About Me

Hello there, and welcome to my little blog, On The Bias. I'm Gianna, the recipe developer behind this whole thing.

I started cooking in college, for many reasons- to save money, to eat healthfully, and to re-create family recipes that I missed while I was away at school.

But I continued cooking because I truly loved it.

Growing up...

I'm a New Jersey Italian. Some of my favorite meals are those that my grandmother makes for holidays and Sunday dinners. Her stuffed peppers, lasagna, and meatloaf are some of my all time favorites.

Food and College Life...

I moved to Boston to attend Northeastern University and received my bachelors and masters degrees in Speech-Language Pathology. Boston's spectacular culinary scene blew me away. I'd never experienced city food before. The variety. The creativity. I was hooked.

I became so enthralled with all the good food there was to experience. It was in Boston that my love for sushi blossomed. I had Omakase for the first time. And soup dumplings. And Pho.

And though dining out got expensive, it opened up a new world for me. The meals I ate at restaurants motivated me to step up my own cooking. Maybe you can relate.

Now...

So though I am a home cook without any formal training, I am by no means "self- taught". In fact, I firmly believe that there is no such thing. Gosh I hate when people use the term "self taught."

Over the past 10 years, I've spent countless hours learning from many sources: restaurant menus, Food Network, YouTube, recipe blogs, cookbooks, traveling, magazines, Instagram, a class at the ICE, YouTube, and did I mention YouTube?

On Sundays I'm perfectly happy to stay in, pop open some wine, and spend the day cooking with my husband, Andrew, and our dog, Wendy. Sundays are for the more time consuming meals like braised short ribs, Red Wine Ragu, or whole roasted chicken.

We often share our creations with friends who live nearby. Our dining room table seats 6, so that's enough for 4 invites. They bring the wine.

On weekdays, I love making faster, but still awesome meals that help get me through the work week- coffee rubbed flank steak and a delicious snappy side salad, a sheet pan meal of salmon and roasted vegetables, and don't even get me started on the joy of whipping up a 15-minute pasta sauce using pasta water as the key ingredient.

It's indisputable that eating at good restaurants will always be a huge source of my cooking motivation, especially as a city dweller. But my bank account, and my friends, thank me for my home cooking skills that fill the gaps.

I hope you enjoy my recipes.