While Rossella Rago ’09C has been hosting the weekly Internet
series “Cooking with
Nonna” since 2007, she’s actually been cooking with her own
nonna (Italian for “grandmother”) all her life.
“My nonna cooked all the time,” said Rossella, “so I
learned a lot of her techniques through osmosis.” Her close
relationship with her grandmother played a pivotal role in the
creation of the series.
As an undergraduate at St. John’s University, Rossella attended
classes at both the Staten Island and Queens campuses.
She lived with her grandmother in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, because of
its central location. “First, I would take a train to the bus just
to get to Staten Island,” she said. “When I was done with my
classes there, I’d take the University’s shuttle bus up to
Queens.”
When she was finished with classes in Queens, Rossella would
take the long subway ride back to her grandmother’s home in
Brooklyn, where she would be greeted with a home-cooked Italian
meal. “The commute was exhausting, but I ate really well during
college,” she said with a smile.
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