Brad made Ginger Syrup, which he mixed with lime juice, club soda, and vodka. It was a bit on the sweet side for me, but after adding more club soda I thoroughly enjoyed it. He also did a non-alcoholic rendition without the vodka.

Rita made Sardine Dip, which she served with bread and crackers. She said it was very quick and easy to make, just as the recipe indicated. It was a tasty appetizer.

Kathleen made Tomato Tarte Tatin. She topped half of it with caramelized onions and left half without. While the concept of this dish sounded great to me, the dough seemed soggy and undercooked.

Brad also made Margarita Pizzas with his homemade sourdough crust. These were at their best hot out of the oven. The crust edges were a bit dry, especially after sitting for awhile.

I made Braised Belgian Endives. I cooked them a lot less than the recommended cooking time, removing them from the heat once they were tender. I think they would have gotten quite mushy if I’d left them on. They tasted fine but not particularly memorable.

Ahuva made A Greek Salad for the Gods. It was a nice refreshing salad with good crunch from the cucumbers, acidity from the tomatoes, and some salty tang from the feta.

Shayna also made A Greek Salad for the Gods, but with the optional mint. I would have thought that I’d like the extra layer of flavor from the mint, but actually found that I preferred the version without mint.

John made Greek Stuffed Peppers. These looked gorgeous. But the rice was undercooked, and I found the hard bits so distracting that I couldn’t even focus on whether or not I liked the flavor of the filling.

Tracey made Papoutsakia – Greek Stuffed Eggplants. I really enjoyed these. The meat filling was great with the tomato topping and the nicely cooked eggplant with creamy flesh and crisp skin.

Anthony made Mornay Sauce, which he served over pasta. This recipe omits the traditional egg yolk and uses olive oil instead of butter. I am normally a big fan of this creamy cheesy sauce, but I found this version to be bland.

Miwako made Dandelion Pesto, which she served over pasta. I fully support the concept of pesto utilizing different kinds of bitter greens. This dandelion pesto lacked some depth of flavor, though I suspect it was more to do with its not having cheese than the type of greens used.

Miwako also made Tasty and Healthy Sesame Noodles. I liked this cool and fresh noodle dish. It had great layers of flavor, with the five-spice and honey complementing the sesame nicely.

Kris made Tomato Fish Soup. This was a hearty and flavorful soup. The shrimp and fish soaked up the flavor blend of tomato, white wine, and spices in the rich broth.

Cindy made Belgian Beef Carbonnade. As she described it, it’s a stew of beef and beer. That sounded pretty great to me, but it felt like it was missing just a little something to punch up the flavor.

Sheana made Coconut Cream Pudding. This was one of my favorite dishes of the party. It was a tasty dessert treat, light and not too sweet, creamy with some texture from the toasted coconut.

Brad also made Sourdough Brownies. These used his homemade sourdough starter. I like my brownies soft and chewy – these were a little on the dense side and I wanted stronger chocolate flavor.

Erin made Bumbleberry Pie. In case you didn’t know (I didn’t), Bumbleberry means mixed berries and apple. Erin modified the filling and added an adorable top crust. It was delicious.

Anthony also made Blueberry Frozen Yogurt. This dish was not from the blog, but that’s ok because it was darn good! Refreshing and full of real blueberries.

Miwako also made Blueberry Cheese Mochi. These were also not from the blog. They were so beautifully made that at first I thought they were store-bought. But they were better than any store-bought mochi I’ve ever had.