Heather made Teletautala Tuna Tartare. This was a great appetizer – it reminded me a lot of the poke I ate often at beach shacks in Hawaii – very fresh and clean flavors that let the great tuna shine. Not saturated with crazy sauces like a lot of the poke places that are trendy in CA right now.

Rachelle made Kalua Pig Spring Rolls. She made them as fresh spring rolls rather than frying them, and serving them with Susanga’s Unbelievable Sauce instead of Pineapple Dipping Sauce. They were quite nice, and I’d imagine much lighter without the frying and with a sauce that had more zing rather than sweetness.

Brad made Pickled Watermelon. This was a surprise favorite for me. It’s actually watermelon rinds, which I didn’t even know you could eat. Turns out they have a fantastic crunch, and the pickling gives them a wonderful tanginess. Great as a side, or just to munch on.

I made Green Papaya Chanpuru. It was unfortunately one of my least favorite dishes of the spread. It was very bland, so I ended up quadrupling the seasoning quantities, and even then it still lacked dimension. It needed some acidity. I put just a bit of Rachelle’s dipping sauce on it, and then it was pretty good.

Colin made Orange-Glazed Sweet Potatoes. I am not generally a big fan of sweet potatoes, so my assessment of this dish will naturally reflect that bias. I think people who like sweet potatoes would enjoy it, though I would have added a bit more salt to contrast with the sweetness of the glaze.

Hiro made Basil-Macadamia Nut Pesto, which he served on chicken that he grilled over our bonfire. I am a sucker for fire-grilled meats, so that was already an advantage for the dish, and the buttery nuttiness that the macadamia nuts added to the pesto was nice.

Brad also made Cinnamon Chicken. There is a sweetness to this dish that worked surprisingly pretty well. Though since a lot of our sides had a bit of sweetness to them, I found myself imagining it would have been nice to eat this chicken with a big bowl of rice.

John made Pork Tenderloin with Blackberries. He modified the recipe – puréeing the blackberries with balsamic vinegar, instead of just using whole blackberries and blackberry vinegar. This made a glaze with a touch of tartness and beautiful color, which was a nice finish on the pork which he grilled fresh on our bonfire.

Kris made Grilled Spice Strip Steak with Honey-Citrus Butter. This was the best dish of the party. Kris perfectly grilled the steaks over the bonfire, beautifully pink on the inside with a wonderfully delicious outer char. I kept going back for more.

Colin also made Tahitian Coconut Bread, which he served with Papaya-Pineapple Marmalade. I did not have high hopes for this bread, as it looked like a dense lump and sounded like that’s pretty much what it was. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that once sliced up and dressed with the marmalade, I enjoyed the dense chewy texture and tropical fruit topping.

Sheana made Paniolo Cornbread. The coconut milk and crushed pineapple gave the cornbread a moisture and touch of sweetness that I really liked. It’s great that this tasty bread can be made from ingredients I generally have in my pantry, and I definitely plan to make it in the future.

Kathleen made Marquesan Mango Bread. I loved this one! I never would have guessed that the breads would be among the recipes that really shone in a Polynesian cookbook, but they were. This bread had fantastic mango flavor and a good moist cakiness. Yum.

John also made Pumpkin Bread, which wasn’t from the cookbook, but was a tasty treat. It had a cinnamon sugar topping that added a bit of crunch and spice on top of a nice pumpkin flavor.

Heather also made Passionfruit Butter, which wasn’t from the cookbook, but was absolutely fantastic on all of the different breads. It further confirms my belief that more things should be made with passionfruit. And I adore flavored butters.

Brian made Traditional Hawaiian Haupia. It’s a refreshing coconut treat – just a touch of sweetness, with a consistency halfway between jello and pudding. It would have been great with some tropical fruit.

Miwako made Traditional New Zealand Trifle. This is a gorgeous layered dessert, which Miwako made even more stunning with her beautiful fruit design on top. It was also delicious (another one of my faves), with layers of sponge cake, coconut rum-soaked fruit, cream sauce, strawberry purée, and papaya-lilikoi sauce. So good!

Heather also brought fixings for the fanciest S’mores ever – waffle cookies; dark and milk chocolate; peppermint, coconut, and chocolate marshmallows; candied lemon topping! This wasn’t from the cookbook, but you can’t have a bonfire without S’mores, and in proper Cookbook Club fashion these were the most gourmet (and best) S’mores I’ve ever had.

Kris also made Sangria, which wasn’t from the cookbook, but was a great beverage for our beach bonfire. It was fruity, but not too sweet as some sangrias can tend to be.