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
Seven Minute Salmon: Eating for Breast Health
Salmon is a weeknight wonder. Rich, meaty, and forgiving to cook it is also a nutritional powerhouse. As a sustainable seafood advocate, I know there
Baked Oat Pancake
In comparison to a bowl of spartan fruit and yogurt or a kid-friendly bowl of cereal, pancakes are usually a pretty decadent breakfast. Rich with
Almond Crusted Baked Peaches
We recently drove down to Montezuma, Georgia to buy a couple of cases of peaches. My favorite way to consume their summer sweetness is raw
Berry Recipes: Strawberry Bread
Berry Love! Berries are bursting out of this buttery bread! Doesn’t that look amazing? There’s something very comforting about a quick bread. Maybe it’s the
One Bowl Peaches and Cream Cake
Sweet, tree-ripe peaches and rich and creamy yogurt (or sour cream) are combined in this easy one-bowl Peaches and Cream Cake. Who doesn’t love
Kentucky Hot Brown Vidalia Onion Bites
Kentucky is world-famous for the Kentucky Derby, held the 1st Saturday in May, fine bourbon, and thoroughbred racehorses. The Blue Grass state is also known
Strawberry Buttermilk Cake
Strawberries are some of the first fruits of spring in Georgia. I love them and when they are in season, I eat them nearly
Recipe Makeover: Sausage and Peppers
Sausage and Peppers have long been a regular meal in my supper rotation. The onions and peppers melt together to create a luscious confit bursting
Small Bake Pecan Macaroons
April is Pecan month, believe it or not. I’m not sure who decides what food is celebrated in what month, especially considering the pecan harvest
(Skinny) Chocolate Dipping Sauce
This Chocolate Dipping Sauce was a REVELATION. Chocolate isn’t my Achille’s tendon, it’s my whole damn leg – albeit a more defined and muscular one.