Comfort Food and Therapy Through Baking

Today started off really weird. First thing this morning, I got a text message that read: "UT Alert: armed subject reported last seen at PERRY CASTANEDA LIBRARY on 09282010 details to follow." It sounded like this guy was about to be arrested, so I wasn't too worried. Then a few minutes later, another text: "UT Alert: armed subject reported last seen at PERRY CASTANEDA LIBRARY SHELTER IN PLACE STAY WHERE YOU ARE AT MORE INFORMATION TO FOLLOW." Well, if that's not alarming! I spent over 3 hours sitting on my couch watching the news, wondering what was happening and whether or not I would have to go to school (I didn't!). The gunman reportedly fired shots into the air on the 6th floor of the library before shooting himself with an AK47 (how he got an AK47 into the library, I don't know). Luckily, nobody else was shot. The campus was put on lockdown while APD, UTPD, and SWAT searched for an alleged second suspect who was never found (and probably didn't exist). I could hear the alarms, sirens, and helicopters out my window, and when the students were evacuated from campus I could see them marching past my building. (I'm mostly writing this down because I don't want to forget my own account of what happened.) I am so glad that I wasn't on campus when this was happening (my classes would have been in the middle of it) and I think it's lucky that no one else was killed. Aside from this, other crappy things happen to people (unfortunately), and when really bad things happen people need to be comforted, and my favorite comfort takes form in chocolate chip cookies.


I've been using this recipe forever, and it comes from the back of a bag of nestle tollhouse chocolate chips.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I use 2 3/4 cups)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 (I usually do about 350).
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add the flour, then stir in the chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake for 9-11 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes (I do about 5 minutes to keep the cookies chewy) and then transfer to cooling rack.

These cookies are even more amazing if you freeze the dough for a day or so after mixing, which gives the flavors time to meld together. Also, if you have some vanilla ice cream, these cookies make great ice cream sandwiches (put a scoop of ice cream between two cookies, then freeze overnight before eating).

The Russians

When someone in my family needs vodka, or to call out a hit, we turn to The Russians. When one of The Russians needs a birthday dinner, they turn to my family. For the Russian Daughter's birthday back in mid-August, my mom and I cooked up a Greek feast, which is every bit amazing as it sounds. In preparation, we bought two containers of Grandma's hummus from the farmer's market and 3 jumbo-sized bags of jumbo-sized fresh pita, made Greek salad (complete with olives and feta), spanikopita, vegetable moussaka, grilled chicken, falafel, and for dessert, the Russian Daughter requested cannoli (not entirely Greek, but delicious nontheless). So allow me to present: the cannoli.


This recipe caused me stress. I must admit that I've never fried anything before on my own, and nobody with any experience was at the house to assist. It's probably by some miracle that I didn't burn the house down... I got off to a bad start: the oil needs to be about 375 degrees, and I misread the thermometer and thought the oil was ready when it was only 275. Into the trash go the first 3 cannoli shells. A bummer, really, because we were expecting nine people and the recipe makes 12 shells, which meant I couldn't screw up again. But I did. Luckily, you can buy boxes of six empty cannoli shells from the grocery store (thank god!). Following recipe courtesy of my... great grandmother? (Mom, can I get confirmation on that?)

Cannoli

For the dough:
1 3/4 cup flour, divided
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp wine vinegar (this really makes the recipe!)
3 tbsp water
1 egg
2 tbsp soft butter

For the filling:
4 cups (2 lbs) Ricotta
1 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp vanilla
6 tbsp grated semisweet chocolate
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Add the sugar, salt, and cinnamon to 1 cup flour. Make a well and add the vinegar and water. Beat in the egg, then the butter. Add remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time until dough is solid and lifts out of the bowl. Knead on a lightly floured surface until soft and smooth, about 8 minutes. Refrigerate 1 hour to overnight.

Heat oil in a very large pan (or a deep frier if you have one) to 375 degrees F. Divide the dough evenly into 12 balls and roll each one into a very flat (1/16" or so) circle. Roll each circle once before forming to make ovals. Roll each oval, one at a time, onto a 6" by 1" (in diameter) cannoli tube and fry 2 minutes, turning once. Cool on newspaper for a few minutes before removing the tubes to use again. After you've fried all of the shells, set them aside to cool completely while you make the filling.

Cream the ricotta for about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat for an additional 4-5 minutes. Refrigerate if not using immediately.

To fill the cannoli, put the ricotta mixture in a very large ziplock bag and seal, then cut off one corner (or if you have some kind of jumbo-sized piping bags, that would work too). Fill both sides of each cannoli, then if you want, you can dip each end in melted chocolate and then chopped pistachios. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

These are best made the day of because after that, the shells tend to get soggy (but they're still good!).