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
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
Peanut-Crusted Chicken Wings for Game Day
Are you a flat or a drum? I am a flat — I love the two-bone piece of wing. Whole chicken wings are composed of
More Taste, Less Waste with The James Beard Foundation
As part of the “More Taste, Less Waste” campaign, the James Beard Foundation recently initiated a recipe contest and asked chefs and culinary professionals to
Get Your Game On with Tailgating Recipes
We’re about a month into college football season and things are just getting started. All the early supposedly easy games are over and we’re getting
9/11 and the War of Terror
In 2010 when I initially wrote this post, I hadn’t written a word about my experiences on 9/11 and hardly ever spoke of it. I couldn’t