Cannoli

Italian pastry tubes filled with ricotta cheese and served for dessert, cannoli range from sodden to celestial. It’s all a matter of freshness. Those that sit in a cooler already filled lose the crunch of their shell and the sweetness of the cheese within. The best cannoli are filled to order, as they are at New Orleans’ legendary Angelo Brocato, where crisp, utterly fresh cookie shells are filled with ricotta that is just barely cool, the right temperature to accentuate its dairy goodness. The parlor’s signature version is filled with vanilla ricotta at one end and chocolate ricotta at the other, both ends blanketed with ground pistachio nuts.