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
APPLE RECIPES! Slab Apple Pie with a Cheddar Crust, Oat Pecan Apple Crisp, & Pork with Apples
Even though peaches are considered the quintessential Southern fruit, the phrase “as American as apple pie” applies to the South, too. Every weekend during the
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Homemade and Healthy Oven Roasted Sloppy Joes
One Pot Wonder Weeknight Family Supper Who doesn’t like Sloppy Joes? They are pretty much the absolute best of a juicy hamburger and barbecue sandwich
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Weeknight Supper: Smoky Shrimp Etoufee
A healthy shrimp recipe ready in only 30 minutes! Shrimp have a season. We’ll get to that quick and easy weeknight recipe in just a
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Korean-Style Pork Ribs in the Oven
Ah, late summer. It’s still high barbecue and grilling season. This means pork butts slowly smoking on a kamado cooker; burgers, brats, and chops sizzling
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Putting Up: Easy Pickles and Preserves
Visions of exploding jars, glass shards littering the pantry like a war zone, and thoughts of relatives keeling over from botulism prevent most of us
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Chill Out: Three Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts
Easy Homemade Popsicles, Ice Cream, and Sorbet Frozen treats beat the heat! Did you know that centuries ago, ice was hauled down from the mountains
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What’s in Season: Poached Salmon
Sustainable Seafood and Seafood Watch! Isn’t that photo mesmerizing? Ethereal. Beautiful. No, don’t worry. I’m not about to tell you how to cook jellyfish —
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What’s in Season: Savory Eggplant Dip
Eggplant flourishes in the scorching heat of a Deep South summer. My grandparents grew row upon row of the stately bushes, heavily laden with the
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Grilled Chicken 101: How to Grill Chicken
How to Grill Chicken Grilling and Chilling The aroma of chicken on the grill is one of the most tempting smells of summer. Our attraction
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What’s in Season: Best Corn Recipes
It’s high corn season! And, this summer vegetable is so versatile we’re having it nearly every meal. From sides and appetizers to entrées and desserts,
