Chris made Kuku Sabzi. It is a Persian herb and greens frittata that is much heavier on the herbs than it is on the egg. He said he used too much egg, and I’d agree, as this is a dish I usually love because of its serious herb-yness. It also could have used a touch more salt.

Laura made Vietnamese Cucumber Salad. The ingredients in this dish sounded fantastic, and it was on several people’s short list to make, including mine. So I was disappointed that I found this dish to be quite bland. It had good crunch, but needed more salt and acid!

I made Cabbage with Miso-Mustard Dressing. The recipe was actually for the miso-mustard dressing, which had a notation that said it was great for tossing with sliced, raw cabbage, so that’s what I did. It was shockingly tasty for how simple it was, and I think benefited from having been made in advance which allowed the cabbage to really absorb the dressing.

Amy made Fattoush. The book provides suggestions for a variety of different panzanellas (bread salads) – the one Amy chose had tomato, cucumber, and pita bread. I loved the mix of textures, and thought this dish had a great balance of sweetness, salt, and acidity.

Maria made Snap Peas with Chilies and Mint. The seasoning and cooking was just enough to enhance the natural sweetness and crispness of the snap peas. While this wouldn’t be the most memorable dish or starring central focus of a meal, I think it’s a great accompanying element.

Julian made Butternut Squash and Brussels Sprouts in Agrodolce. Agrodolce is an Italian word literally translating to sour and sweet, in this case vinegar and sugar. It was fantastic, especially with the sweetness of the butternut squash that developed when it was roasted.

Julian also made Persian Herb and Cucumber Yogurt. I like yogurt sauce as an accompaniment to meat, rice, and veggies. This one was tasty, though it could have used a bit more salt. It was great to have with the kufte kebabs that John made.

John made Kufte Kebabs. Most Middle Eastern countries have some variation of these ground meat torpedoes. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by the incredible ones my Eqyptian friend’s mom makes, because I found these didn’t have the depth of spices I’m used to, and they needed salt.

Drew made Soba Noodles with Peanut-Lime Dressing. I always like a peanut noodle, and this one had a tasty balance of salty, sweet, and sour. The acidity was nice, as that is the element I think is often missing from many a peanut noodle dish. Drew did say he tasted and added salt.

Drew also made Glazed Five-Spice Chicken. This was one of my favorite dishes of the meal. It’s a common Chinese dish which I like for its salty sweet flavors, though Drew said that he does a different five-spice chicken recipe which he likes even better.

Erin made Slow-Roasted Salmon with Southeast Asian-ish Herb Salsa. I liked the punch that the Asian-ish herb salsa added to the salmon which seemed a bit under-seasoned on its own. Though I kept thinking I’d like the salsa more on a white fish (perhaps it’s just because of the Chinese fish I grew up eating).

Kris made Slow-Roasted Salmon as well, but simply on the bed of herbs without any additional salsa. The salmon was beautifully cooked, but again I felt it needed salt to bring out all of the natural flavors of the fish and help it come together with the herbs.

Revi made Roasted Fruit on a Bed of Fig Leaves. Not only was this dish stunning to look at, it was also quite delicious. Apparently roasting on fig leaves adds a nutty aroma that is wonderful with the sweetness of the fruit. I was lucky to get to take the leftovers home, and found myself stopping every time I got near the fridge to snag a bite of this fruit.

Maria also made Fresh Ginger and Molasses Cake with Scented Cream. The spiciness of the fresh ginger in this cake was fantastic. Not too sweet and very moist, it was great with the vanilla scented cream (which I was so excited to eat I forgot to take a picture of).