Welcome to Cooking with Virginia!
Here you will find delicious and doable, seasonal, chef-driven recipes for home cooks along with tips, techniques, and stories. Each post features mouth-watering food photography, easy-to-follow instructions, and helpful hints for well-tested recipes from Southern chef, Food Network Kitchen Instructor, and James Beard award-winning cookbook author Virginia Willis.
You’ll also find Virginia’s signature stories chronicling formational childhood experiences gained baking in her grandmother’s and mother’s kitchen, her extensive professional experience from working in patisserie in a Michelin-starred restaurant, to the hot lights of food television, and her culinary centric far-flung travels. The recipes build on this practical knowledge and are written so that the reader feels that Virginia is by their side in the kitchen, as she walks the reader through surefire recipes that work every time. The recipes are rigorously tested and are essential, foolproof dishes you actually want to make and eat!
Bon Appétit, Y’all!
Virginia Willis
Easter Dinner: Bourbon Glazed Ham
How did serving ham for Easter become a custom? Mediterranean celebrations, including the Jewish Passover, traditionally call for lamb at spring feasts. However, in northern
The Masters’ Egg Salad Sandwich
Every spring, when I was a little girl my mother would take me to The Masters. I loved our mama-daughter dates and it was always
Strawberry Desserts
Strawberries are the most popular berry fruit in the world, and while they are available in grocery stores every week of the year, spring
How to Cook Leeks: Sautéed Leeks and Celery
Yikes! Take a look at that muddy mess of leeks! Soil or grit in food is the culinary equivalent to nails scratching a chalkboard. Yet
Big Game: Shrimp Nachos with Creole Queso
Nachos started as a Mexican snack, have become an American staple — and are absolutely mandatory for The Big Game Day menu. Chips and
Wicked Healthy: Broccoli Cauliflower Slaw
Who says salad means lettuce? A typical “house salad” consisting of crispy lettuce with slices of juicy cucumber and chunks of winey vine-ripe tomatoes can
Easy Peppermint Fudge
The Southern Sweet Tooth is a powerful force. Sugar is more than an ingredient in the South. It falls somewhere between a condiment and
Skillet Suppers: Hoppin’ John and Limpin’ Susan
During a busy week sometimes a “Skillet Supper” is the way to go. Toss some ingredients in the skillet, pop it in the oven, and
Weeknight Cooking: Creole Shrimp Nachos with Creamy Queso
Nachos are a go-to weeknight dinner in our home when the day has been a bit more crazy than usual. What’s not to like?
Holiday Entertaining Tips: Smoky Cheese Straws
Holiday Entertaining should be relaxed, comfortable, and enjoyable for both the hosts and the guests – and that comes with organization and planning ahead, from