a grilling key outlining correct temperature and time, a guide to the ideal pantry components). It’s a book that will quickly find a place of purpose in your kitchen: a truly precious commodity. FIORELLA V.