Shayna made Poblano-Feta Dip. She bought pita bread to accompany the dip, but then found the time to make the Baco Bread, which she said was actually quite easy. I was glad for that, as the earthy, tangy dip was nice on the pita, but even better with the fantastic homemade flatbread. Others must have agreed with me, because we demolished the flatbread and left a bowl of lonely pitas.

I made Pickled Rooibos Grapes. They were sweet and tart with nice pop. Good to munch on as an appetizer or snack, but Centeno also recommends using them to complement meats, pasta, soups, and salads. So he’s kind of saying you can use them for pretty much everything… which I would agree with and intend to try!

Jennifer made Citrus and Dry-Cured Olive Salad. She accidentally bought some sort of hybrid oranges that were very sweet. We agreed it would have been interesting to have the dish with tangier oranges, as with the sweeter oranges it seemed a bit flat. I was also surprised the olives didn’t add more brininess.

Cindy made Jicama Salad with Mango, Fennel, Cucumber, Peanuts, and Lime and Fish Sauce Vinaigrette. I loved all of the different textures, and how all of the ingredients were substantial enough to hold up while soaking in the funky, tangy, spice of the vinaigrette. A wonderfully refreshing salad perfect for a summer night.

Domenica made Rutabaga and Pancetta with Lemon, Anchovy, and Capers. She used regular anchovies instead of white ones, and black pepper bacon instead of pancetta. As far as I could tell, these substitutions worked out just fine. I don’t recall ever eating rutabaga as the primary ingredient in a dish before, but I’m definitely going to be looking for more rutabaga recipes now.

Erin made Braised Chicken with Leeks, Tomatoes, Berbere, Thyme, and Yogurt. She also made millet (not from the cookbook), which was great to soak up all of the incredible juices of this stew. The dish included two different spice mix recipes from the cookbook, and you could really taste the depth of flavor that this brought.

Jeff made Chicken Escabeche with Mint. Pan-roasted in vinegar and spices, the chicken was juicy and nicely absorbed the flavors of the marinade. And oh man was that a tasty marinade… my favorite part of the meal was actually using some of the leftover pita from Shayna’s dish to soak up this chicken’s pan juices and then pile on some of its onions and raisins. So good!

Anthony made Salty Caramel. He actually made two batches – one using the wet method, and one using the dry method. It was fun to taste-test wet vs dry, and interestingly our group’s preferences were fairly evenly split between the two. I preferred the more developed flavor of the wet caramel, but I was happy to eat either with Anthony’s homemade vanilla ice cream (not from the cookbook).

Kamy made Blackberry Sesame Cake with Cardamom Sugar. The cake was moist, and I enjoyed the nutty and subtly sweet flavor with the blackberries. The sesame paste and sugar topping that crystallized into crunchy goodness really completed this delicious dessert for me. Great with Anthony’s vanilla ice cream!

Sheana made Strawberry-Elderflower Fool. The recipe calls for only 1 TBSP of sugar, so depending on your strawberries, can end up being not very sweet. I don’t mind a dessert that’s not overly sweet, but I found this one on its own was not sweet enough. It was, however, pretty good with some of the Salty Caramel drizzled in. And also quite nice as a creamy topping for the Blackberry Sesame Cake.