Welcome! I'm Lori...
Josie + Nina was named in honor of my two Italian grandmothers who made putting food on the table look easy every day. At Josie + Nina, the food are mostly Italian recipes built around fresh ingredients for busy lifestyles like yours. A fresh, modern perspective, lots of Midwestern hospitality, and flexibility for where you are in your life goes a long way to putting darn good food on the table.
To me, it's always the more the merrier!
The Inspiration
I’ve been food-obsessed most of my life –watching my grandmas, mom, and aunts make homemade meatballs and red sauce, and sheet pan pizza, led to reading cookbooks and everything about food that I could get my hands on. While good food is an inspiration all its own, you can't beat the feeling that comes with preparing and sharing a great meal.
My expertise
After college and a career in marketing, my 30+ years experience in all things food includes teaching cooking classes at Williams-Sonoma, writing about food as a marketing strategist in the food industry for Fortune 500 companies, and being a short order cook to two Millennials and one college student.
Spending most of my adult life shopping, preparing and cooking meals for the members of my family is sometimes like a Tetris board. Creating recipes and menus that everyone loves (cue Buffalo chicken pizza) while developing their taste buds and can be adjusted to any number of guests is the real challenge.
I'd love to help you do the same with your crew!
Good Stuff at Josie + Nina
Fast forward to now where Josie + Nina is my main gig where I share mostly Italian recipes built around fresh ingredients for busy lifestyles like yours.
You'll find lots of recipes for quick comfort food meals (like my Easy Lemon Bucatini) that can be served to your busy family during the week or dressed up for Sunday supper. Or maybe you're looking for easy entertaining recipes or simple but elegant dinner ideas for guests. Either way, the food and recipes are written for both the beginner or experienced cook with lots of tips and techniques to help you be a success in the kitchen.
And you'll learn that almost recipe can be served to any size crowd —whether it's huge graduation party, intimate dinner with friends, or a raucous extended family holiday gathering. Scroll down for more easy ideas your whole crew will love!
Let's Connect!
Josie and Nina is all about inspiring you to cook at home for your family, yourself and your friends but please let me know what works and what doesn’t. Feel free to send me an email with any ideas, questions or feedback. I promise to respond!
And I also post pretty regularly on Pinterest and Instagram so follow me for additional recipes and behind the scenes stories and recipe tips.
As Josie and Nina used to say "Mangia!"
