DecaAwesome List for home

Here is a top ten list inspired by my visit home for Christmas:

Top Ten Foods of Home

1. Fusili and mom's sauce. I ate this upon arriving at my parents' house late Tuesday night. The pasta was yummy and the sauce was to die for. I miss mom's sauce all year round, and mostly eat sauce out of a jar, so it was a real treat.

2. Chinese take-out. It's what we're eating tonight. I can get good Chinese food in L.A. now (when I first moved there, I was clueless as to where to find the good stuff), but there's nothing like eating the good NY stuff out of the white take-out boxes at the dining room table.

3. Stuffed mushrooms. This is a holiday tradition, made for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I made them for the first time for Thanksgiving this year, and it was like stealing fire from the gods. Absolutely delicious.

4. Eggplant parmagiana. This is my grandma's specialty. Sometimes EP can get really heavy and greasy because you need to fry it up, but my grandma's recipe requires a draining step that makes the eggplant light and fluffy. It's practically like cake.

5. Fresh mozzarella from Iavarone's. Very soft and flavorful. Nothing like a slice of fresh mozz on a piece of semolina bread (maybe with a tomato). I could eat a ton of this.

6. Pizza from Umberto's. This is going to be tomorrow's dinner. No visit home is complete without take-out from our favorite pizza place. The sauce is magnificent. Mom likes extra sauce, but I'm good with the regular kind. They make a helluva Sicilian pie as well. Yum.

7. Elio's frozen pizza. This is best as a midnight snack food. They don't sell this kind of frozen pizza in L.A. It's the kind of pizza they used to serve at birthday parties at the roller rink. It's not real high quality, but it's awesome nonetheless. Best when overcooked a bit and kind of burnt on top.

8. Entenman's holiday cupcakes. Also something you can't get in L.A. Yes, we have a little bit of Entenman's, but for some reason, they don't sell the cupcakes. These monstrosities of sugar are made with yellow cake, a layer of chocolate on the top and a swirl of icing to match the season. Valentine's ones have cinnamon jelly beans, Christmas ones have little sugar trees, St. Patrick's Day ones have little sugar shamrocks.

9. Ham wrapped around a breadstick. Now that I'm eating pork again, I can enjoy this staple of holiday parties. The good cold cuts from M&M's (in Floral Park) don't hurt, either. The recipe? Take a slice of ham and wrap it around a breadstick. Eat. Savor.

10. Log Cookies. Mom makes these buttery-riffic cookies from a recipe she got from my Aunt Lee. They've got butter, crushed walnuts, and powdered sugar. They are fabulous, and I think of my beloved Aunt and godmother every time I eat one. Which is a lot at Christmas.