"Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli" ("The Godfather")
This classic line reminds me of the queue at Mike's Pastry and Modern Pastry Shop --- legendary places that are always packed --- on Hanover Street in Boston's North End. There, from cases stacked with mouth-watering sweets, my better half selects scrumptious Italian pastries - almond biscotti and Cucidati (fig cookies). And the piece de resistance is the cannoli, handmade on the spot with his filling of choice - chocolate mousse, chocolate cream, yellow cream, peanut butter, pecan caramel - and dipped in chocolate, almonds, or chocolate chips. Rodney never passes on the powdered sugar, sprinkled on just before the goodies are packaged in the proverbial white box, with a string bow.
Once his treasure is tight as a drum, he makes a bee line for our daughter's apartment in the Back Bay where we eat like kings. With much anticipation, Rodney harps on Mike's and Modern before we ever land in Boston, bringing a wad of cash, for that's all these iconic establishments take. The minute we are on terra firma, he makes plans to take a trek to the North End, and he reminisces, with great fanfare, about the savory experience afterwards, smuggling rare remains into his carry-on luggage.
While we don't lose focus of why we're there --- to see our daughter --- I'm pretty sure that Mike's and Modern would be worth the trip for Rodney. When his first cousin Dr. Blane Bateman, with wife Dr. Margaret Davenport Bateman and son Richard joined us there last fall, Mike's and Modern were placed, courtesy of Rodney, on our list of recommendations for their visit to the City on a Hill.
With the exception of my craving for chocolate, I simply don't have his sweet tooth. Perhaps I take after my mother. While my father was feasting on his fellow Rotarians' desserts, my mother had willpower. Her weakness was bread which is why I was surprised, during her last decade of life, that she turned to sweets. I thought it was perhaps the stroke for shortly thereafter, in the rehab, she asked her nurse about the daily dessert selection. It was the strangest thing. For seventy-five years, she had passed on dessert. And, suddenly, it was all that mattered. Momma didn't relent even after she came home, living out the rest of her days (eleven glorious years) savoring sweets. She sent me on jaunts to the local bakery and kept the freezer stocked with Ben & Jerry's.
Speaking of ice cream, chocolate is my main weakness at an old-fashioned ice cream parlor - something else we have in Boston, our home away from home. J. P. Licks is just around the corner. After a long stroll one cool, crisp September evening, cousins Margaret, Blane, and Richard indulged in ice cream, there, with us. It's even better when it is shared with family.
And no one is left wanting here at home. Parallel establishments, largely situated in the general vicinity of Washington and Greenlaw, exist in South Louisiana, right here in our hometown of Franklinton. Notably, it is also the hometown of Blane's father - Dr. Elton Bateman, the son of Robert Hugh and Sadie Sylvest Bateman and the husband of Patsy, was born and raised here, with brothers Carey and Don.
Back to dessert, to complement their popular entrees, Sugar Shack in Franklinton has a sensational offering of delightful sweets. The array ranges from chocolate cakes, cupcakes, and cake pops to cheesecake, made from goat milk, from Huckleberry Farm. As Sugar Shack owner John David Schilling explained, the latter originated with Frederick Brumfield, and his brother-in-law has continued the delicacy. John David also carries a wide variety of donuts ranging from strawberry to blueberry to Bavarian cream, making it impossible to go wrong.
And with the best of cakes, Jackie's Cake Shop owned by Jackie Ingram Smith has always been a mainstay. For sensational shakes, I take the shortest route to the Sonic or Glynn's. Namatasty is another nearby place where customers can get creamy ice cream concoctions to go. Also convenient, Kristen Casanova Thomas's Southern Faith baked goods arrive right on time. You know what they say - timing is everything. I was lucky enough to be at "The Era-Leader" office when her delicious cookie creation was delivered.
With Easter upon us, Elmer's heavenly hash and gold brick eggs are a Southern staple, overflowing the dough bowl at our house. And there are old-fashioned panoramic sugar eggs, to admire, not ingest. But for something edible and homemade, I turned to local cookbooks in my kitchen. Searching with all my main and might, I failed to find a recipe for cannoli. But I did discover a delectable - the recipe for Italian cookies, is noted below - that will satiate until we return to Boston. We must be making the journey soon because I glimpsed Rodney counting his cash, mandatory for Mike's and Modern.
Italian Cookies (from the "Ruth Sampler Cookbook" of Mt. Hermon Baptist Church, compiled by the Ruth Sunday School Class in 1985)
1 cup oil or Crisco
2 ½ cups sugar
8 eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla
8 cups flour
8 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup nuts
Mix oil or Crisco, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder and nuts. Roll and bake in 350 degree oven until golden brown. Take out and slice diagonally; put back in and brown on both sides.
---- Jance A. Simmons
Happy Easter to all!
