Shannon Sarna Refers to Herself As A Pizza Bagel

I’m a pizza bagel (or a “matzo-rella” stick, depending on your preference), by which I mean I am Italian and Jewish—specifically, Sicilian and Eastern European Ashkenazi—which heavily influences everything I do in the kitchen. Italian- and Jewish-Ameri…

I’m a pizza bagel (or a “matzo-rella” stick, depending on your preference), by which I mean I am Italian and Jewish—specifically, Sicilian and Eastern European Ashkenazi—which heavily influences everything I do in the kitchen. Italian- and Jewish-Americans (and especially those of us from New York) have much in common: guilt, family, tradition, and of course, a passion for food.

While no food writer speaks for an entire culture, it’s important to note that “Jewish food” in particular is not a monolith. My family hails from Poland and Ukraine, which influences my palate and cooking style. And while many Americans are most familiar with Eastern European-inspired Jewish food, the Jewish people have lived in or been exiled to wide-ranging lands all over the world, including Syria, Tunisia, Lithuania, Yemen, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Iran, and Mexico—just to name a few. Much as I love matzo ball soup, pastrami sandwiches, and babka, there are so many other uniquely Jewish-American dishes, and stories, to tell.

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My Kids Will Never Meet Their Grandma, but Her Stew Will Nourish Them Forever

Good food is worth a thousand words—sometimes more. In My Family Recipe, a writer shares the story of a single dish that’s meaningful to them and their loved ones.

Mom and me.

Good food is worth a thousand words—sometimes more. In My Family Recipe, a writer shares the story of a single dish that's meaningful to them and their loved ones.


Mom and me.

Growing up, we had an annual tradition in my family: On the first day of school, my mother would cook us Hungarian goulash for dinner. It’s a slightly confusing tradition for several reasons, foremost being that my mother wasn’t Hungarian. Not even a little bit. Her family was Sicilian-American by way of Brooklyn, and while she did make a lot of conventional American mom food like mac and cheese, chicken cutlets, and something she called “Mexican casserole,” most of what she cooked week to week was inspired by her Italian roots.

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