When I wrote my post about Cannoli last week, the first “Like” and “Comment” on Instagram were from my niece and Goddaughter, Abby Duvall. Her comment? “Love Cannolis!” I know I said I would probably just buy them in the future after losing to the hot oil, but I can’t say no to “Sweets”, so my reply was that I would make them for her. And indeed I would have, but I’m in Chicago and she’s out east. Today would have been her graduation day from Boston College, which sadly isn’t happening due to the pandemic. Rather than succumbing to the “Corona Blues”, she and her friends came up with a safe plan that enabled them to be together at her friend Kate’s family home in the Hamptons and have their own mini Senior week. I was so happy to hear that this great group of young ladies were not deterred and were going to celebrate, so I decided to send some treats for them to enjoy.

Cannoli were a must, and although the votes were decidely in favor of Modern, I had to go with Mike’s since I had learned from my research last week that they ship nationwide overnight. As they were going to be together for another 10 days and would need to eat more than cannoli, I thought a little Chicago deep dish would make for a fun dinner on one of those nights. It seemed fitting, since the last time I saw this crew was last November at the Lou Malnati’s at the end of my street. They were in town for the BC game at Notre Dame and had stopped for a late lunch after touring the city. Lou’s ships, so I selected a variety and everything arrived on Friday just in time for the weekend. Perfect!

Abby texted me that the pizza was “So Yum” and everyone sure looked like they had a great time. They did a top notch job on the cannoli assembly and look like they came straight out of the shop on Hanover Street. I hear they doubled for breakfast the next day. I will make my cannoli for her at some point, though I suspect I will order up the shells since I have found multiple sources, including Golden Cannoli Shells, Inc. in Chelsea, Massachusetts that apparently supplies to many bakeries (perhaps even Mikes??). The prices don’t justify my ever going into battle with that hot oil again, but I do think my filling is worth making. In the meantime, I am happy that this festive feast brought smiles to their faces. I’m so proud of Abby and all of her friends, not only for their accomplishment of graduating, but for choosing to be joyful and celebrate their friendship and what the future holds. I know they will look back fondly on their years at BC and while the ending wasn’t the one they planned for, their bonds have been strengthened even further and their resilience will serve them well. Watch out world, here they come!