On cannolis: I made rods out of rolled aluminum foil to fry the shells because buying specialized equipment was not really an option.

Ooh, great tip! 
I have not even remotely looked into how much those cost. Maybe I’ll ask for them for my birthday soon – but also probably not because aluminum foil is probably good enough, and I doubt I’ll be making them multiple times. 
Unless I’m crazy good at it! #cannoliqueen