Our favorite discover of the summer is Golden Cannoli Chips, The Original Cannoli Chip.

The sweet chips provide the cannoli‡ experience without our having to go out for cannoli, a dessert we simply can’t resist.

At home, we dip them into some sweetened ricotta cheese, to enjoy “deconstructed” cannoli (the full recipe follows).

Golden Cannoli Chips are triangle-shaped, crimped edge cookie chips, in four flavors:

 
For authentic cannoli taste, get the Powdered Sugar or possibly Cinnamon & Sugar. The Cookies & Cream and Lemon are tasty, but not “cannoli.”

Ready to make the dip?

Great, and there are more ways to use the cannoli chips > below. But first:

> The year’s 15+ pastry holidays.

> The history and different types of pie and pastry: a photo glossary.

> National Cannoli Day is celebrated on June 16th, and September is National Cannoli Month.

> The history of cannoli.

> The history of ricotta.
 
 
RECIPE: CANNOLI CREAM DIP

If all you have is ricotta, sweeten it to taste and start dipping. Otherwise, here is the full cannoli cream recipe.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. WHIP the cream in a mixing bowl, until stiff peaks form. Move to a small bowl and set aside.

2. ADD the ricotta cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon to the mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute. Fold in the whipped cream and chocolate chips.

3. CHILL the cannoli cream for at least 2 hours. Serve with the cannoli chips (or, use them to fill cannoli shells).
 
 
ABOUT GOLDEN CANNOLI

The predecessor of Golden Cannoli was founded by cousins in greater Boston in 1970, as an Italian bakery. Cannoli shells were part of the product line.

The bakery soon was asked to produce cannoli for local bakeries. Production expanded so much that the cousins sold bakery and opened Golden Cannoli, to focus on cannoli shells, cannoli filling, and related items.

The cannoli chips were a happy accident. The company was selling its products at a trade show, handing out samples of filled cannoli. The samples quickly ran out (who can resist a free cannoli?).

The solution was to break up cannoli shells and put them in cups of cannoli cream as a dip…and The Original Cannoli Chips were born!

[1] Golden Cannoli Chips are made in four flavors. Shown: Powdered Sugar, the “authentic” cannoli flavor (all photos © Golden Cannoli).

[2] Our favorite “chips and dip” (sorry, potato chips).

[3] Mini ice cream sandwiches are just one fun use for Golden Cannoli Chips.

[4] Ready to dip! Here are more ways to use the chips.

For more information, head to GoldenCannoli.com.
 
 
WAYS TO USE CANNOLI CHIPS

have fun with them, as decorations, garnishes, and more:

________________

*To strain, set a strainer over a bowl or a pot, and add the ricotta. Let it drain naturally, and then use a spatula to lightly press out most of the remaining liquid. You can substitute low-fat ricotta.

†Cheesecake is an open-face pie, not a cake; as Boston Cream Pie is a cake, not a pie. The terms originated long ago, when naming conventions were not so precise.

‡The singular form in Italian is cannolo, the plural is cannoli. In the U.S., some people use cannoli as the singular and cannolis as the plural. Both of these latter uses are incorrect.
 
 

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Perline, or pearl balls (photo © Lioni Lattanici).

Take a bite: These mozzarella bites are low in calories and high in flavor and crunch.

Balls of mozzarella are traditionally available in eight sizes (see the chart below). Perlini are the smallest.

You can use them in and on baked potatoes lasagna, nachos, omelets, pasta, pizza, salad, soups, tacos and vegetables.

We’ve even put them on cocktail picks along with diced celery, as a Bloody Mary garnish.

This recipe, from BelGioioso, is both elegant and fun. It uses their perline (“little pearls” in Italian, also called pearl balls in English).
 
RECIPE: MOZZARELLA BITES

Ingredients For 8 Pieces

 
For The Champagne Tarragon Vinaigrette

1. PLACE the tomatoes in a bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the vinaigrette ingredients and whisk until emulsified. Pour the dressing over the tomatoes and allow to marinate for at least one hour.

2. SLICE the cucumber into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place on a serving tray. Top each cucumber slice with marinated tomatoes and place three Fresh Mozzarella Pearls on top.

Nick of Dude Foods is nothing if not creative.

These Waffle Fry Sliders are an example.

“The only real problem I came across when making my Waffle Fry Sliders was finding decently sized waffle fries,” says Nick.

“I bought a bag of frozen fries from the grocery store and upon opening it I noticed that about 80% of them were way too small to be used as slider buns.

“Luckily though, I still had enough for six sliders, plus a pretty big pile of leftover fries to eat on the side.

“As the fries were baking in the oven, I grilled up my hamburger patties; and when both of those were done it was only a matter of adding some lettuce, tomato slices and cheese before my Waffle Fry Sliders were ready to eat!”

Thanks, Nick. Next time, invite us to join you!

Waffle Fry Sliders from Dude Foods.

[2] Another Caprese main course option: Balsamic Chicken Caprese. Here’s the recipe from Cafe Delites.

[3] Classic Caprese with red and yellow heirloom tomatoes (photo courtesy Balducci’s).

[4] Artistic Caprese arrangement (photo courtesy Great Performances | Facebook).

Caprese Salad—tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, with an olive oil dressing—has become a mainstay on U.S. menus (here’s the history of Caprese Salad).

In the summer, when ripe tomatoes are picked from the vine, it’s high season for Caprese.

Each summer we publish a different take on the salad (see below). This year, it’s a variation we hadn’t thought of before: a baked Caprese Casserole.

The recipe is from QVC’s “resident foodie” and best-selling cookbook author, David Venable. The casserole shines when made with succulent summer tomatoes; and also works with off-season tomatoes (cooking tomatoes brings out some sweetness that may not be in the raw tomatoes).
 
 
RECIPE: CAPRESE CASSEROLE

Ingredients For 8 Servings
 
For The Base Layer

 
For The Topping

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE the base layer. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with nonstick food spray.

2. SLICE the baguette into rounds and place them in a mixing bowl. Toss the rounds with the garlic, parmesan, olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay the rounds on a baking sheet and cook in the oven until toasted and crispy, about 20 minutes (15 minutes if you raise the temperature to 400°F).

3. SHINGLE (overlap) the toasted slices in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Starting at one end of the dish, make a row of tomato slices. Alternate rows of mozzarella and tomato until the baking dish is filled from one end to the other. Using a spoon, drizzle the olive oil, then the pesto, back and forth over the entire casserole.

4. PREPARE the topping. Place the parmesan, bread crumbs, garlic, basil and olive oil into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until combined. Sprinkle the topping evenly on top of the prepared casserole. Season with the salt and pepper.

5. PLACE the baking dish in the oven for approximately 30 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened and the topping has browned slightly.
 
 
12 CAPRESE SALAD RECIPES

How often have you had a cocktail with an orange wheel—a horizontal slice of orange?

How would you feel about another shape?

An unnamed Japanese bartender cut hexagonal orange garnishes for an Aperol Spritz. They look great, don’t they?

The problem is, the oranges were shaped in a hexagonal mold while growing (like the Japanese square watermelons).

So, we can’t cut hexagons that include the orange peel, as in the photograph. But we can cut hexagons without the peel—or triangles, or squares.

We found it easier to first slice the orange in half, then in slices; and then we trimmed each slice into the hexagon. Use a very sharp knife!

Other round citrus, like Meyer lemons and Key limes, work as well.

Nothing is wasted: Save the scraps of orange and peel and make ice cubes with them.

Just plop them into each cube section, fill with water and freeze.

Hexagon cocktail garnish (photo courtesy Aperol Spritz | Facebook).