Lori made Huevos de Codorniz, Hervidos y Salados (boiled salted quail eggs). These were seasoned with nothing more than olive oil, parsley, and sea salt, which really allowed the flavor of the quail eggs to shine. Lori said she picked the recipe in part because it seemed easy, but the quail eggs turned out to be quite a lot of work to peel.

Jeff made Ceviche de Atun (tuna ceviche). He served the ceviche with plantain chips. It had a really refreshing citrus and herb flavor that enhanced the freshness of the tuna, and the plantain chips provided a nice crunch.

Martha made Aguado de Gallina (chicken and rice soup with achiote). I wouldn’t really call it a soup since there was so little liquid, but it was a delicious stew. The chicken was fall-apart tender, the rice really absorbed the flavors, and the peas provided nice pops of texture. Martha didn’t add the Aji Costeno that the recipe recommended for serving, but wished she had after we had some with one of the other dishes.

Martha also made Tostones (crispy fried green plantains). She said they were incredibly simple – fry the plantains, smash them, fry them again, and add salt. I was so excited to hear they were that easy because they were fantastic and now I want to make them so I can eat them again.

Peter made Hongos con Aji (ají mushrooms with ginger and saffron). The mushrooms were a wonderful vehicle for absorbing that delicious sauce. I adore aji amarillo, so I’m excited to have another dish that uses it, and I think it’ll be really good with some of the other mixed mushrooms the recipe suggests like shiitake, trumpet, and oyster mushrooms.

Kamy made Ensalada de Aguacate (avocado salad). This was a crisp and refreshing salad that was a nice counterbalance to some of the heartier dishes. The egg and avocado provided just the right amount of creaminess and substance to this simply fresh salad.

Brian made Ensalada de Garbanzos (garbanzo bean salad with lemon-dijon dressing). He thought it was strange that the recipe told him to cook garbanzo beans, toast and grind cumin, and use fresh corn cut from the cob, yet it called for jarred roasted red bell peppers. I think you could also use canned garbanzo and corn and ground cumin to make a quicker but still tasty salad.

Rita made Las Cosas Finas (warm hominy salad). She also made a side of Aji Costeno (Ecuadorian hot sauce) to accompany it. “Warm” refers to the spice, not the temperature. It was my favorite of the 3 salads, and reminded me how much I like hominy on the rare occasions when I get a chance to have it.

Eileen made Papas con Chorizo (roasted potatoes with chorizo). Some of the crispiness was lost by the time we got to eat it, but I could imagine the crispy bits were really good. I am not generally a big fan of potatoes, but I do like chorizo and queso fresco, which gave great flavor to these potatoes.

Catie made Sopa de Calabaza con Cangrejo (roasted squash soup with crab and zucchini). This soup was insane. My favorite dish of the night. The flavors developed in your mouth – first sweet, then savory, then a little spicy. Its creaminess was offset with the crunch of the pumpkin seeds, and morsels of crab just completed the whole glorious experience.

I made Calcots con Salbitxada (grilled spring onions with almond sauce). The recipe made about 10x as much sauce as was needed, but the sauce was fantastic so I’m happy to have the leftovers to put on… well, everything. The grilled green onions were also delicious on their own – several people asked me what I cooked them in and were surprised it was just olive oil and sea salt.

Anthony made Pastel de Tres Leches (tres leches cake). He was concerned that it was a gooey mess, especially after adding the optional 1/4 cup rum. There was quite a lot of liquid, but it didn’t seem to negatively impact the cake’s reception – before Anthony could sit down, people were already asking him for second servings… me included!

Shayna made Pasteles de Guayaba (guava and cream cheese turnovers). She said these are incredibly easy to make, as they use store-bought puff pastry, guava paste, and cream cheese. I was happy to hear that, since the guava cheese pastries are my favorite item at the beloved LA bakery Porto’s. Now I can avoid the line and make them at home!