BBQ side dish

Summer is the perfect season for a bbq, finding a side dish is not always easy though.

Here's my latest ideas: a couscous salad with 

• fried cubes of vegetables (eggplants and zucchini) and 
• fresh cherry tomatoes
• some good olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme 

or a pasta salad with

• fresh pasta trofie (soft thin twisted pasta from northern Italy)
• tuna in olive oil
• fresh cherry tomatoes
• mozzarela buffalo cheese
• freshly cut and chopped chives (ciboulette in french)
• some good olive oil, salt and white pepper 

will lift it. If you add a greek tzatziki to add some moisture to the whole menu, then you have the perfect combination! No, I forgot the most important ingredient: good company to share all this :) 

Reminder recipe: Mascarone nutella cake!

 

When negative vibes arise, some chocolate and nutella can set them aside and make life look good again. Check one of the two versions of my mascarpone nutella cake, both wonderful:

• less calories, less looks: https://vivianiscooking.blogspot.com/2016/10/chocolate-cake-with-mascarpone-nutella.html
• more calories, more looks : https://vivianiscooking.blogspot.com/2023/11/mascarpone-nutella-cake.html 

Enjoy as always!

Alternatives for the Greek spanakotyropita!

Lazy for the full version of the greek spanakotyropita (spinach-feta pie) but still craving for it? I have some alternatives for you. Make the same filling as the original recipe and 

• either make snails using fyllo pastry that you fold in half, oil a bit, add some filling and roll and twist like a snail (see photos)
• or use 2 rectangular sheets of puff pastry that you insert the filling in between and cut in pieces 

Bake as usual until golden colored.

Enjoy!

Anniversary Cake full of chocolate!

Looking for the perfect cake for a big anniversary full of chocolate and charm? Look no further, I got it up for you! For the 18 or 20 year of your child, your wedding anniversary, or any other big event of your life that you prefer baking by yourself instead of ordering something here's all you need (apart from tons of love for the celebrating person)...

PS: Special credits to my daughter and her friend that I gave them my kitchen and made this gorgeous cake. Having done all the cleaning, I deserve some credits too, no? ;) 

Easy and light version of moussaka

 

Summer is the perfect time to bake greek moussaka, as eggplants are at their best, so I highly recommend it! The caveat is that it is not an easy task and usually in summer we want to rest and recharge. In addition, frying too is not the best summer task either.

So, here's an update to my original and authentic recipe of moussaka: Follow the exact recipe apart from the way of cooking the vegetables. For them, I suggest instead:

1. you cut them in small cubes, 
2. empty them in a big oven tray, 
3. pour some olive oil all over, add, salt, pepper and thyme or oregano
4. mix well
5. bake at 200 degrees of Celsius for about 30min or until softened 

My son even said that he prefers this version better :) Enjoy!

Summer menu idea

 

When temperatures rise, here's a fresh idea for a light menu:

Grilled salmon, cantonese rice and a nice slice of fresh pineapple! 

Roast Beef with potatoes in the oven

 Classic Sunday cooking: some good piece of meat and potatoes in the oven. Easy, classy and pleases the majority of people. Here's the french way of cooking it.

Mpougatsa, the greek custard pie!

Went to Greece for vacations and got addicted to mpougatsa for breakfast? Here's how to make it back home and extend your vacations a bit through food :)

Made with crusty fyllo and filled in with a custard cream made out of semolina is served dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon. It makes the perfect breakfast or anytime snack and why not as a dessert.

Spaghetti carbonara, excellent for debutant cookers!

Happy bday Carbonara!!! 80 years this year! (rumors say that it was invented in 1944 to use the american bacon) Here's how it is linked to our family history below ;)

When I met hubby, I was impressed; I did not know how to cook and he knew how to cook one recipe: Carbonara! No surprise, ages later, our son, picks up the same recipe to start his cooking career, although he is way more experienced in cooking than we were at his age :) In a busy day like today, he proposed to cook and my, I am soooo grateful!

So, find today the original italian recipe, that is excellent for beginners like students. I cheated adding a bit of cream although he insisted on not adding as in the original recipe, mea culpa ;)

As always, enjoy!  

Schnitzel, the unforgettable :) [2024 UPDATED]

A classic recipe today but again with a personal touch, this time my mother's in law. We are talking for the bread crumbed fried escalopes. These ones have some extra taste as I use cheese also. But not any cheese, my personal touch again here is the reggiano parmiggiano that I just looove :) So, here it goes...

[Original recipe 13/05/2013 10:40PM]

[2024 UPDATE] Hubby invented a faster version  where you mix the cheese with the eggs and save one dish and 1/3 of the time of the preparation!

Vivian's banana bread

Vivian's banana bread

 I am excited to experiment with banana breads lately and after my 

• Vegan Banana Bread-ilicious!  and the Coco-choco Banana Bread, here's my own inspiration that I consider very succesful. Consider this as an elevated version of a banana bread :)