Cannolis (Part 2), Zombies, and Playoffs (oh, my!)

Last weekend of freedom before the work, running, and healthy eating sets in. #FinalGluttonyPost

Book: Hollowland (and Hollowmen), by Amanda Hocking
I'm not sure why the concept of zombies freaks me out so much. Probably because unlike some of the other supernatural characters out there, zombies seem much more realistic and devastating to me. Because yeah stuff gets pretty screwed up in vampire and werewolf books, but with zombies its always the freaking apocalypse...and a believable one at that. Scares the poop out of me, but I can't even put them down. As in Mama M's review, I really wanna Ripley (and a Remy BFF for sure). Read the first one in a day, and just got the second one (and I'm flying through my Goodreads Year Challenge!! Whoohoooo!).


Wine: 2011 Biltmore Christmas Reserve White Wine. NOT TO DRINK. That shiz is sickeningly sweet...but not even in a refreshing, delicious way. Yuck. BUT when used in Cannoli shells (did you know the main liquid ingredient is Wine?? +5, Cannolis, +5), actually not that bad.

I hodge-podged together some of the recipes online for both shells and filling. After rolling out the dough, I used a glass rim to cut out circles and wrap them around the "Cannoli Tubes" I found in the Walmart Home Improvement department. I also used some rolled up aluminum foil to see if the cheap version would work as well. Mixed feelings about both. The toolbit things worked well because they were heavier and could hole the entire shell under the oil, while the aluminum floated to the top and had to be micromanaged a bit; but the aluminum was a little easier to pull out (key word being little...both had to be manhandled with needlenose pliers. SO MANY TOOLS IN COOKING hahhaha). In the end, they turned out okay...gotta work on crisping them up a bit though. (I think the secret is to leave them in a bit longer...I had two that turned out better this way).

The filling was SO MUCH FUN to pipe into the shells with a pastry bag (I swear I think I used to be a pastry chef in a past life!). And with a scoop of icecream topped with fresh mint (OMG TRY IT...SO GOOD) the cannoli's weren't quite Biscuit-Italian-Restaurant quality but they were pretty delicious anyways. (Frying things takes quite a bit of effort BTW. I wish I was able to burn off all the fried calories simply by making them haha):

Life: Time for the NFL playoff game of the century: NY Giants vs. San Fran 49ers. Decided to make some Rotel dip. Sandy hates Velveeta, and I hate making 12 lbs of Rotel with the huge chunks of fake cheese, so I tried Velveeta singles with half a can of Rotel. Still coulda used a bit less, but didn't make 3 gallons of the stuff so that's good. Pizza and beer shall be ordered soon! Celebrating the end of gluttony and the start of school! (unless we get a snow day. yes, please.)