by Sonia Satra with
additional editing for
this column by Bridget Petrella
Specifically
the Godfather films were some of the highest grossing films of the
film era. Francis Ford Coppola solidified himself as a Director despite
only being a film student during the first film. As a nearly three hour
epic gangster film saga, Coppola’s reluctant project, The Godfather Part I
was not expected to be such a success, especially given its small budget,
despite what we now know is a star packed cast, including Marlon Brando,
Al Pacino, James Caan, and Robert Duvall amongst others. In addition to
grossing a great deal of money, the film won many Oscars, and was highly
critically acclaimed. In The Godfather, the 1972 Oscar-winner for best
picture, character actor Richard Castellano, portraying Corleone family
henchman Pete Clemenza, uttered the famous line, "Leave the gun, take the
cannoli,'' after overseeing the killing of a bodyguard who had betrayed
Don Corleone. But equally important is another scene in which Clemenza is
standing over the stove in the kitchen putting together a pot of tomato
sauce, trying to teach his recipe to a young Michael Corleone. "You start
with olive oil, fry some garlic, see. And then fry some sausage or
meatballs if you like. Then you throw in the tomatoes, the tomato paste,
some basil, and a little red wine— that's my trick.'' Coppola said the
technique of using food, "makes the characters warmer and more real.
Nobody had really done that before.'' he has since made it a "trademark"
to include a good recipe in each of his films. In tribute to Coppola's
genius as both a filmmaker and world renown food connoisseur, we bring you
a Corleone-esque Italian family classic...
Corleone Cannoli Lemon Canoli Tubes
½ cup of powdered sugar
¼ cup of flour
1 tbsp. of melted butter
2 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
6 oz. of milk chocolate chips, melted
¼ cup of finely chopped walnuts
Mascarpone Cherry Cream
½ cup of dried cherries
½ cup of Kirsch, (cherry brandy)
1 cup of whipping cream
8 oz. of Mascarpone cheese
Combine the powdered sugar, flour, melted butter and lemon juice in
a small bowl and stir with a rubber spatula until the mixture is the
consistency of a thick batter. Cover the batter and refrigerate for at
least 6 hours or overnight. Heat the oven to 400 F. Line a flat baking
sheet with a non-stick “silpat” silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Spoon about a tablespoon of the batter onto the baking sheet. Gently
spread the batter out so that it is in a very thin round about 4" in
diameter. The batter will expand and spread during baking. Bake the
cannoli batter for 10 to 12 minutes or until the batter has spread and is
bubbling and the cookie is golden brown. The cookie should look “lacey”
with little holes. Bake one cookie at a time so that you have time to mold
it into a tube shape when it comes out of the oven. Remove the baking
sheet from the oven and let the cookie cool for 2 minutes. While the
cookie is still warm and pliable, gently remove the cookie using a spatula
and then immediately wrap the warm cookie around a 1" to 2" diameter round
shape. Form the cookie around the mold so that it becomes a tube shape.
Let the cannoli tubes cool to room temperature on a cookie rack. Place the
chopped walnuts in a small bowl. Place the milk chocolate chips in the top
of a double boiler over simmering water. Gently melt the chips, stirring
until the chocolate is smooth. Turn the heat off, but keep the chocolate
over the warm water while you fill the cannoli.
Dip
each end of the cannoli tubes into the warm milk chocolate and then
dip each end of the tubes into the chopped walnuts. The cannoli tubes can
be made in advance and then kept in a tightly covered container until
ready to fill and serve. Place the cherries in a small bowl and pour the
kirsch over the cherries. Let the cherries steep in the kirsch for at
least 6 hours or overnight. Drain the dried cherries from the kirsch,
reserving the liquid. Note: use this “cherry brandy” liquid to spoon over
vanilla ice cream. Roughly chop the cherries. In a mixer bowl, whip the
mascarpone until it is soft. In a separate mixing bowl, whip the cream
until stiff peaks form. With the mixer running, spoon the mascarpone into
the mixing bowl with the whipped cream and whip on low speed until the
mascarpone and whipped cream are thoroughly combined. Gently fold the
chopped cherries into the mascarpone cream. Spoon some of the mascarpone
cream into a pastry bag fitted with a large tube so that the cherries can
pass through. Pipe some of the mascarpone cream into each end of the
cannoli tube, filling the tube full of the cream mixture. UB
Actress
Sonia Satra’s natural charm and endearing persona have often
been equated with her innate ability to examine the entire universe with a
highly sustained imagination. But it's definitively her animated,
adventurous nature, that has been quite a worthy challenge for the
uncommon irony that is her life. Satra’s enthusiasm for living life to the
absolute edge is contagious. She is rather modest when talking about her
accomplishments. The fervently energetic actress prefers to talk more
about what she has yet to accomplish.
Specifically
the Godfather films were some of the highest grossing films of the
film era. Francis Ford Coppola solidified himself as a Director despite
only being a film student during the first film. As a nearly three hour
epic gangster film saga, Coppola’s reluctant project, The Godfather Part I
was not expected to be such a success, especially given its small budget,
despite what we now know is a star packed cast, including Marlon Brando,
Al Pacino, James Caan, and Robert Duvall amongst others. In addition to
grossing a great deal of money, the film won many Oscars, and was highly
critically acclaimed. In The Godfather, the 1972 Oscar-winner for best
picture, character actor Richard Castellano, portraying Corleone family
henchman Pete Clemenza, uttered the famous line, "Leave the gun, take the
cannoli,'' after overseeing the killing of a bodyguard who had betrayed
Don Corleone. But equally important is another scene in which Clemenza is
standing over the stove in the kitchen putting together a pot of tomato
sauce, trying to teach his recipe to a young Michael Corleone. "You start
with olive oil, fry some garlic, see. And then fry some sausage or
meatballs if you like. Then you throw in the tomatoes, the tomato paste,
some basil, and a little red wine— that's my trick.'' Coppola said the
technique of using food, "makes the characters warmer and more real.
Nobody had really done that before.'' he has since made it a "trademark"
to include a good recipe in each of his films. In tribute to Coppola's
genius as both a filmmaker and world renown food connoisseur, we bring you
a Corleone-esque Italian family classic...
Dip
each end of the cannoli tubes into the warm milk chocolate and then
dip each end of the tubes into the chopped walnuts. The cannoli tubes can
be made in advance and then kept in a tightly covered container until
ready to fill and serve. Place the cherries in a small bowl and pour the
kirsch over the cherries. Let the cherries steep in the kirsch for at
least 6 hours or overnight. Drain the dried cherries from the kirsch,
reserving the liquid. Note: use this “cherry brandy” liquid to spoon over
vanilla ice cream. Roughly chop the cherries. In a mixer bowl, whip the
mascarpone until it is soft. In a separate mixing bowl, whip the cream
until stiff peaks form. With the mixer running, spoon the mascarpone into
the mixing bowl with the whipped cream and whip on low speed until the
mascarpone and whipped cream are thoroughly combined. Gently fold the
chopped cherries into the mascarpone cream. Spoon some of the mascarpone
cream into a pastry bag fitted with a large tube so that the cherries can
pass through. Pipe some of the mascarpone cream into each end of the
cannoli tube, filling the tube full of the cream mixture. UB