Chocolate Hazelnut Cannoli

It may sound odd, but I don't really like cannoli. It's fried dough filled with sweet cheese, and yes, I've had authentic cannoli, but eating them never moved me in any way. So when I found out this month's Daring Bakers' Challenge was to make cannoli, I thought to myself, "Eh. I suppose I could make a batch for Thanksgiving dinner." And that is what I did. I made a batch for the Thanksgiving dinner I shared with my college roommates last Saturday. Those who like cannoli said they tasted great, so I will take their word for it. I enjoyed the chocolate-hazelnut flavor combination though it's not a traditional way to make cannoli.

Special thanks to my Italian co-worker who lent me her cannoli tubes that were only used once. I'm glad to have put more mileage on the tubes, but I doubt I will ever have a need for them again. Make cannoli from scratch? Check. Now I'll be moving on to more enjoyable recipes.
The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.
Lidisano’s Cannoli
adapted from Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen and The Sopranos Family Cookbook
makes 22-24 4-inch cannoli


Chocolate Cannoli Shells
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
approximately 1/2 cup sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg white
2 quarts vegetable oil for frying
1/4 cup melted dark chocolate for garnish
confectioners' sugar for garnish

Directions:
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer using the dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.
2. Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles. Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.
3. Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes for the first batch only. Roll a dough oval from the long side around each tube and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.
4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer's directions. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.
5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.
6. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.
7. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.


Cannoli Filling
Ingredients:
2 lbs ricotta cheese, strained
1 2/3 cups confectioner’s sugar, (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it), sifted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons hazelnut praline paste

Directions:
1. Line a strainer with cheesecloth. Place the ricotta in the strainer over a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Weight it down with a heavy can, and let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight.
2. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl and stir in hazelnut praline paste until well mixed. Chill until firm. (The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Cover and keep refrigerated).


Assembling the Cannoli
1. Press or dip cannoli shells in melted chocolate and let dry before filling.
2. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain or star tip (or use a Ziploc bag as substitution) with the ricotta cream. If using a Ziploc bag, cut about 1/2 inch off one corner. Insert the tip in the cannoli shell and squeeze gently until the shell is half filled. Turn the shell and fill the other side.
3. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and/or drizzles of melted chocolate if desired.

Spicy Cornbread Stuffing

Happy Thanksgiving! This year I'm celebrating Thanksgiving day without a turkey. That might sound crazy, but be assured I will have plenty of turkey this week. This past weekend I had two complete turkey dinners, and this coming Saturday I'll be celebrating with yet another turkey dinner with my extended family in Port Washington. This past Saturday I made this spicy cornbread stuffing to accompany an adobo turkey. Unfortunately I forgot to snap a shot of the cornbread before I made it into stuffing. The spicy cornbread reminded me of Kettle Jalapeño Potato Chips, and it's a recipe that I can see myself making again.

I've used a lot of Martha Stewart recipes lately, and I sort of have an explanation. I haven't spent as much time in the kitchen as I would like recently, so I haven't been as inspired to come up with my own recipes. Also, since my sister-in-law and I sat front row in a Martha Stewart Show taping last month, I've been reading a lot of her recipes so it's natural it's her recipes I want to make.

It's about time to go start our Thanksgiving hot pot, so I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and whatever you may be feasting on!

Spicy Cornbread Stuffing

adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes about 10 cups, enough for a 16- to 18-pound turkey

Ingredients:

3/4 cup pine nuts

1 Jalapeño Cornbread (recipe below), day old

1 pound cured chorizo sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 small onions, coarsely chopped

6 ribs celery, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup homemade chicken or turkey stock, or low sodium canned chicken or turkey stock

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 bunch cilantro leaves, washed well, dried, and roughly chopped

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread pine nuts in one layer on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a shallow bowl, and set aside. Cut cornbread into 3/4-inch cubes, and spread evenly on a baking sheet. Bake, shaking pan periodically, until golden brown on edges, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, and set aside.

2. In a food processor, pulse sausage until coarsely chopped; do not overprocess. Set aside.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add celery and garlic, and cook until celery is soft, about 5 minutes more. Add sausage and pine nuts, and cook for 1 minute more. Add stock, and cook until absorbed, about 2 minutes.

4. Pour sausage mixture over cornbread, and mix well. Add butter and cilantro, and mix to combine. Let cool completely before stuffing turkey.

Jalapeño Cornbread

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup buttermilk

2 medium jalapeños, diced, with seeds

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8-inch square pan. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and pepper.

3. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, jalapenos, egg, sugar, and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Add to dry ingredients, and stir until just combined.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool for 10 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Apple Crisp

Happy Friday, y'all! I've gotten feedback that my recipes here are way too elaborate and involved for the average baker. Considering my posts have been mostly Daring Bakers' posts as of late (this post is for you Audrey!), I completely agree with that statement. I chronicle challenging recipes so that one day when I'm a grandmother of old age, Lord willing, I'll have proof of what my hands were capable of. That'll show the grandkids that crazy grandma isn't just making up stories again. About food, at least.

Here is a really easy recipe that is especially great when you have a bushel of fresh picked apples in the fall. The baking part is certainly easy, but let me warn you that preparing the ingredients will consume a good chunk of time. I recruited an old high school friend to help me in the kitchen for making two of these apple crisps. When she said yes, little did she know she'd be peeling and coring 6 pounds of apples with me! Thank you Judy, for contributing to this delicious apple crisp with your rockin' peeling skills.


Apple Crisp
from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
3 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, salt, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
2. Cut butter into flour, using a pastry blender or two knives, until mixture is the texture of coarse meal. Add oats, and use your hands to toss and squeeze mixture until large, moist clumps form. Transfer to freezer to chill while you prepare apples.
3. In another large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice, cinnamon, and remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Transfer to a shallow 2-quart baking dish, and sprinkle with topping mixture.
4. Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until golden and bubbling, 55 to 65 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
5. For best results, serve with vanilla ice cream.