Full Belly Files | Is French Onion Dip My Family Dish?

This edition of Full Belly Files was originally emailed to subscribers on December 2, 2022. To receive Matt Kettmann’s food newsletter in your inbox each Friday, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

Last month, my son’s Spanish teacher at La Colina Junior High celebrated Día de los Muertos by inviting all of the students to bring one of their family’s special dishes to class. To my ears, that meant something that was both relatively unique to one’s heritage and yet consumed with at least an annual frequency. That presented a bit of a quandary for us.

My wife’s Jewish heritage provided a few legitimate options. We could have gone with bagels or brisket — though both are pretty commonplace these days — as well as latkes, which do remain special enough to Jewish traditions and are heartily enjoyed on our table during Hanukkah. But they’re not great served cold, as they would be during school, so we didn’t go that route.