Brad made Deviled Eggs with Chicken-Skin Mayo. The chicken-skin mayo is what makes this dish, but it actually gets spread on the bottom of the platter with the eggs on top, so we were all scraping up as much of it as possible. Brad felt this dish was a pain in the *ss to make, as it required frying chicken in order to make the mayo, but we all thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of his labor.

Jesse made Corn-Oyster Soup. This was one of the dishes I had considered doing, so I was looking forward to tasting it. Upon reading the recipe name, both he and I had thought it was going to be like a chowder. It’s actually more of a brothy soup, but delicious, especially topped with the oyster Jesse freshly shucked. I would make this in the future.

Cindy made Tomato-Watermelon Salad with Burrata and Tomato Seed Vinaigrette. I have to acknowledge upfront that I am not a fan of watermelon (yes, I’ve been told that’s crazy), so this dish was facing an uphill battle to impress me. I found it meh, but that was the general concensus, especially from Cindy who felt it certainly wasn’t worth the hours of effort it took to make.

Shayna made Corn Bread. As always, she plated them corn bread beautifully with these fun rooster toothpicks. But the thematic presentation was the best thing about it. The corn bread had an unremarkable flavor, and an off-putting texture – too dense and almost oily feeling.

Alyssa made Brown Butter Biscuits. Danielle also made Brown Butter Bisuits, with Apple Saffron Jam and Caramelized Chestnuts. I love biscuits, and these were good. I bet they were really good hot out of the oven. Even at room temperature, you can’t go wrong topping them with jam and chestnuts.

Colin made Charred Red Cabbage, Mushroom Farro Risotto. This was a surprise winner for me. With all the meaty goodness happening at this dinner, I wasn’t expecting much from a bowl of grains and cabbage. But the farro had great texture and was complemented perfectly by the grilled flavor of the red cabbage.

Brian made Peas and Rice, Good for a Crowd. I love rice, even the smell of plain rice cooking gets my stomach growling. Reading this recipe, I thought this dish sounded right up my alley. Surprisingly, I found it a bit bland and uninspired.

Brian also made Picklz. I like that pickled things are trending right now. In my opinion you can’t go wrong with the tang and crunch. These met that criteria, so while there was nothing to say they were the most mind-blowing pickled things I’ve ever had, they were a nice addition to the meal.

I made the Roasted Turnips Dduk. I like turnips, and wish they were a more oft-used vegetable. I also love the chewy Korean rice cakes called dduk (which I wish I knew how to pronounce). This dish was easy to make, and the result was a lovely blend of spicy, savory, and sweet. I’ll definitely be making this again.

Sheana made Killer Collards. As she was making the spiced butter for this dish, she messaged us all to say how insanely good it smelled. Naturally I was anticipating a tasty treat. I have had a few amazing collards, and many mediocre ones. To my disappointment, these fell into the latter category.

Heather made Brussels Sprouts with Bacon Dip. This was another dish I had thought about making. As you might expect, the bacon dip is what this dish is all about. The brussels sprouts are mainly just a vehicle to get that incredible bacon dip into your face. Dip anything in it. Dip everything in it.

Alyssa also made Uncle T’s Meatballs. I’m always on the lookout for a good meatball, as I find most meatballs tend to derive flavor from the sauce they’re sitting in rather than the meatball itself. I had high hopes for these though, as they contain both chicken chunks and chicken livers. Sadly, the thing I liked best about this dish was the ricotta, which Alyssa took it upon herself to home-make.

Erin made Catfish and Pecans. Well, actually she made tilapia and pecans, because she couldn’t find catfish. Regardless, it was delicious. I enjoyed the sweet nuttiness of the pecans and the saltiness of the capers. This is another dish I imagine was incredible when the fish was hot out of the skillet and still crisp.

Anthony made Ham Hocks with Mustard Greens and Kraut. Yum. Enough said. Ok, I’ll say a little more. The ham was meltingly soft, and lent a nice smoky flavor to go with a little spiciness and the punch of the kraut. One of my favorite dishes of the meal.

Dina made Stewed Oxtails. Again… Yum. This was also a top dish for me. The oxtail was falling-off-the-bone tender. The sauce was rich, earthy goodness, as you might expect from something with coffee and red wine in it. I wanted to eat a giant bowl of this over rice.

Tracey made Peanut-Bacon Pork Chops. I like peanuts as a snack, and love peanut butter for eating and cooking. But I’ve never been into cooked peanuts in my food. These pork chops, however, were delicious. Smoky, with a seeming touch of sweetness, though I can’t figure out where in the recipe that came from. And of course better because they were topped with bacon.

Robert made Jerk Bacon and Baked Beans. I know pork belly is everywhere now and foodies have officially declared it played out, but I may never tire of it. I loved the sweet and smoky flavor layers of this jerk bacon. Though I found the baked beans watery and forgettable in comparison.

Dominique made Red Velvet Cake. I have to admit I don’t get red velvet. It’s chocolate cake, with not quite enough chocolate so as not to interfere with the red food coloring. The best part is the cream cheese frosting. My bias aside, apparently there is something wrong with this red velvet cake recipe. Three people attempted to make it – two were complete fails, and Dominique managed to get hers in a passable enough state to bring it to the party, but that’s about all it was.

Jesse also made Pickled Peach and Plum Cobbler with Warm Vanilla Sauce. Actually he substituted bourbon brown sugar peaches, because he didn’t realize it takes 6 hours to make the pickled peaches. This dish was a huge hit – I went back for seconds only to discover that it was all gone and some people didn’t even manage to get firsts. Now I’m on a mission to convince him to make it again, only with pickled peaches, so we can compare 🙂