Trader Joe's Lemon Tiramisu

I'm all about buying things produced here in the good old United States, but if we're talking Italian food that's made by Italians and actually imported from Italy, then I'm going to at least want to try it even if it's coming from halfway around the world. On the back of the packaging, in "2-point font" as my graphic designer wife points out, Trader Joe's Lemon Tiramisu whispers "Product of Italy" as if it's ashamed about the fact.

If it were me, I'd plaster the package with "IMPORTED FROM ITALY" and put red, white, and green flags all over the place. It's not that TJ's imported stuff is always good. I mean, it frequently is just as good or better than their domestic products. It's just much harder to argue with the authenticity of a product hailing from its country of origin.

That said, I'm pretty sure Trader Joe's Italian Tiramisu is imported from Italy as well, and it paled in comparison to the tiramisu I tried at a couple fancy restaurants in Los Angeles. Also, I wasn't aware that lemon tiramisu was a thing. So, you know, all that to say I was skeptical, at best, of this product.

This dessert comes frozen and you're supposed to thaw it for eight hours in the fridge. We were a little short on time, so I checked the internet for quick thaw instructions. In the end, I just trusted my gut and did a hybrid thaw which involved two hours at room temperature and then in the refrigerator for another two hours. They came out perfect.

First bite? A delightful wave of bright lemon washes over your tongue. It's very sweet but also lemony sour. There's not much vanilla or cake flavor. It's just lemon on lemon on lemon. Flavor-wise, it reminded me of Trader Joe's delectable Lemon Curd.

Texture-wise, it's not unlike tres leches cake in that there's a soft, spongy layer that's saturated with a dense, flavorful liquid. In this case, it's almost like sponge cake soaked in a sweet-tart lemon syrup. On top, there's a layer that feels like smooth, creamy lemon custard. The two are in perfect ratio to one another. To be sure, it's not custard and sponge cake per se. It's actually mascarpone and ladyfinger cookies—just like you'd see in traditional tiramisu. But they're just bursting with sticky sweet and satisfyingly sour lemon citrus brilliance.

The servings are quite large. If we'd known ahead of time, we might have only thawed one of the cups and put the other in a ziplock bag to remain frozen for another day. Don't get me wrong—I finished mine in no time flat. But on a normal day, it's quite possible each cup could serve as dessert for two people.

Trader Joe's Lemon Tiramisu tastes the way I wanted Trader Joe's Lemon Sheet Cake to taste. It's intensely lemony. It's scrumptious. The beautiful wifey agrees. We'd buy this again in a heartbeat. Take note, it looks like it's seasonal. So get it while the gettin's good. Six bucks, found in the frozen section. Nine out of ten stars a piece from Sonia and me for this superb Italian dessert.

Bottom line: 9 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Not to be confused with Trader Joe's Chiles Rellenos con Queso, which come frozen and have an egg batter coating, these stuffed chiles are also made with large poblano peppers but they come refrigerated, have no outer breading, and are stuffed not only with Monterey Jack cheese but also chicken, rice, corn, and a creamy cilantro sauce. Sonia's more familiar with that other kind of chile relleno, but she thinks this variation on the dish might hail from a different region of Mexico.

Only microwave and conventional oven instructions are given on the box, but we tried our hand at the air fryer and these stuffed peppers came out great. The package comes with two poblanos and we tossed them both into our Ninja for 12 minutes at 375°F. Google's AI Overview mentioned you could turn it up to 400° if you wanted your peppers extra crispy.

The chicken, rice, cheese, corn, and sauce medley in the middle of the pepper is excellent. There's a generous amount of white meat chicken chunks and the overall flavor is well balanced. The roasted poblano shell flaunts a nice smoky, earthy flavor that complements the inner portions of the dish.

And now it's complaint time. The texture of the pepper was the only thing we had a problem with. Parts of it were a little tough—almost leathery. In stark contrast to the soft, well-cooked chicken, the pepper itself was very difficult to cut with just a fork and it was a tad harder to chew than Sonia and I would have liked. Still, it's not a dealbreaker. We admit it might have been our chosen heating method that rendered the odd texture. Perhaps the conventional oven might have made the pepper more pleasant, or maybe we should have turned up the temp on the air fryer a tad higher.

In the end, that's our only complaint. This Mexican-inspired meal gets a thumbs up from both me and the beautiful wifey. It'll run you seven bucks for this nearly restaurant quality dish. Perfect dinner for two on a budget. We'd buy it again. Eight and a half stars from the beautiful wifey. Eight out of ten stars from me.

Bottom line: 8.25 out of 10.