My favorite holiday meal

For my first post, I'm going to do something a little different. Rather than review a restaurant, I'm going to post a recipe. Give it a try, I hope you enjoy!

My favorite thing about the holidays isn't the presents. It's not spending time with my family, nor even Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Rather, it's what happens after Christmas dinner. Every year, on December 25th, right after we've cleaned the table, my mother stashes in the freezer the bone from the Christmas ham. Towards the end of January, after the pounds of leftovers have been eaten and Christmas is all but forgotten, she pulls it out and slaves over the stove for hours (ok, more like 20 minutes) making my favorite meal of the year. This year, I was lucky enough to take the coveted bone with me back to Cleveland and am preparing to make my own version of my mom's famous (at least in our family), award-winning (if it's not, it should be) Split-Pea Soup.

Split-Pea Soup
3-3.5 hours
Serves 6 (realistically 4)

1 lg (or 2-3 small) onion, finely chopped
16 oz dried green split peas
1 sm ham shank
3 quarts water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
0.5 t garlic powder
0.5 t oregano
pepper
1 bay leaf
1.5 c thinly sliced carrots
1 c chopped celery

In a 6-quart (no smaller, trust me) stockpot sweat 1 large chopped onion in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add peas, ham shank, water, bouillon cubes, garlic powder, oregano, 2-3 good grinds of black pepper, and the bay leaf & bring to a boil. Skim off the scum and reduce heat. Simmer for 90 minutes. Remove ham shank and trim meat off the bone. Return the meat to the pot, stir in the carrots & celery, and simmer uncovered for 2-2.5 hours or until soup reaches desired thickness. Serve and enjoy!

I generally add (tons of) rosemary and ground sage and a teaspoon or so of kosher salt, but straight up it beats anything from a can! Hot cornbread served with butter & honey makes a perfect compliment!

Presti's Bakery

Presti's Bakery was opened by Rose and Charlie Presti in 1903 and has been a neighborhood favorite since then. Located right in the heart of Little Italy Presti's churns out some of the best pastries, fresh breads and pizza that you can pay for. This happens to be my favorite neighborhood eatery in Little Italy and has been since I was a kid. So, let's talk about the food. Where to start really??? I think I'll go backwards with this one and suggest you get a cup of coffee and a piece of cassata cake. Presti's takes the title of best cassata cake in Cleveland right away from Corbo's Bakery hands down. There is just nothing like it! If you don't like cassata cake don't worry because you'll have racks and racks of other things to choose from. Whether it be a cup of gelato, a cannoli, a plate full of authentic Italian cookies, a chocolate mousse cake or even a plain old brownie you can be sure that you're going to enjoy it. Now that I have dessert out of the way I'll start in on the goodies at the hot counter. Presti's always has soup, salad, pizza, and pepperoni bread. The soup rotates and is always pretty good. The salad is made in advance and is pretty standard as far as salads go. The pizza is also made in the morning in sheets. You can get cheese, pepperoni and sausage, egglplant, and a deluxe slice that comes with red sauce or you can get a piece with artichoke and spinach that has more of an olive oil white sauce. All are very good and at $2 or under it's not going to stress your bank account. Pepperoni and spinach breads ($2) are really good too. As simple as it gets really, consisting of bread dough, pepperoni and cheese and the same with the spinach bread. Presti's also provides a number of hot dishes ranging from lasagna to chicken piccata to beef stew and are changed daily. Across from that Presti's has a cold food section where you can find tuna salad or tortellini salad and cold cut sandwiches along with other treats. Presti's also offers a Sunday brunch and has hot food for breakfast to grab on your way to work during the week. Presti's is another place in Little Italy that can get busy especially during lunch hours and weekends. Parking is very minimal but it's definitely worth the walk from a side street. Enjoy!



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Mama Santa's

Mama Santa's is one of those places that's well known in Cleveland for pizza. They've won a few awards including Best Cheap Eats of 2007, Best Italian Food 2007 and Best Pizza 2007. I guess I have a different opinion of the place because I've lived in Little Italy my whole life. We probably get Mama Santa's once a week and have been since I was little. My favorite thing on the menu besides the pizza is probably the home made Cavatelli with meatballs ( $8.95 ) or the Chicken Parmigiana dinner ( $10.95 ) that comes with a side of pasta. To be honest the Chicken Parm can be a little greasy and sometimes the side of pasta lacks a good amount of sauce but I guess it all depends on who is cooking that night. Another thing I have to admit is that I always get my food to go. I've eaten there a few times and the service was just so so and I can't stand the decor. The place looks like cliched Italian joint that needs a bit of an update. Anyway, you can order quarts and pints of sauce to go and pizzas range in price from $5.50-$20. All in all Mama Santa's is a pretty decent place to eat and I'm sure you'll find something on the menu that you'll come back for. If you decide to go there on the weekend be sure and get there on the earlier side because the place fills up quickly and they can stay packed the whole night. Parking is always a little bit of a mess in Little Italy so you might have to park on a side street or pay the $5 for the valets to take care of it.


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Old Fashioned Hot Dogs

This happens to be my first review and I wanted to do it on a place that I've been going to for years. Old Fashioned Hot Dogs has by far the best chili dog in Cleveland and at $1.50 a piece ( for chili and onions) it's one of the cheapest treats out there. Located at 4008 Lorain Ave in a cozy little place with about 10 seats at the counter you're right down the street from the bars on W.25th and Detroit Rd. Old Fashioned Hot Dogs doesn't just sling out hot dogs but has a pretty decent menu for the amount of space they have in the kitchen. They'll make you eggs and bacon and I don't think you'll drop more than $5. Their chili is homemade everyday from a Greek family recipe that is as good today as it was when I first started going there as a child. I totally recommend this place to anyone that's looking for a great bite to eat after a few beers or that enjoys meat in tube form. Catch you guys later!

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