Cindy made Carrot, Date, and Preserved Kumquat Salad. I was afraid the kumquats might be too tangy with nothing but a bit of salt to preserve them, but they turned out to be surprisingly sweet and my favorite element of this dish. It made me wonder why kumquats aren’t more frequently utilized.

Hanna made Hearty Winter Slaw with Shaved Cabbage, Radicchio, Celery, and Bosc Pears. This was a crisp and refreshing salad, though not particularly different from many similar salads I’ve had. In fact the dressing of mustard, lemon juice, oil, salt, and pepper is a standard dressing I’ve made many times before.

Hanna also made Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts, Pomegranate Molasses, and Shanklish. Shanklish is labneh with za’atar, thyme, Aleppo pepper, and salt. It added some tang to brussels sprouts that were otherwise a bit on the bland side. This probably could have been solved with a touch more pomegranate molasses and salt.

I made Curried Roasted Cauliflower. I will be making this dish again – it was really nicely balanced between the spice from the curry, the sweetness of the raisins, and the freshness brought by the cilantro. I was a bit annoyed to have to blanch the cauliflower and then wait for it to dry before roasting, so next time I might see what happens if I skip the blanching.

Heather made Summer Squash Latkes with Labneh. I really enjoyed these. As you might know if you’ve been following along with me for any amount of time, I’m not much of a fan of potatoes, so unsurprisingly I much preferred these over traditional latkes. The edges got nicely crisp and the squash was tasty enough to eat with or without the labneh.

Brian made Savory Persian Herb and Cheese Hamentaschen. As you can see, these looked amazing, and I was excited to try a savory version of what is usually a sweet treat. While it’s hard to go wrong with cheese and pastry, I found myself wishing that the herb flavors came through stronger.

Kamy made A Pashtida: Baked Pasta with Spinach, Ricotta, and Brown Butter. Brown butter adds wonderful toasty depth to the already sure-to-please combo of pasta and cheese. I think a bit more salt would have really brought out all the good flavors in this dish.

Laura made Green Garlic and Leek Matzah Brei with Smoked Salmon and Horseradish Cream. Matzah brei is sort of a frittata. The smoked salmon was what really brought all of the elements of this dish together and helped to enhance their flavors. I also wanted some differentiation of texture, as the whole thing seemed quite mushy.

Laura also made Roast Chicken with Tangerines, Green Olives and Silan. Silan is date syrup – combined with harissa it gave the chicken a fantastic spicy sweetness, and the olives added nice saltiness. While I was unsure at first whether or not the tangerines were meant to be eaten since they still had the skins on them, they turned out to be delicious as well.

John made Semolina and Walnut Oil Cake. This wasn’t a particularly standout cake. It was a tad on the dry side, and the general sentiment was that it needed some kind of sauce or topping to give it both added moisture and more layers of flavor.