Growing up in an Italian area, family and food were a big part of life.  Having dinner at a friend's house might mean a big plate of meatballs covered in sauce or perhaps a piping hot tomato pie.

Of course, all meals ended with something sweet.  In most cases, that was a cannoli.  Who didn't like that fried pastry dough tube, stuffed with a mixture of ricotta and confectioner's sugar?  Many times, the shell was dipped in chocolate and even had chocolate chips mixed into the cannoli filling.