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Home / ABOUT JO

ABOUT JO

Welcome to Jo Cooks where you’ll find delicious, tried-and-tested recipes for every occasion made with every day ingredients! They all come complete with step-by-step photo tutorials, videos and detailed instructions, all to help you succeed in your kitchen.

Jo Cooks has been around since 2011 and it started out as a place for me to store my recipes that I’ve collected over the years from friends and family. Here you’ll find hundreds and hundreds of delicious recipes, so make sure to check out the Recipes section and browse all your favorites!

People ask me all the time, what sort of food I cook and blog about. The truth is, everything. I cook anything and everything, and well, we eat everything, and if my husband and I can’t eat everything, there are plenty of friends, family or neighbours who love to help us out. I, most of all, love simple recipes with few everyday ingredients that you can either find in your pantry, or are easy to find at your local grocery store.

ABOUT JO

My name Joanna Cismaru, Jo for short, and I am the brains behind my food blog, Jo Cooks. I’m a writer, photographer, cookbook author and most importantly, I’m the cook that prepares all these scrumptious recipes that you can find here. My husband Remo, is the other force behind this blog. He’s the taste tester, IT genius, accountant extraordinaire and last but not least, my biggest supporter and pillar of strength.

We have a new puppy, his name is Han Solo and he’s just a ball of energy. We got him for our previous puppy, Indiana Jones, to have a brother, but unfortunately Indiana Jones passed away from Lymphoma earlier in the year. Our hearts are broken, he was only 3 years old and the best dog ever. Luckily, we still have Solo who’s helped us through this difficult time. He’s an Aussie Doodle, super smart and full of energy.

As long as I can remember I’ve always loved to cook and putz around in the kitchen. I’m seriously passionate about food and I do consider myself a foodie! I love all food and I will always try everything at least once, well maybe except bugs. I won’t try bugs and cats or dogs! But everything else goes.

I am totally self-taught and have no formal culinary training but I have been cooking for over 20 years. I’ve learned from my mistakes because there have been mess-ups in the kitchen, but I think that’s what makes us stronger and better at what we do. I love Julia Child’s style of cooking but I love to simplify meals, so that they are more attainable for the everyday cook.

MY PREVIOUS CAREER

freshly made chicken piccata in a skillet garnished with parsley and lemon wedges.
Lemon Chicken Piccata – a simple yet super impressive chicken piccata in a tasty lemon, butter and capers sauce. Perfect with pasta for a quick and delicious dinner.

In my previous career, I worked in the IT world doing software development, and while I enjoyed it, it was quite stressful. To relieve some of that stress, I always turned to cooking and baking, thus discovering my latest passion, and so this new “so-called” career evolved.

I am totally self-taught when it comes to cooking, though I have to thank my mom for teaching me the basics. I must say that I enjoy baking more than cooking so you will find quite a few baking recipes here. While I’m not a fancy baker I do love my breads and rolls and the occasional cake or pastry.

sideview shot of hoisin beef noodles in a white bowl with chop sticks twirling some noodles
Hoisin Beef Noodles

FUN FACTS

I was born in Romania, Transylvania to be exact. My family moved here when I was just a child. While I can honestly say I’ve never met a vampire, I do love my garlic. Here you will also find some of my favorite Romanian recipes that have been passed down to me from my mom and mother in law.

My husband and I met online back in the 90s when online dating wasn’t even a thing. Almost 20 years later we’re still happily married and together we’ve made all our dreams come true.

My all time favorite food is anything Italian like lasagna, pizza, any kind of pasta and bacon!

MY COOKBOOKS

The Big Book Of Jo’s Quick & Easy Meals

I wrote a new cookbook called “The Big Book Of Jo’s Quick & Easy Meals” and will be available on August 2nd, 2021. You can now PRE-ORDER it at:

  • AMAZON
  • BARNES AND NOBLE
  • BOOKS-A-MILLION
  • INDIE BOUND
  • INDIGO
cover for the big book of jo's quick and easy meals.

30-Minute One-Pot Meals

If you love my recipes and would like more of my creations, you can find my first cookbook “30 Minute One Pot Meals” available to order.

You can order my “30-Minute One-Pot Meals” book at:

  • AMAZON
  • BARNES AND NOBLE
  • BOOKS-A-MILLION
  • INDIE BOUND
  • INDIGO
30-Minute One-Pot Meals

Reader Interactions

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Comments

  1. Hira says

    February 16, 2021 at 9:52 pm

    I loved your yummy delicious food

    Reply
  2. Raluca Zurawski says

    February 11, 2021 at 12:07 pm

    So excited to try more of these recipes! I was born in Transylvania too 🙂

    Poți te rog sa faci gogoși? I can’t get them right and 6 months pregnant I’m craving LOL

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      February 11, 2021 at 3:35 pm

      Uite, am reteta asta de gogosi, si sunt foarte bune: https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/paczki/

      Reply
  3. Becky Wann says

    February 10, 2021 at 8:57 am

    I knew it. I KNEW IT! when I saw your name, I knew you’re “de-a noastra” /one of us!
    Im from Virginia, but born in Oradea. Cannot wait to try all of your recipes! <3

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      February 10, 2021 at 10:40 am

      Multumesc!😘

      Reply
  4. madhuri Shirke says

    February 3, 2021 at 6:39 am

    i loved ur receipes

    Reply
    • Jo Cooks Team says

      February 3, 2021 at 9:26 am

      Thank you!!

      Reply
  5. R.L. says

    January 30, 2021 at 7:28 am

    Do you have a recipe called — Easy Cheese or Cheesy noodles using Fettucine noodles? I can’t find it on your site.

    Reply
    • Jo Cooks Team says

      February 1, 2021 at 9:48 am

      I have an Easy Alfredo recipe!

      Reply
  6. Laura Kovacs says

    January 29, 2021 at 1:48 am

    Hi Joanna,
    I am a bad cook , honestly but your food ideas are brilliant. Yesterday I found your blog accidentally and I tried one of your special recipe. I loved it and today will be tofu day, so I am going to check another great and delicious meal from your cookbook.

    Thank you for your passion and hard work to help us to enjoy our food.

    Best wishes:)

    Reply
    • Jo Cooks Team says

      January 29, 2021 at 9:15 am

      Love to hear it Laura!! Thank you so much 🙂

      Reply
  7. Melina says

    January 24, 2021 at 5:12 pm

    When this pandemic started and we were in quarantine, I wanted my kids to be more involved with the dinner making so I assigned each kid a night where they cooked dinner and I handed them your book “30 Minute One-Pot meals” as a resource and boy it was my best idea yet!😁 The kids were so excited to give me their ingredient lists and they looked forward to making various dishes from your book and we all looked forward to eating them each night so thank you Jo for making dinner time a lot more fun & delicious!😊

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      January 24, 2021 at 6:47 pm

      Aw, thanks, Melina! I’m so glad my book has helped you and your kids. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Linda M Thomas says

    January 22, 2021 at 8:02 pm

    Dinner was Instant Pot Chicken Breasts and Thyme Skillet Potatoes. Healthy and delicious! My son-in-law loved it. He’s used to his mom’s Mexican cooking and spent time in culinary school so can be a little critical. When he likes dinner I’m excited!

    Reply
  9. Laura S says

    January 21, 2021 at 4:15 pm

    Love your bio! I was dating online before it was cool too lol. So nice to learn more about you; I’m such a huge fan of your recipes, and now your character as well 😍

    Reply
    • Jo Cooks Team says

      January 21, 2021 at 4:21 pm

      Thank you so much!!

      Reply
  10. Kia Williams says

    January 19, 2021 at 9:15 am

    Girrrllll those OXTAILS!!!! I was highly impressed with your that recipe. I couldn’t tell my grandma it was better than hers lol! I also tried the mashed potato recipe. From there I have added and replaced many of my recipes with yours. I am amazed at how many recipes are so delicious and so extrodinarily delicious. Thank you Jo for putting this site together and helping many of us non cookers look like experts.

    Reply
    • Jo Cooks Team says

      January 19, 2021 at 9:25 am

      Too sweet! Thank you so much, I’m so happy you love the recipes 🙂

      Reply
  11. annette C (fabri) Peterson says

    January 15, 2021 at 12:30 pm

    This recipe sound wonderful and I would like to try it, However, I don’t like ricotta cheese. Can I substitute Cream Cheese or would it be too thick?

    Reply
    • Jo Cooks Team says

      January 15, 2021 at 12:49 pm

      Certainly!

      Reply
  12. Amos says

    January 1, 2021 at 2:17 pm

    I recently came across your website looking for an instant pot roast beef recipe. I was directed to your Mississippi Pot Roast and decided to give it a whirl. Lets just say it was a huge hit and has been suggested I make this my go to recipe for pot roast going forward. I had the hardest time getting the meat out of pot to shred because it literally fell apart! It was moist, flavorful, and the gravy at the end was the perfect consistency. I serve it over mashed potatoes with roasted brussel sprouts…and then made empanadas with the leftover meat the following day for lunch. Yumsies

    Reply
  13. Owen says

    December 31, 2020 at 12:42 pm

    this recipe sounds great……but i went to this site to view a video and there wasn’t any ?

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      December 31, 2020 at 1:22 pm

      I’m not sure which recipe you’re talking about since you’re on my about page, but usually when a video doesn’t show up it means you have ad blocker turned on.

      Reply
  14. Kennetha Caldwell says

    December 24, 2020 at 8:43 am

    Hi Jo, I am making your Cornish Hens for Christmas. I am doing 3 instead of 2 how do I adjust the recipe to accommodate 3 hens instead of 2 or do I not have to do any adjusting? Hopefully you will see this. Happy Holidays!

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      December 24, 2020 at 10:50 am

      No adjustments necessary.

      Reply
  15. Ruth W says

    December 11, 2020 at 12:16 pm

    Hi Jo, I made your prime rib last Christmas and it turned out perfectly and was so delicious! This year, I am going to make a 10 lb roast as there wasn’t anything leftover last year. Do I double the cooking times , like the time at 450, and then reduce the oven temp? Or do I follow the recipe as is? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Jo Cooks Team says

      December 11, 2020 at 1:03 pm

      It will depend on how you prefer your meat done, but I would say to estimate about 15 minutes per pound! However, start reading the temperature after about an hour! 120 F degrees is what you’re looking for if you want it rare. A thermometer is the ONLY way to guarantee a perfectly cooked prime rib just how you like it.

      Reply
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