Lorrayne made Chicken Soup with Toasted Garlic, Mushrooms, and Celery. She got mixed wild mushrooms from the farmers’ market. This soup was incredible – hearty, warming, and full of flavor. I ate a whole bowl even though there was so much other food to try.

Naran made Turmeric-Roasted Carrots with Seeds and Labne. I love the aesthetics of this dish, and it had great flavor too. The carrots were yummy on their own, but were also really good with the greens and yogurt as a complete salad.

Hector made Vinegared Romaine with Sour Cream, Bacon, and Herbs. As you can see, it had a whole lot of wonderfully crispy bacon which of course was great. And even with all that bacon, the crisp freshness of the romaine and pickled shallots was a nice accompaniment to all the meaty dishes of the meal.

Austin made Butter-Tossed Radishes with Fresh Za’atar. I was really excited to try these because I enjoy radishes and wish they were used more, but I’m disappointed to say these weren’t much to talk about. Though Austin did accidentally use white wine instead of white vinegar, so I’d be interested to try them again when made according to the recipe.

Austin also made The Best Baked Beans. As opposed to radishes, I don’t generally get amped for baked beans, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really liked these. They were, in fact, the best baked beans I’ve ever eaten.

Amy made Split Pea Salad. What’s not to like about split peas and a whole lot of bacon! This dish tasted great, and was a fun take on an old favorite – who knew “dry” split pea soup would be so good?

I made Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Hot Honey Browned Butter. This dish is super simple to make, and glorious to eat. I never make sweet potatoes because I hadn’t found any I was really in love with… until now. I already made these again a few days after the Cookbook Club dinner, and I’ve put it on my shopping list to go buy more sweet potatoes.

Martha made Clam Pasta with Chorizo and Walnuts. I would have loved to be able to taste this one when it was freshly cooked and hot. It was cold by the time we were eating, and I enjoyed it, but I tend to like my food really hot and found myself imagining what this dish would have been like hot off the stove.

Brian made Skillet Chicken with Crushed Olives and Sumac. The olives, herbs, and onions were the stars of this dish, while the chicken itself was somewhat uninspiring. I’m usually very much a meat eater, but in this case I was happy just munching on all the other bits.

Jeff made Cumin Lamb Chops with Charred Scallions and Peanuts. They were cold by the time we ate, but they were so tender and it made me happy to gnaw the meat off the bone while drinking some wine. I bet these were even better when still hot.

Jen made Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder with Garlic, Citrus, and Cilantro. The second she took the lid off, everyone was commenting about the aromas coming from this pot… and the flavors did not disappoint. The meat was so juicy and full of citrus garlicky goodness.

Hector also made Lemon Shaker Tart. He said it called for a lot more flour than he’s accustomed to using in lemon shaker tarts, which I do think made the texture less custardy. This was a solid lemon dessert, though nothing to blow your mind.

Barbara made Blueberry Cake with Almond and Cinnamon. There were a lot of blueberries in this cake, which normally is not something I would complain about, but it did drown out the almond flavor a bit. It was tasty, but Barbara thought if she made it again she’d use almond extract instead of vanilla and maybe add amaretto, which I think sounded like a great idea.

Eileen made Strawberry Shortcake Cobbler. Yum, the strawberry filling was delicious and the texture of the shortcakes was really nice. I took a little leftover home because I was so full I couldn’t eat more than a couple bites at the party – it was still good the next day.

Laura made Chocolate-Tahini Tart with Crunchy Salt. This was my favorite of the desserts. Super rich and dark chocolate-y, so you only needed a small piece to feel really satisfied. And of course I loved the flaky sea salt on top to complement the sweetness of the chocolate.