Cannoli

Abby's fur ball of energy (aka Scruffy) is doing mischievously well. He's not a bad puppy but a full of energy and curiosity. I'm sure he thinks his name is NO-Scruffy. He had his first vet visit and received a healthy seal of approval. He also received two shots that just messed up our next 24 hours. Poor Scruffy. He yipped when you picked him up, they must have hit a muscle. He slept most of the day, wouldn't eat and then pooped in his crate at 4:00a. His schedule was so messed up. I was so glad when he was back to his mischievous puppy ways. He's much happier today.

With the puppy back to normal I had to wait for the girls to get home from school to start the cannoli. Abby helped me roll them out with the pasta maker. I'm not sure if it would be possible to get the dough thin enough rolling by hand. I have eight metal forms which keep our production line moving along quickly. For the filling you can add citron, orange zest, lemon zest or chopped maraschino cherries. My favorite is chopped dark or bittersweet chocolate but I used mini semisweet chips this time around for the kiddos.

Ingredients
Shells
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp shortening
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
2 tbsp water
1 egg white
1 quart oil for frying, or as needed
Filling
1 container (32 oz) ricotta cheese
1 cup confectioners' sugar
6 oz semisweet mini chocolate chips
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Cut in the shortening until it is in pieces no larger than peas. Make a well in the center, and pour in the egg, egg yolk, Marsala wine, vinegar and water. Mix with a fork until the dough becomes stiff, then finish it by hand, kneading on a clean surface. Add a bit more water if needed to incorporate all of the dry ingredients. Knead for about 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
Divide the cannoli dough into thirds, and flatten each one just enough to get through the pasta machine. Roll the dough through successively thinner settings until you have reached the thinnest setting. Dust lightly with flour if necessary. Place the sheet of dough on a lightly floured surface. Using a form or large glass or bowl, cut out 4 to 5 inch circles. Dust the circles with a light coating of flour. This will help you later in removing the shells from the tubes. Roll dough around cannoli tubes, sealing the edge with a bit of egg white.
Heat the oil to 375 F in a deep-fryer or deep heavy skillet. Fry shells on the tubes a few at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden. Use tongs to turn as needed. Carefully remove using the tongs, and place on a cooling rack set over paper towels. Cool just long enough that you can handle the tubes, then carefully twist the tube to remove the shell. Using a tea towel may help you get a better grip. Wash or wipe off the tubes, and use them for more shells. Cooled shells can be placed in an airtight container and kept for up to 2 months. You should only fill them immediately or up to 1 hours before serving.
To make the filling, stir together the ricotta cheese and confectioners' sugar using a spoon. Fold in the mini chocolate chips. Use a pastry bag to pipe into shells, filling from the center to one end, then doing the same from the other side. Dust with additional confectioners' sugar and grated chocolate for garnish when serving.

Santa Was Naughty

Sigh.
It began with a lot of pestering and begging from Abby. Then she was carrying around "The Book of Dogs" showing us all the different cute breeds. Three months later we started considering it and checking out puppies online. Then Thursday night while Christopher was out to dinner with his ROTC Cadets he received a text from Abby. Don't buy your children cell phones for they are evil devices.
A: *snaps a pic with her phone from a puppy website* this is the puppy i love.
C:  isn't that puppy is expensive?
A:  you can't put a price on love. ps... but yes
The rest of the night was Abby constantly questioning me on whether or not Dad called and talked to me. By Friday morning she was sure she wasn't getting that puppy. Meanwhile, Christopher was calling around puppy searching. The original chosen puppy was already sold but that puppy had a brother. Introducing ...
Scruffy!

Scruffy is a 16 week old Morkie (Maltese & Yorkie). This is Abby's first real responsibility so we were looking for an older puppy. Scruffy is perfect. He's full of that fun puppy energy and old enough to hold his bladder some. Housetraining is my detail and I'm thankful he is easy. He seems to already grasp the concept so once Abby is more comfortable carrying him downstairs I will hand over that job. I can't wait, it's cold out there. Between Christmas and Scruffy my poor blog is gathering dust.