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
What’s in Season: Cucumber Fruit Salad
Cool as a Cucumber Did you know that cucumbers are more than 90% water AND the phrase “cool as a cucumber” is a scientific fact! The
What’s in Season: Cantaloupe Creamsicle
Summer Melon Cantaloupe responds well to hot summer heat and is currently in high season across much of the US. Generally, this time of year
What’s in Season: Summer Tomato Recipes
Fresh from the Garden A garden-ripe, fresh tomato is the absolute ultimate in summer produce. Out of season tomatoes are flavorless rock-hard orbs shipped from
What’s in Season: Grilled Corn Tabouleh
Sweet Corn Recipes for Summer Corn is one of the premier vegetables of summer all across the United States. Long hot Southern summers produce delicious
What’s in Season: Butterbean Basil Hummus
Butterbeans vs. Lima Beans Everybody Likes Butterbeans…. Butterbeans are one of my favorite things to eat on this Earth. Yes – that includes fine Belgian
What’s in Season: Five Spice Pork Chops with Ginger Plum BBQ Sauce
Spice Up Your Grill with Five Spice Pork Chops with Ginger Plum BBQ Sauce What’s in Season? Plums, peaches, and apricots are starting to appear
Summer Fruit Desserts: Cornmeal Skillet Cake
Summer Fruit Desserts When it comes to summer fruit desserts my go-to recipe is a batter cobbler I learned from my grandmother. When I was
Swordfish Steaks au Poivre with Tomatoes and Basil
World Oceans Day It’s World Oceans Day! On June 8th each year, we celebrate the ocean, its importance in our lives, and how we can
Quick and Easy Drop Biscuits
Three Ingredient Biscuits! Drop Biscuits Drop Biscuits are like biscuits with training wheels — you don’t have to worry about overworking the dough. The recipes
Cooking with Virginia: Chocolate Pots de Crème
Deliciously Decadent Chocolate Pots de Crème are undeniably creamy and indulgent — these are the French version of pudding cups. Typically, lunchroom fare certainly