I made Crispy Yangnyeom Chickpeas with Caramelized Honey from Korean American. Crispy, spicy-sweet deliciousness! The recipe only makes one can of chickpeas, but lots of people expressed their wish that there was more, so I’ll have to make a triple recipe next time!

Rita made Smashed Cucumber Salad from Chef John’s Food Wishes. She said she was happy that there was a video to demonstrate how to go about smashing those cucumbers. A refreshingly tasty dish that apparently is good to make when you need to work out some aggression 🙂

Rita also made Lebanese Salad from Magnolia Table. She said the recipe only called for tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, lemon, olive oil, salt, and pepper, which is much plainer than is traditional, so she added things like dill and feta. Everyone agreed her additions helped what otherwise would have been a forgettable dish.

Brad made Polenta Cakes with Shiitake Mushrooms, Roasted Garlic, and Thyme from Graze. I enjoyed this the first time we had it at a Cookbook Club event, and was happy to get to eat it again. Brad did mention that as opposed to many of the recipes from Graze that are super easy to make, this one takes a bit of time and effort.

Drew made Dan Dan Mian from The Woks of Life. Many people commented particularly on the Sichuan pepper, but I think what made this dish really wonderful was that there were many layers of flavor. Drew did mention he couldn’t find the preserved mustard greens the recipe called for, so he substituted with a different pickled vegetable.

In order to make the Dan Dan Mian, Drew also made Chili Oil from The Woks of Life. I adore chili oil and was happy to try it on all sorts of things throughout the meal. Drew also used some of it to make bonus spicy nuts, which were a tasty treat to munch on between courses.

Greg made Stir Fry Bok Choy from The Wok. He noted that even though he started out with two big bunches of bok choy, they cooked down to a tiny portion. The taste was great, and it definitely left us wanting more!

Eileen made Corner Shop Spanakopita from River Cottage Veg. She was concerned that the recipe tried to over-simplify, for example not even including a bottom crust. She added a bottom crust and some additional seasoning. I don’t know what it would have been like otherwise, but it was a good dish with her adjustments.

Naran made Eggplant and Green Bean Curry from River Cottage Veg. He noted that the recipe called for 6 eggplants, which seemed excessive. He cut it down to 3 eggplants and it still made a massive amount! The general consensus was the flavors could have been a little stronger, and many people used Drew’s chili oil to enhance them.

Daphne made Spanish Chicken with Potato Roast. She said that the recipe called for only one teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of paprika. She deemed that to be not nearly enough and used a lot more. I’d say that was a good call – I suspect it would have been underwhelming otherwise.

Chris made Vegetable Risotto from The Food Lab. There was no parmesan in this recipe, which I found exceedingly strange. As a result, it lacked the creaminess and umami we’re accustomed to with risotto. The group agreed it was a good rice dish with lots of nice vegetables, but not really risotto.

Ryan made Mapo Tofu with Pork from The Wok. It didn’t pack as much punch as I like in my mapo tofu, but Ryan did mention he went easy on the spice for those who don’t go for super spicy. I amped up the dish with some of the XO Pepperoni Sauce that Ryan also made from The Wok. While definitely not the traditional XO sauce flavor that I’m used to, I did enjoy it.

Ryan also made Sichuan Dry-Fried Beef from The Wok. This dish was a hit! Even though by this point in the meal many people were so full that they were opting out of courses, when people started tasting this one pretty much everyone felt the need to at least try a bite… and then went back for more until there was none left!

Laura made Brown Butter Brownies from Graze. I am a fan of a chewy brownie, and the texture of these met my approval. The sprinkling of salt was a great touch, and I especially enjoyed these brownies topped with a scoop of the bonus egg nog ice cream that Anthony made.

Anthony made Aunt Opal’s Coconut Cream Pie from Magnolia Table. The meringue ended up flat and the crust got terribly stuck to the pan, but despite all that this was a fantastic pie. The texture of the crust was good once pried off the pan, and the filling flavor was on point.