Alyssa made Dal and Pumpkin Soup. The soup itself was warm and comforting with nice flavors, but what really made this dish for me was the onion topping, which added texture and a pop of spice that played really well with the subtle sweetness of the pumpkin.

Alyssa also made Spiced Roast Potatoes with Yogurt and Mint. I am not generally much of a potato fan, but I must say I really enjoyed the couple bites of this that I tried. The mint and yogurt topping added good freshness and acidity, and the potato itself had nice spice. People were raving about how good this dish was, and it went fast.

Riley made Baked Onions with Parmesan and Cream. You can’t go wrong with onions baked in heavy cream and cheese. The onions were tender and soaked up lots of yummy cream, and the parmesan added salty, crispy bits. The pieces were huge, which made it hard when we had so many dishes to try, but would be great when you just have one or two sides.

I made Peas with Lemon and Mint. I liked the freshness that the lemon and mint brought to this dish, and it was nice to have peas with a little bit of twist as it seems like peas are always served in such a basic manner. They were dead simple to make and I’d definitely do them again, though I’d just cook the peas until hot rather than the 8 minutes the recipe called for, so they would stay bright green instead of starting to turn brownish. Also it makes a tiny portion!

Amy made Cabbage with Orange and Juniper. She had juniper berries left over from the recipe she made from The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, so was happy to find another dish to utilize them. The cabbage wasn’t as flavorful as I’d hoped – I thought it would have more tang from the orange, lemon, and berries, but instead it seemed a bit flat.

Adrienne made Marinated Feta and Artichoke Salad. Not only did this dish look beautiful, it was also delicious! The oil absorbed so much great herb flavor and was a wonderful marinade for the feta, which was salty goodness against the nutty sweetness of the artichoke. I can see more marinated feta in my future.

Michelle made Cannellini Beans with Coppa, Spinach, and Mustard. This salad seemed so simple, but I loved it. The dressing was basically olive oil, mustard, red wine vinegar, and thyme. But it was so good on the spinach, and the beans and coppa added just enough substance and meatiness to make it feel like much more than a bowl of spinach.

Shayna made Orecchiette with Roast Tomato and Basil Sauce. This sounded so good to me, so I was surprised to find it was a bit on the bland side. Even topped with parmesan, I think it needed a bit more salt to bring out the flavors. And maybe more garlic!

Renea made Chickpeas with Harissa, Basil, and Prosciutto. Despite this dish being full of ingredients I love, I found it to have a disappointing “one-note”-ness. The tomato flavor seemed to overpower everything, somehow masking the spice of the harissa, the pepperiness of the basil, and even the wonderful salty prosciutto.

Michael made Thai Fish Cakes with A Deep, Sweet Dipping Sauce. I was excited to try these, as they were one of the recipes I considered making. I really liked the dipping sauce, though the fish cakes were denser and chewier than I expected them to be.

Suzy made Chicken Patties with Rosemary and Pancetta. These were not bad, but nothing that really stood out, as though they were missing something to give them punch. The sauce was just chicken stock that the patties were cooked in, and didn’t add much. Perhaps they needed more rosemary? Suzy mentioned that the recipe called for 3 sprigs, but rosemary sprigs can vary quite a bit in size.

Jennifer made Chicken with Mustard Seed and Coconut Milk. I really liked the flavors of this dish, though it would have been great if they were more concentrated, maybe by reducing the sauce (which was pretty runny, apparently from all the liquid that the tomatoes released). I also would have been happy to have a bit more spice – the recipe called for seeding the chili peppers, but I think it would have been fine to keep the seeds in.

Erin made Sauteed Chicken with Spices, Fennel and Cream. This was one of my favorites of the night. The spices and fennel lent fantastic flavor to the chicken and cream sauce, which absorbed into the rice for an absolutely yummy dish that I would happily eat as a meal. I was reminded how much I like fennel!

Drew made Braised Oxtail. Also one of the hits of the meal. I am partial to oxtail, but even those who’d never had it before really enjoyed this dish, and the meat was tender enough to pull chunks off for those who didn’t want to tackle the odd-shaped bones. The cooking liquid included a whole bottle of red wine, which cooked down into a wonderful sticky gravy.

Laura made Lemon Amaretti Cream Pots. I first have to give props to Laura, who was feeling too under-the-weather to stay for the dinner, but made these cream pots and dropped them off for the rest of us to enjoy… that’s dedication to the Cookbook Club! It was also a really nice dessert – the lemon and yogurt brought a bit of tartness and the amaretti added another dimension of flavor and crunch.

Revi made Lemon Trifle. She did a lovely job piping the whipped cream into this gorgeous creation, and she homemade the ladyfingers – talk about overachieving! And the trifle didn’t just present nicely – it was also layers of tasty goodness. What’s not to like about liqueur-soaked ladyfingers, lemon curd, and cream?