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. And, given Virginia’s health journey and 65# weight loss, the recipes are not only good — they are good for you, too!
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
Blueberry Muffins with Yogurt
Blueberry Benefits and Nutrition Blueberries are the Doris Day of summer fruit – happy-go-lucky, bright bouncing balls of flavor. Blackberries are moody, musky, and complex.
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What’s in Season: Asparagus
How to Cook Asparagus, How to Store, How to Trim, and How to Know When It is Done. Spring is starting to kick into high
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
