Shayna made Masala Kale Chips. These were delicious – one of my favorite dishes of the night. They had a super light crispness and were packed with flavor. I’ve been wondering what to do with the nutritional yeast that somehow appeared in my pantry… now I’ve found my solution.

Rachel made Chapatis (Whole-Wheat Griddle Breads) and four different Chutneys – Date-Tamarind, Green (Cilantro, Mint & Bell Pepper), Ketchup, and Ruby Red (Cranberry-Pomegranate with Orange, Black Peppercorns & Coriander). It’s always fun to have bread and multiple dips/spreads. My favorite was the Date-Tamarind Chutney.

Sheana made Raita (Cucumber, Mint & Yogurt Salad). I’ve had raita many times before, and always found it to be a pleasant accompaniment to other Indian dishes, but not something I gave much more thought to than that. So I was happily surprised to find that I found this raita particularly tasty, so much so that I went back for more raita to eat on a chapati.

Erin made The Girly Salad (Fennel & Grapefruit with Black Olives & Coriander Dressing). I loved the crunchy texture of this salad, but found the flavor somewhat lacking. The citrus was nice, but other than that it just seemed to lack zing.

Drew made Cauliflower Steaks with Limey Yogurt. I really liked this dish. The seasoning coating the cauliflower was great, and the lime yogurt complemented it with a nice acidic pop. This is a cauliflower execution I will add to my list for the future.

BA made Sambar (South Indian Vegetable Stew). I found this stew to be fairly bland. It felt as though I could detect the hint of some good flavors, but there needed to be a whole lot more of the seasoning relative to the volume of vegetables.

Julian made “Juldi Juldi” Everyday Veggies. This dish was also uninspiring. Similar to the vegetable stew, I found myself searching for the flavors. I definitely wanted at least a bit of salt.

Julian also made High-Five Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (Baked Sweet Potato with Tahini, Chickpeas, Pine Nuts & Pomegranate Seeds). This was easily the most beautiful dish of the night, so I had high hopes that the experience for my tastebuds would match the experience of my eyes. Unfortunately, the flavor didn’t live up to the aesthetic.

Barbara made Saag Paneer. Yum, what’s not to love about greens and cheese? The spices coated the paneer and soaked into the saag really nicely. It was drier than the saag paneers that I’ve had in the past, but very tasty. And I found that the dryness grew on me as I ate, because the greens maintained a bit of chew rather than becoming mush.

Kamy made Mum’s Everyday Dal (Red Lentils with Sizzling Spiced Oil). I was excited for this dal, as it was one of the dishes I had considered making, particularly because sizzling spiced oil sounded great to me. I was disappointed to find that this was another case where I felt like the spices were there, but needed to be amped up.

I made Sunny-Side Pulao (Black-Eyed Pea Pilaf). This was a tasty rice dish, with a nice spice to it. I tasted it when it was done cooking, and then couldn’t stop myself from spooning several more bites into my face before packing it up to take to the party. Good on its own, but also great for soaking up the sauces of many of the other dishes.

Brian made “Pleasantly Plump” Arayes (Lebanese Spiced Beef Pitas). The filling in these was yummy, and credit to Brian for the most perfect grill marks on these pitas! I went back to get seconds, but they were all gone, so I clearly wasn’t the only one who enjoyed the arayes.

Anthony made Meatball Curry. He did a test-run on this dish and found it a bit bland, so pepped it up using his judgment and cooking skills. I think this definitely helped, but it still wasn’t a curry that blew my mind.

Kris made Kheema (Ground Beef Sauteed with Spices & Vinegar). He found that this dish also lacked something, so he hit it up with some fish sauce to enhance the flavor. This was another dish that I found passable, but not something I would seek out again.

Erin also made Pout-Plumping Wings (Pomegranate-Sriracha Chicken Wings). I was drawn in by the title of this recipe, and looked forward to finding out if it would match my expectations. Again, I was searching for the zing that would have made these special, but felt like I’ve had many other renditions of wings that I would go to over these.

Cindy made Fish Chowder for the Idea Man (Dill, Cilantro & Coconut Milk Fish Chowder). I loved this chowder, definitely one of my favorite dishes of the night. But Cindy said she used substantially more of the seasonings than what the recipe called for, so perhaps thats the key.

John made Basic Chicken Curry. I think “basic” was an apropos title. It was a perfectly edible curry, but I’ve had many that were better. Just nothing that really got my tastebuds tingling.

Jamie made Chicken Tikka Masala (Charred Chicken in Creamy Tomato Curry). This was a dish I went back for more of. I was so happy for the rice and grains she provided to soak up tons of the delicious creamy tomato curry sauce.

Jamie also made Lucia-Lucica Fried Rice (Indian-Style Fried Rice with Chorizo, Peanuts & Mustard Seeds). It took a few seconds for the depth and breadth of flavors in this rice to spread around my tongue, but I found that this dish got better and better with every bite. I’d eat it again for sure.

Melanie made Apple Galettes with Pink Salt & Pepper Caramel Sauce. I really enjoyed the touch of spice that the pink peppercorns brought to the galette, and they looked cool too! Just the right amount of sweet, salty, and peppery to make for a great apple dessert.

Rachel also made Huggy Buggy Bread Pudding (Coconut-Cashew Bread Pudding). This sounded like a version of bread pudding I could really get behind. It was tasty, but not as wonderful as I’d imagined it might be.

Anthony also made a bonus strawberry cake with creme fraiche ice cream and cherries jubilee. What happens when you have a party full of foodies? Dishes get lit on fire… intentionally 🙂 Anthony’s ice cream is always a treat, but especially when topped with flaming cherries!

Erin also made bonus spiced sweet potato and chocolate chip cupcakes with labneh frosting. This was from Erin’s brilliant mind, not the cookbook. OMG I can’t stop thinking about that labneh frosting. She said it was simply labneh, powdered sugar, and maple syrup. I’m thinking up things to bake just so that I have a vehicle for more labneh frosting.