Rita made Chorizo Fundido from Chef John’s Food Wishes. She also supplied tortilla chips to scoop up mouthfuls of this delicious dip made with a variety of cheeses and peppers. I liked how the top of the cheese browned when baked, and the chorizo added great flavor.

Heather made Harper’s Special Bean Recipe. Since Harper is only three years old and not quite ready to be excited about the other dishes, Heather brought a bean dip of her own creation that’s a favorite of Harper’s. Yum – Harper has good taste and is a future Cookbook Clubber in the making!

Rayann made Green Chile Stew with Hominy and Plant-Based Meat from America’s Test Kitchen. I adore hominy and was glad for the opportunity to eat it in this stew. There were several people at the event who had never eaten Beyond Meat before, and they raved about how this dish was so tasty they never would have known it was fake meat.

Ryan made Red Pozole from Chef John’s Food Wishes. Utilizing three kinds of pork plus hominy (hooray for more hominy!), this was a seriously rich stew that was right up my alley. My mouth is watering just thinking back on it.

Acacia made Cheese-Chile Corn Squares from Joy of Cooking. She said they were sort of like tamale brownies, which I think was a very apt description! The consensus was these were great, and probably would have been even better when hot. I had the pleasure of taking a leftover one home, and can confirm that eating it warm was quite the delight.

I made Spicy Spanish-Style Rice from Chef John’s Food Wishes. The flavor was fantastic, though be warned that with a combination of jalapeno, chili powder, chipotle, and cayenne it definitely had some kick. My only complaint – the rice was a bit crunchy inside at first. Luckily it sat in the pot awhile and softened up by the time we got to this course.

Heather also made Easy Red Chicken Enchiladas from Chef John’s Food Wishes. The sauce had a delicious complexity, which she said was thanks to a ton of different ingredients. But despite the multitude of ingredients, she reported it was in fact an easy dish. I’m happy to hear it because I’d like to eat those enchiladas again.

Chris made Cinco de Mayo Salsa Cruda from Chef John’s Food Wishes. Super fresh and bright – it was a nice complement to pretty much every savory dish we had. Chris didn’t want to salt it in advance because the tomatoes would release all their liquid, so adding a touch of salt just before eating was perfect.

Kamy made Mexican Grilled Corn from Chef John’s Food Wishes. I love elote and make it fairly regularly. I’ll admit I’m partial to my version, but in fairness Kamy had to make these in advance and I think they suffered from not having freshly applied sauce that would have helped more cotija cheese stick to the corn.

Kris made Chipotle Mushroom and Cauliflower Tacos from America’s Test Kitchen. The crema sauce and quick pickled red onions were perfect toppings to complement a really satisfying vegetarian filling. The whole experience was a tasty treat, but I would have sought out the recipe for the quick pickling technique alone!

Ryan also made Mexican-Style Shrimp Cocktail from Chef John’s Food Wishes. I truly regret that I was so full at this point in the meal that I could only eat a couple bites of this shrimp cocktail. I really wanted more of this yumminess, but there just wasn’t room in my tummy.

Sheila made Esquites (Mexican Corn Salad) from America’s Test Kitchen. I always think of esquites as elote but with the corn already removed from the cob. Which makes it easier to quickly consume large quantities of deliciousness… I guess that could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it.

Anthony made Tres Leches Cake from Joy of Cooking. I’m always a fan of the moistness of tres leches. This one had a meringue topping. Anthony mentioned that next time he would just make it with a whipped cream topping, and I concur as I’m not a big proponent of meringue.

Anthony also made Chocolate Ice Cream from Joy of Cooking and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies from America’s Test Kitchen. They went really well together. I took two cookies home with me, and wish that there was a way I could have taken some ice cream too.

Kamy also made Beatty’s Chocolate Cake. This was a Barefoot Contessa recipe so not from any of our official sources for this event, but of course we’re always happy to have bonus dishes! My favorite aspect of this cake was the coffee flavor that was in both the cake and the frosting.