Acacia made Samosas. These were a group favorite. The texture of the shell was perfect – so crispy and golden. Acacia said the dough was easy to make, but forming the dumplings took some practice.

Brian made Braised Fennel, Jicama Slaw, and Grilled Bell Peppers with Caper Vinaigrette. The peppers were tasty – I’m always amazed how a tiny amount of vinegar and oil can enhance the wonderful sweet smokiness that emerges when you grill peppers. I’m usually a fan of fennel and jicama, but I found both of these dishes uninspiring.

I made Lentils with Curried Butternut Squash and Walnuts. The various elements of this dish didn’t seem to come together well – the softness of the squash, mealiness of the lentils, and crunch of the walnuts felt like they clashed rather then providing a layered mouth feel. And most of the flavor was in the butternut squash.

Revi made Egg Noodles with Brown Butter and Feta. She was worried that it tasted plain, but I actually really enjoyed the subtle flavors. The brown butter seemed to give a sweetness to the noodles, and there was just enough feta to add just a touch of saltiness and tang.

Drew made Afghani Spicy Scallion Dumplings with Yogurt and Meat Sauces (Aushak). This was one of my favorites of the meal. The creamy yogurt and spiced beef sauce nicely complemented the great scallion flavor. The only negative was that the dumplings stuck together and were really hard to get apart.

Chris made Roasted Sweet Potato Spears with Bacon Vinaigrette. Also a great dish – it tasted as appealing as it looked. The natural sweetness of the potato contrasted with the salty bacon and tang of vinegar and scallions perfectly.

Brad made Chicken Salad with Tomatoes, Olives, and Green Beans. Isn’t this a gorgeous presentation? Brad found the perfect platter to showcase the colors of this dish. All of the flavor seemed to come from the tomatoes and olives – I wish the chicken and green beans were a bit more seasoned. There was also a very small proportion of beans relative to chicken.

Erin made Turkey Tonnato. Creamy tonnato sauce made of tuna, anchovies, and capers is a win in my book. This one was pretty good, though Erin has made a lot of tonnato and said she has other recipes she likes better. Also turkey is one of my least favorite meats, so I prefer the more traditional veal.

Anthony made South Indian Shrimp Curry. He said the simplicity of it made him concerned it wouldn’t be that good, but it turned out great. He brought rice to accompany it, and I was happy to have a heaping mound to absorb large spoonfuls of the creamy curry goodness.

Jeff made Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream. He also had the genius idea (not part of the recipe) to bring graham cracker crumbs as a topping. It was just like eating strawberry cheesecake, only in ice cream form. What could be better than combining two of my favorite things – I went back for seconds, and I wasn’t the only one.

Anthony made blondies – a bonus dessert not from the cookbook. As you can see, people dug into them before I even had a chance to snap a pic, so they were clearly excited about bonus blondies.

Brian made sweet and salty cheesecake with cherries and crumble – this was also a bonus recipe, from the Ottolenghi Simple cookbook. I will be bookmarking this recipe – it was fantastic. The cheesecake contains feta, so it was creamy but not too sweet, which let the cherry compote shine and was beautifully offset with the almond and sesame crumble. Yum.