Individual Tiramisu

On Father's Day I asked my dad what his favorite desserts were. One of his top favorites was Tiramisu, so a few days later I made this for dessert. I like the idea of having individual desserts, and didn't want to use raw eggs, so when I found this recipe I knew I had to try it. It was a very easy tiramisu recipe--I do want to try making a large sized tiramisu with raw eggs to see how they compare, though--and super dense and creamy and delicious.

One fun fact about people here back home: I went to Safeway to find the ladyfingers (didn't want to make them from scratch since I was already cooking a dinner I'd never tried before), and everyone was so much nicer than I'm used to. I was walking around and people just asked if I needed help and were super happy about giving me help, and even when multiple people had to be asked to find the ladyfingers, everyone was very sweet. Even at checkout the lady and bagging-boy were so friendly. So not used to that, but it was a good change from the usual grumpiness back where I went to college!

Individual Tiramisu
Recipe (slightly adapted by me) from Foodiebride

Soaking Syrup
1/2 cup strongly-brewed coffee or espresso
1 Tbsp sugar

Filling
8 oz reduced-fat cream cheese
8 oz mascarpone
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp strongly-brewed coffee or espresso
2 Tbsp milk

Assembly
6 5/6-oz clear cups
24 ladyfingers, purchased or homemade
1 oz semisweet chocolate, grated

In a small bowl, mix espresso and sugar, stirring until the sugar has disolved. Set aside to cool.

With your mixer, cream the mascaropone, cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar on medium-high for 3-5 minutes, until light and fluffy. The mixture should feel smooth (not gritty) when rubbed between your fingers.

Remove half of the mascarpone mixture and transfer it to a smaller bowl.

Add 2 Tbsp of espresso and mix well.

Add 2 Tbsp milk to the remaining filling and mix (this is just to thin the filling, the type of milk - whole, skim, etc - does not matter) well.

Trim the ladyfingers so that they come just below the top rim of the cups. Reserve the excess pieces. (The trimmed ends of the cookie are "the bottoms," the rounded uncut ends are "the top.")

Working with one ladyfinger and one serving at a time, quickly dunk the top half of the cookie into the soaking syrup and place in the plastic cup coffee-end (top) up.

Repeat with 3 more lady fingers, arranging them around the cup (if your ladyfingers are thin, you might need to use more than 4).

Place one of the reserved trimmed ends of the cookies into the bottom, followed by a spoonful of the espresso filling, the plain filling, and top with more ladyfinger pieces (when you run out of trimmed pieces, tear additional ladyfingers into small pieces to fit the next layer). Repeat 2 more times to fill the cup.

Sprinkle grated chocolate over the top.

Repeat the process for the remaining servings.

Loosely cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

Greek Spinach Salad

Okay, my parents have made it clear to me that if this were real "Greek Salad", it wouldn't have spinach. But I think it tasted great anyway--Greek styled spinach salad, I don't know, whatever. Tasted good and went well with the chicken gyros I made for dinner that night! Half a red onion is kind of a lot, so you can add as much as you want for color, but if you're not a huge red onion fan feel free to limit the amount.

Greek Spinach Salad
Recipe from The Curvy Carrot

5 ounces fresh spinach leaves
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons shallot, minced (1 medium shallot)
1 teaspoon garlic, minced (1 clove)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Pinch granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly or as desired
2 teaspoons capers
1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced
1 small tomato, sliced

In a sauté pan over medium heat, combine the oil, garlic, oregano, and sugar and season as desired with salt and pepper, stirring frequently, until the shallot is softened, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the lemon juice to the sauté pan and lightly stir to combine (the mixture will look slightly separated).

Place the spinach in a separate large bowl, and slowly pour the hot dressing over the spinach and toss to coat thoroughly.

Add the feta, red onion, capers, tomato, and kalamata olives and toss lightly to combine.  Serve immediately.

Chicken Gyros

This recipe is so yummy! They would make great chicken burgers, too. I will definitely make this again--the minted yogurt sauce was delish, too.

I made this for dinner one night with Greek Salad (and individual tirimisu for dessert!) that I'll post later. I've never broiled anything but it turned out perfect! Making it with ground chicken worked like a charm--you could get all those delicious spices and herbs in there and it tasted a lot better than just marinated chicken inside a gyro.

Chicken Patties with Mint Yogurt Sauce
Recipe adapted by Very Culinary from Emeril Lagasse
Serves 4 in pita pockets

1 pound ground chicken
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons olive oil
Pita pockets, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and cucumbers, for serving
Minted yogurt sauce, for serving

Minted Yogurt Sauce
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper

For the yogurt sauce: in a small bowl, stir together yogurt, mint, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until the chicken patties are done.

Heat broiler, with rack in highest position. In a large bowl, combine chicken, egg whites, breadcrumbs, onion, parsley, garlic, salt, and spices and mix until well blended. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Divide chicken mixture into 8 equal portions and place on sheet. Shape each into round or oval patties and use your hand to flatten slightly. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil over patties.

Broil until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook until cooked through, about 4 minutes more. Serve in pita pockets with the Mint Yogurt sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers, if desired.

Lychee Sorbet

 I finally decided to try out my mom's ice cream maker and she suggested a lychee sorbet recipe. This one is super simple--just two ingredients and it'd probably be fine if you didn't use the lime! My ice cream maker finished this super fast, and I think using 2 cans of lychees would have been a little better for the mixing. This also got really cold really fast and when trying to scoop it, it was mostly ice shavings. It was still great though! Looking forward to playing more with the ice cream maker!

Lychee Sorbet
Recipe adapted by me from Uncomplicated Recipes

1 can of Lychee
Juice of 1 lime

Strain lychees, saving the syrup.

Set 8 lychees aside. Place the remaining lychees in the blender with 1/2 cup of the syrup. Blend until pureed.

Mix the blend with the remaining syrup and qqueeze the lime juice into the mix.

Follow instructions on your ice cream maker. Chop up the 8 remaining lychees and add them to the ice cream maker when it is almost complete.

Garlic Bread

These were supposed to be garlic knots, but the dough was way too sticky. It worked out fine anyway but I'd definitely make the buns a lot smaller next time! They were really good and pretty easy--absolutely delicious when warm. If you want to take extra time to make your own dinner rolls, I think this is a great choice (make sure you're using good yeast, I'm so glad I didn't have a problem this time but I've had so much trouble with old yeast from crappy minimarts!). Again, make these smaller if you're just doing lumps--and the recipe suggests tying them in knots but you definitely don't need to!

Garlic Buns
Recipe from Culinary Adventures in the Kitchen

For the dough:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp instant yeast
1¼ tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
¼ cup milk
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp lukewarm water
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp Italian seasoning

For the glaze:
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp Italian seasoning

Dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the dry ingredients. Add the olive oil, milk, water, minced garlic, and Italian seasoning.  Mix until ingredients have formed a dough. Knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.

Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces.

Roll each piece into a 10-inch long rope and tie into a knot.

Take the end lying underneath the knot and bring it over the top, tucking it into the center.

Take the end lying over the knot and tuck it underneath and into the center.

Transfer shaped rolls to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 45 minutes, until puffy.

Glaze: finely mince the garlic. Mix the garlic with the melted butter, olive oil, and Italian seasoning.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Brush the glaze onto the shaped rolls.

Bake until set and lightly browned, about 15-18 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken

This was a great recipe, and pretty easy! I made it with salad (my mom picked some lettuce from her lettuce plant and then added a light dressing and other veggies--really simple, but cool that she's growing lettuce!) and a delicious-when-warm garlic-y bread that I'll post the recipe for in a few days. I didn't have any issue with the super-hot oven or the baking time for the chicken.

Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken
Recipe from skinnytaste

2 slices center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 jalapeños, chopped (remove seeds for milder)
3 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
4 oz reduced fat shredded cheddar jack (Sargento)
2 tbsp chopped scallions
8 thin sliced skinless chicken breast cutlets, 3 oz each
1/2 cup Italian seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 1/2 juicy limes, juice of
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and fresh pepper
olive oil non-stick spray

Wash and dry chicken cutlets, season with salt and pepper.  Preheat oven to 450°. Lightly spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.

Combine cream cheese, cheddar, scallions, jalapeño and bacon crumbles in a medium bowl.

Lay chicken cutlets on a working surface and spread 2 tbsp of cream cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one, secure the ends with toothpicks to prevent the cheese from oozing out.

Place breadcrumbs in a bowl; in a second bowl combine olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper.

Dip chicken in lime-oil mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down on a baking dish. Repeat with the remaining chicken. When finished, lightly spray the top of the chicken with oil spray.

Bake 22-25 minutes, serve immediately.

Mexican Sweet Corn Salad

I made this salad at home to accompany the Salsa Chicken I've made before, along with some Mexican rice.  It made a lot! It tastes good, but feel free to add or subtract vegetables or appropriate herbs--my mom added cilantro and it tasted great.

Mexican Sweet Corn Salad
Recipe From Expat Recipe


4 cups frozen corn, thawed
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 large seeded and chopped tomato
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped basil leaves or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1/3 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 Tablespoon vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Thaw frozen corn or boil fresh corn for 8 minutes in lightly salted water, cool with cold water and cut corn kernels from cob.

Place corn, onion, green and red bell peppers, tomato, garlic, basil, olive oil, lime juice in bowl.

Toss until completely combined.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Want more spicy? Add 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped