Erin and Mollie made Sangria. You can never go wrong with fruit and wine in my opinion. The Sangria went fast. Perfect way to toast our Cookbook Club b-day.

Anthony made two loaves of the Bread. It’s a good basic bread – nice and soft. It was especially great for soaking up the sauce from Cindy’s goulash.

Kelly made Raw Kale Salad with Pepitas and Parmesan. The dressing was light and refreshing and the pumpkin seeds added good crunch.

Shayna made Italian Bread Salad. I loved the sweetness of the tomatoes with the vinegar-y tang of the dressing, which the bread really absorbed.

I made Roasted Garlic Soup. This soup has a deep garlicky flavor – it better with six whole heads of roasted garlic! Tasted great, though not particularly pretty to look at.

Colin made Sweet Potato Peanut Stew. I’ve never had a peanut-flavored stew before, but it’s a great idea! I think the zucchini suffered a bit in transit, as it was a little mushy.

Halina made Stout and Irish Cheddar Gougeres. These cheese puffs are a great appetizer. People were definitely picking them off the platter before we officially started eating. You could really taste the stout.

Alyssa made Pigs in Potatoes. These are like pigs in a blanket, but with a coating of fried mashed potatoes instead of crescent roll dough. Alyssa used a chicken coffee sausage that was fantastic.

Erin and Mollie also made Chicken Satay. The peanut sauce was thicker than I’m used to, but so good. They said they had to amp up the seasonings, as it was pretty bland when they just followed the recipe.

Anthony also made Shrimp Pad Thai. Perhaps not “life-changing” or “the best Pad Thai ever” as Anthony had advertised, but this is a really good Pad Thai 😉

Heather made Mango Mustard Sauce over Chicken. A little sweet and a little spicy – I wished I had rice to soak up more of this sauce. Apparently this one was also quite bland when Heather followed the recipe, so she doubled the spices and it was quite nice.

Cindy made Hungarian Goulash. It was nice chunks of meat in a robust sauce. Great with bread to sop up as much of the sauce as possible.

Robert made Lamb Ragu. I liked that the flavor of the lamb really came through, though it seemed that a touch of salt might have really enhanced the flavor of the sauce.

Mia made New Orleans Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce. She used orange zest and rum-soaked the raisins. This was a fantastic dessert, especially with the Whiskey Sauce.

Kamy made Apple Cake. I particularly liked the edges of the cake, which got a bit caramelized and chewy. This had regular frosting, but I think I would have loved it with cream cheese frosting.

Anthony also made Lemon Bars. He said that he had a fight with the crust layer to get it to spread. The crust was a bit soft, but overall these were tasty.