Jeff made Brown Rice Horchata. I’m always happy when I have an opportunity to have horchata – I enjoy the comforting nuttiness of it. This was a good one.

Jeff also made Vanilla Bean Limeade. I am a sucker for limeade, so I loved this drink! Despite trying all the other drinks and having coffee, I went back for seconds of the limeade.

Brian made Ginger Molasses Cinnamon Shrub. Mixed with a healthy portion of sparkling water, I really liked the vinegar-y fizz of this drink.

Brian also made Turmeric Tonic. It was tasty and had a bright beautiful color. Apparently it’s also supposed to be really good for you!

Anthony made Kefir with Blueberries and Bananas. This was not from the cookbook, but was great to have as part of the brunch.

Jesse made vodka cocktails, which weren’t in the cookbook, but used Sqirl’s Strawberry Rhubarb Jam mixed with vodka and lemon juice. They were pretty strong, so I added some of the limeade to mine, and it was great.

Jesse also made Brown Rice Porridge. This porridge had a touch of sweetness to it, which you could amplify by topping with jam. Perhaps it’s just that I’m used to the savory rice porridge my family makes, but I didn’t love this version. I wanted salty rather than sweet.

I made Charred Tomato Soup with Mint and Croutons. The recipe said it could be served hot or cold – for ease of transporting and serving potluck style, I went with cold. I’m not normally big on cold soups, but it was quite nice.

Sheana made Preserved Lemons. They weren’t ready yet, so we didn’t get to try them. What a tease!

Brian made The Sprouty Pod – mung bean sprouts, crunchy buckwheat, and roasted delicata squash with pomegranate, labneh, and cilantro pistou. It was gorgeous and very reminiscent of one of the dishes from Jerusalem which I had very much enjoyed.

Colin made Brussels Sprouts Two Ways – shaved raw and pan-roasted Brussels sprouts with roasted pears. These weren’t as exciting as I though they were going to be. And Colin said it was a lot of work to do the shaved Brussels sprouts.

Michael made Kabbouleh. This recipe includes some of the crispy rice that Jessica Koslow is known for. The rice was my favorite part, adding a toasty crunchiness to what otherwise seemed like a pretty standard kale salad.

Cindy made Vegetally Versatile Frittata. This was a surprise favorite for me. Not only did Cindy present it beautifully, going half carrot and half green and topping it with a wonderful radish and herb salad, but the flavors were fresh and vibrant. One of the best frittatas I’ve ever had.

Erin and Mollie made Socca (chickpea flour pancakes). The recipe suggested spicing up the accompanying labneh with ras el hanout or za’atar, so they did one of each. Topped with labneh and arugula salad, these were hearty and fresh, though I imagine when they were fresh out of the pan they had a crispness from the browning that would have made them better.

John made Buckwheat Pancakes with Cocoa Nib Pudding, only he did them as waffles instead of pancakes. He actually brought the waffle iron to the party and cooked them up fresh! As you can see, the suggested presentation was stunning, and waffles topped with chocolate pudding and pomegranate are delicious.

John also made banana bread. It wasn’t from the cookbook, but we’re always happy to have bonus food!

Colin made bonus pumpkin bread. Two loaves! I didn’t mind, because that meant I got to take some pumpkin bread home with me.

Colin made bonus English Muffins too. It was great to have these for trying the various jams. And I just think it’s so cool that he home-makes English Muffins.

Jennifer made Flaky-ass Biscuits. These were indeed extremely flaky. Even at room temp they were great, so I bet they would have been awesome hot out of the oven with a touch of butter.

Jennifer also made Shady Lady Tomato and Coriander Jam to go with the biscuits. I didn’t know what to expect from this jam, so was happily pleased with how much I liked this savory sweet jam.

Jesse made Onion Jam. I adore how slow-cooking onions brings out their natural sweetness. The addition of Worcestershire sauce in this recipe added a nice tart layer to the flavors. This jam was great with pretty much all of the savory dishes.

Sheana made Raspberry Cardamom Jam. At first I thought it was a tasty jam, but not all that different from any other raspberry jam. Then I had some great bites where the cardamom flavor really came through. So my enjoyment was somewhat inconsistent from bite to bite as there seemed to be pockets of cardamom.

Brian also made Chickpea Stew with Chard, Poached Eggs, and Smoked Chile. This was one of my favorite dishes of the brunch. The chickpeas had a wonderful smokiness, which was such a fantastic flavor combination with the aioli, egg yolk, and a bit of chard for freshness. Yum!

Heather made Breakfast Sausage. To accompany the sausage, she made Creme Fraiche which she borrowed from the Avocado Toast recipe. This was a brilliant idea. The sausage was tasty on its own, but the creme fraiche topping brought it to a whole other level of goodness.

Erin made Chicken Kofte on rosemary sprigs with garlic schmear and cabbage kumquat salad. I was amazed how much the rosemary flavor infused into the chicken, and I love all things garlic so thought it was great with the schmear. The biggest surprise – my favorite part of this dish was the cabbage kumquat salad which I felt really brought it all together!

Alyssa made Braised Duck Legs with Dill Spatzle. I have never met a duck I didn’t like, so of course this dish was a hit with me, but it was actually the spatzle that I was especially drawn to. Alyssa said the spatzle was a real pain to make, but it was a great almost creamy base for the duck.

Erin made lacto-fermented kraut. This was not from the cookbook, but she had some on hand so brought it to complement Alyssa’s duck legs, since that recipe had several components and Alyssa decided not to make the sauerkraut portion.

Tracey made Black Cod Ceviche with Purple Yam and Aguachile. She used white cod instead of black cod. I had my doubts about yam in ceviche, but it turned out I quite liked this dish. The cod and yam really absorbed the salty acidic aguachile flavors that I am a fan of.

Brian was the over-achiever of the party for sure, making five dishes, the last of which was Carrot-Ginger Black Sesame Loaf. I was lukewarm on this cake – I thought it was a bit dry and found the hardness of the thick black sesame topping distracted me from the flavors. But others sang the praises of this loaf, so what do I know!

Tracey and Sheana teamed up to make the Hazelnut Torte with Raspberry Jam, Ganache, and Toasted Meringue. Tracey made the torte and meringue, while Sheana contributed the chocolate ganache and jam. We got to witness them assembling the whole thing and then toasting the meringue! I loved the way all of the flavors came together, though some people thought the torte was too nutty.

Anthony made Malva Pudding Cake. The recipe called for making individual mini cakes, but Anthony decided to simplify his life by making it as one larger cake. The filling gets poured on after baking – the picture in the cookbook shows this filling seeping out the bottom and hardening. Not sure how that’s supposed to happen, but it never solidified for us. The first bite of this cake was rich sweetness, but then too much to keep eating. It needed whipped cream or ice cream to cut the richness.

Shayna made Cardamom Doughnut-ish Tea Cakes. She presented them in super-cute egg carton packaging. These poppable treats were moist bites of cinnamon sugar yumminess that were fun to eat.

Heather also made two kinds of holiday truffles – peppermint in dark chocolate, and cinnamon vanilla bean sugar cookie in white chocolate. These were not from the cookbook, but as always Heather’s truffles were fabulous and presented beautifully.