Greg made Heavenly Deviled Eggs. The recipe says that the touch of heat is what makes them heavenly, but to be honest I didn’t get much heat from them and wished there had been more. A solid deviled egg, but not the best one I’ve ever had.

Nora made Roasted Baba Ghanoush. Years ago at a friend’s Sukkot celebration I had the best baba ghanoush of my life. Ever since then I’ve excitedly tried every baba ghanoush I come across, hoping to find its match. This wasn’t it. The general consensus was most people have had better.

Nora also made Skordalia. I didn’t know what it was, but after having a bite I immediately sought out Nora to find out. A blend of potato, white bread, almonds, garlic, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt, and pepper – this is an incredible dip that I look forward to making myself.

Daphne made Creamy Tomato Soup. Of all the tomato soups I’ve consumed to this point, I’d put it solidly in the middle of the pack – nothing mind-blowing, but I wouldn’t turn it down, especially if accompanied by a nice grilled cheese sandwich.

Sofia made Borscht. I haven’t had many opportunities to eat borscht so I don’t have much to compare it to, but I really enjoyed this one. I really like beets, and their natural sweetness was complemented nicely by the sour cream. Note to self – seek out more borscht.

Nick made Gina’s Glazed Ginger Carrots. He did have to tinker with the recipe – removing the carrots so they wouldn’t get overcooked while he reduced the glaze. But the end result was gingery sweet decadence. As one Cookbook Clubber noted however – with brown sugar, maple syrup, and molasses… probably not very good for you.

John made Honey-Roasted Carrots. I think these might have suffered from the unlucky circumstance of my trying them just after eating Gina’s Glazed Ginger Carrots. Compared to those, the Honey-Roasted Carrots just seemed a bit plain.

Alyssa and Michael made Star Slaw. It was in the menu for An Academy Awards Bash, which we all had a laugh over as I’m not sure what about slaw says Oscars. I like a good slaw, but didn’t think this particular one was anything to write home about.

Alyssa and Michael also made Spicy Sesame Noodles. They used tahini instead of peanut butter… so I don’t know how it would have been with peanut butter, but this tahini version was a winner. A top pick for many of the Cookbook Clubbers, including me.

Heather and Harper made Lemon-Mustard Broiled Flounder. One of the best dishes of the meal for me – the mustard, lemon zest, and parsley butter was incredible broiled into the fish and with a bit more dabbed on top. Even my husband loved it, and he claims not to like cooked fish or mustard.

Rayann made Moroccan Roasted Halibut. This was a tasty mixture of fish, tomatoes, chickpeas, and raisins. The chickpeas gave it body, and the sweetness of the raisins were a nice counterpoint to the acidity of the tomatoes.

Rayann also made Fluffy Couscous to go with the Moroccan Roasted Halibut. It was a great vehicle for soaking up the sauce from the halibut with all its wonderful spices and herbs.

Anthony made Next-Day Creamy Chicken Potpie. This was one of my favorite dishes of the night – the filling was deliciously creamy and the crust was great. I was reminded how much I like potpie, and happily went back for seconds.

I made Bali Chicken. Marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, lemon juice, cumin, and turmeric, then cooked in white wine – several people commented how exciting this recipe sounded. It was tasty, but somehow didn’t live up to the expectation I’d built up in my mind.

Drew made Butter Balls. To me these cookies always look so plain that I’m never drawn to them. But it’s Cookbook Club so of course I had to try one, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it… enough to go back for a second one!

Heather and Harper also made Raspberry Linzer Hearts… but even better because Heather used three different kinds of her own homemade jam – cherry hibiscus rose, blueberry lavender, and loquat star anise. The two I got to try were fantastic, and I deeply regretted not getting to try all three.

Katherine made Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. She used fresh pineapple instead of canned, which I think really brought this cake to the next level – the pineapple had a crisper texture that caramelized nicely. I know what I’m doing with my next fresh pineapple!

Ingrid made Tres Leches Cake. This was a bonus recipe not from the cookbook, but we’ll never complain about extra dessert. And what a gorgeous presentation with edible flowers as topping!