virginiawillis

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My Day in NYC on 9/11

This picture of my sister was taken in August, just a few weeks before the tragedy in 2001. Last year when I wrote my original post, I hadn’t ever written a word about 9/11. I’ve been pretty somber this week, as many have been, on the 10th anniversary with all the additional press, new photos, and new audio. I looked at photographs yesterday online that made me absolutely shiver. I reworked this…

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Strawberry Shrub aka "The Shelby"

Strawberry Shrub aka “The Shelby”

Are you concerned your liver might cry uncle before lockdown ends? Need an NA alternative? Or, you need to spritz up your afternoon cocktail? Check out my Strawberry Shrub! A shrub is a tart fruit syrup that dates back to hundreds of years ago. It’s a syrup made from fresh fruit, sugar, and vinegar. (more…)

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Comfort Food: One Pot Pasta

I hope this finds you and your family safe and well. I feel like I have started every email with that sentence for the past three weeks. These are certainly troubling times and that means that we all are yearning for comfort and assurance. Comfort food recipe searches are surging on Google Trends. (Although I did laugh because the number one recipe search last week in Georgia was for MARTINI!)

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Cooking with Virginia: Crunchy Creole Ranch Salmon

All-American

Ranch dressing is as American as apple pie and baseball. Americans love ranch dressing. Everyone loves ranch dressing. Even snooty chefs and foodies that look down their nose at bottled dressing love ranch dressing! Ranch dressing is the culinary equivalent to Pigs in a Blanket. Pigs in a Blanket are the first dish that disappears on a buffet a party. It’s the same with ranch…

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Tips on Preventing Food Waste + Clementine Marmalade

Put it Up!

My friends and family have laughed at me “getting my inner homesteader on” while we are social distancing. I am always pretty good about food waste but feel especially compelled right now to make sure as little as possible goes into the trash. Even though I am not in the high-risk category, I want to limit my time outside the home and keep my trips to the grocery store as few as…

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Stress Baking: Button Shortbread

Love Baking

My first baking experience was making biscuits with my grandmother, standing on a chair all of three years old. Before the home was air-conditioned an oscillating fan constantly hummed, providing a soothing base track that was enhanced with the sizzling sounds of chicken frying, the tinny rattle of steam escaping a pot, or the whirl of an electric mixer beating batter for cake. (more…

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Stovetop Low Country Boil

The Coastal South

Think Spanish moss hanging from live oaks and pluff mud and you’re thinking Low Country. Think benne seeds and Carolina Gold rice and you’re thinking Low Country. Think vibrant coastal cuisine filled with every kind of seafood you can pull out of the water and you’re thinking Low Country!

Where is the Low Country?

Stretching from the northern reaches of the Atlantic…

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Skillet Suppers: Pork Chops with Cabbage and Sweet Potatoes

Skillet Suppers: Pork Chops with Cabbage and Sweet Potatoes

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links. (That means I make a commission if you use my affiliate link to buy the product.)

Cast Iron Recipes

Skillet suppers, one-pot meals, sheet pan suppers — I’m sure you hear these terms all the time. They’re popular not only for their simplicity but also, of course, the easy cleanup. But choosing the right cooking vessel is key. (more…)

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Butternut Squash and Ground Turkey Gratin

Butternut Squash and Ground Turkey Gratin

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links. (That means I make a commission if you use my affiliate link to buy the product.)

Butternut Squash

Butternut Squash is one of my favorite winter vegetables. I treat them as a multi-purpose vegetable “roast.”  It’s actually rare that I cook an entire one at once or halved. Instead, I separate the long thick end of the squash where it meets…

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Valentine's Day Dark Chocolate Raspberry Pastry Flowers

Valentine’s Day Dark Chocolate Raspberry Pastry Flowers

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Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day often means bouquets of beautiful flowers and luscious boxes of chocolate. What about combining the two?! With a store-bought pie crust, you can easily make these simple and beautiful pasty flowers filled with rich, dark…

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Cooking with Virginia: How to Cook Dried Beans

Cooking with Virginia: How to Cook Dried Beans

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links. (That means I make a commission if you use my affiliate link to buy the product.)  Magic Beans Beans in some way, share, or fashion are fundamental in many cuisines. Healthy and economical, they are a go-to in my kitchen. I’ll often cook a pound at the beginning of the week and reheat them over the next few days as a warm side…

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Turkey and Black Bean Chili

Turkey and Black Bean Chili

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Chilly Weather

When it’s chilly outside, one of my first thoughts is, “It’s time to make chili! A robust chili like this Turkey and Black Bean Chili is both lean and filling. The best eating plans include a lot of high protein, low-fat foods. Protein gives…

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Braising Basics: Five Steps to Perfectly Braised Meats

Braising Basics: Five Steps to Perfectly Braised Meats

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5 Steps to Perfectly Braised Meats

Blustery days are perfect for braising meats and cooking hearty soups and stews, such as red wine-braised short ribs made with a mirepoix of onion, carrot, and celery — a classic French dish and considered the uptown…

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What's in Season: Winter Squash

What’s in Season: Winter Squash

Winter Side Dishes

Wintery mix and snowy weather call for comforting foods like this Winter Greens and Butternut Squash Gratin. This cozy casserole is great as a side dish or filling enough for a plant-based main course. Winter squash are earthy, creamy, and rich – the definition of a satisfying supper. Continue reading for information on how to tell the difference between the varieties — from…

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New Year's Food Traditions: Peas and Greens

New Year’s Food Traditions: Peas and Greens

Hoppin’ John

Eating Hoppin’ John, a dish made of peas and rice, with greens and cornbread on New Year’s Day is a Southern tradition. Folklore says the combination of eating peas and greens will bring luck and money in the upcoming year. Typically, the dried peas are black-eyed peas and there is generally a hunk of meat bobbing in the pot. In my family, we traditionally don’t mix the peas and…

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Make-Ahead Holiday Breakfast Ideas

Make-Ahead Holiday Breakfast Ideas

Overnight Breakfast Recipes

Make-ahead meals can be your saving grace during the holidays, especially for breakfast! The last thing anyone wants on a busy morning in a house packed with relatives and guests — and an even busier day ahead — is a hectic scramble of making breakfast to order for the hungry hordes. Instead, think Creamy Slow Cooker Overnight Grits, Cheese Grits “Muffins”, Cheesy…

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Old-Fashioned Peanut Brittle

Family Heirloom

My mother has a large square of rose-colored marble for making such as brittle and butterscotch on her kitchen counter. Most likely Etowah marble from North Georgia, it has been in the family for years and originally belonged to my great-great-grandmother, Victoria Virginia Wingate. The sheen of the marble is a dull from age – or perhaps the amount of butter that it has absorbed…