Jo Mancuso

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Jo Mancuso worked for the San Francisco Examiner for 20 years, on the news/copy desk, for the Sunday magazine and as editor of the weekly food and home sections. She also did feature-writing for the paper and won a Society of Professional Journalists award for best feature story (print). Previously she worked for the Oregonian, Oregon Journal and Idaho Free Press. She graduated from the University of Oregon.

Jo considers herself a “tentative home cook” who enjoys reading recipes as short fiction or poetry but lacks culinary confidence and training. She enjoys collaborating with food professionals to adapt their commercial-kitchen dishes — sourcing ingredients, using equipment at hand, tips and "hacks," presentation and serving suggestions — for the home cook.

Latest Stories

This appealing, holiday-friendly gateau does not have any professionals-only techniques but map out your schedule to allow for crucial cooling and chilling stages.

Let Them Eat Gateau And (Calmly) Discuss Veganism In Portland

Can any of us describe veganism in Portland? Maybe we should start by nibbling Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Gateau from a new cookbook with local ties.

Dec. 21, 2018

In this easy chili, use up cooked meat you have on hand. Jill Lightner’s suggestions include rotisserie chicken; sliced, chopped ham; leftover roast turkey; leftover Porterhouse steak cut into bits and frozen; or smoked turkey leg (you used half in a sandwich and stashed the rest in the freezer for just this opportunity).

Save The Leftovers, Save The Planet? New Cookbook Tackles Food Waste

“Scraps, Peels and Stems” is full of insights, strategies and tips to help manage food waste in daily life, plus simple, enticing recipes for quick gratification.

Dec. 14, 2018

Brooke Abbruzzese (reading from page) and Talia Baskin (red ponytail band) present the girls’ “Saving Pan” cookbook project to Dr. Jane Goodall during a Roots & Shoots event at David Douglas High School in Portland, Oregon, on Oct. 15, 2015. In early 2018, they donated $10,000 from its sales to benefit Goodall’s chimpanzee rehabilitation center and sanctuary in the Republic of Congo.

Portland Girls’ Cookbook Raises $10,000 For Jane Goodall Chimps

As sixth-graders, 14 Portland, Oregon, girls decided to create a fundraiser vegetarian cookbook. As high school freshmen, they just donated $10,000 to Jane Goodall's sanctuary for rescued chimpanzees.

April 28, 2018

During an advance Rose City Yarn Crawl event on Feb. 5, 2018, at Twisted yarn shop in Northeast Portland, Marilyn Hynes, right, works on her mystery crochet project, designed by her Seattle friend Noriko Ho, left. Hynes is following one of four “clues,” each a quarter of the pattern downloaded from the website Ravelry.com.

Rose City Yarn Crawl Varies Its Pattern With A Few Deft Stitches

The 2018 Rose City Yarn Crawl had fewer participating shops, but more fiber fans — about one-third of the estimated 3,000 total crawlers — were able to explore the yarny wonders of all 11.

March 7, 2018

Sprat Buterbrodi is a cold Soviet zakuska, one of countless warm and cold home-style appetizers you'll find crowded onto a table for the leisurely ritual of eating, drinking and toasting that precedes the main Russian family meal.

Vibrant Flavors Of Mother Russia Color The Kachka Cookbook

Chef/owner Bonnie Morales of acclaimed Portland restaurant Kachka brings vibrant recipes, family tales and cultural insights to a lively, coloricious cookbook celebrating the foods of the former Soviet Union.

Jan. 11, 2018

These Raspberry Almond Tea Cakes from “Modern French Pastry” are “easy” (earning only one-half macaron out of three) and can be filled with frozen berries out of season.

Savor The Season With New Pacific Northwest Cookbooks

Cook up delicious holiday dishes from these recent cookbooks with Northwest roots (and find inspiration for last-minute gifts).

Dec. 15, 2017

Kai Saam Yang (Chicken Three Ways) does not contain chicken, or meat of any kind – it's just a few raw ingredients piled on a plate. The versions Portlander Andy Ricker came across in northern Thailand did not contain shrimp, either, but he added it for interest.

Get Snackalicious With 'Pok Pok The Drinking Food Of Thailand'

Ready for some flavor-crazed snacking and sipping? The Pok Pok restaurant team's latest cookbook explores a subset of Thai cooking called "drinking food," largely unknown in the United States.

Dec. 11, 2017

These Raspberry Almond Tea Cakes are "easy" (earning only one-half macaron out of three) and can be filled with frozen berries out of season. As with all "Modern French Pastry" recipes, this requires a simple digital scale; you'll crack up when you learn the trick to measuring eggs in grams.

Portland's Pix Weighs In (On A Scale!) With French Tea Cakes

Portland's Pix Patisserie chef rethinks French pastry, showing home bakers step-by-step how to turn out desserts with a twist. Example: cute-as-buttons Raspberry Almond Tea Cakes.

Dec. 7, 2017

Russet/Rye Apple Pie is ripe for culinary adventure – you can even substitute Bosc pears. "Look for interesting, unusual varieties of apples with floral, lemony flavors and wonderful texture," advises Andrew Barton. Baking is part chemistry so, unlike many recipes in his cookbook, this one includes ingredient quantities.

A Russet/Rye Apple Pie That Brims With Northwest Flavors

Andrew Barton's "The Myrtlewood Cookbook" is all about seasonal home cooking with fresh Pacific Northwest ingredients, and his Russet/Rye Apple Pie arrives right on time.

Nov. 21, 2017

Homemade Onion Skin Powder is the secret ingredient that gives depth of flavor to these easy Cheese and Onion Biscuits, which travel well and can be served hot or cold.

Waste Not-Want Not Onion Skin Powder Revs Up Cheese Biscuits

Transforming onion skins into powder reduces food waste and imparts depth of flavor to cheese biscuits from Portlander Sarah Marshall's new canning and preserving cookbook.

Nov. 13, 2017