• betbaby on February 17, 2010

  In a year when many cookbooks about Southern cooking were published, this is the best of the crop. Virginia Willis' recipes have been thoroughly tested and are impeccably written. A great book.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Bacon croutons

  • mirage on June 26, 2010

    Oh, yes!

• Black-eyed pea and ham hock soup

  • imaluckyducky on January 22, 2025

    4 stars. Beautiful pea soup as written, just adjusted seasonings to taste and added diced ham that I sautéed. Whole family devoured with some crusty garlic bread.

• Braised short ribs

  • lkgrover on July 29, 2018

    Excellent, the sauce is rich & flavorful.

• Buttermilk cornbread

  • stockholm28 on December 30, 2017

    This is an easy, southern cornbread cooked in a skillet. It is very good ... tastes like you expect cornbread to taste.

• Chicken and tasso jambalaya

  • sarahawker on April 16, 2016

    Very good - with the following errors noted. No mention to add back the set aside meat to the rice before putting in the oven to cook, also no oven temperature. Specifically says to cook for 45 min uncovered this would be disaster. Add the meats to the rice, bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 min and check for doneness. Kids loved it.

• Chicken saltimbocca with country ham

  • TrishaCP on November 17, 2016

    This really had a nice flavor, even though we had to use dried sage (crumbled and sprinkled over the chicken) instead of fresh. I was dubious that the ham would adhere, but it actually worked out really well. I did find that my chicken breasts needed more time than the recipe specified- at least double for me but I would just watch carefully and keep them in until cooked through.

• Classic cole slaw

  • JoanN on September 02, 2014

    A great cole slaw. Not too sweet. The boys loved it. Terrific on pulled pork sandwiches and with fried chicken.

• Corn soup with tomato garnish

  • lkgrover on July 14, 2019

    Excellent summer soup! Use corn fresh-off-the-cob for full flavor.

• Cornmeal-crusted grouper

  • lkgrover on April 13, 2016

    I made this with mahi-mahi (instead of grouper). Good flavor, quick and easy recipe.

• Deviled eggs

  • spharo00 on May 30, 2012

    I halved this recipe and used black pepper instead of white pepper. I also love my eggs sprinkled with paprika so I made that change as well. These were much richer than the deviled eggs I usually make, probably because of the addition of the butter. I liked the eggs, but I used homemade mayo with olive oil and I think the olive oil actually overpowered the other flavors. I'll try this recipe again with a more neutral mayonnaise and I bet it will be amazing.

• Fresh summer vegetable succotash with basil

  • julesamomof2 on August 03, 2018

    Delicious use of summer produce!

• Grits with corn and Vidalia onion

  • lhkelsey on August 10, 2014

    This was very good. I substituted cream for some of the milk and used chicken stock instead of water.

• Halibut Provençal with tomatoes and zucchini

  • lkgrover on June 02, 2018

    Excellent way to cook fish with lots of vegetables. It smells fragrant, and looks colorful for serving.

• Herb roast chicken with pan sauce

  • mirage on June 26, 2010

    Quite Good! Yummy.

  • lhkelsey on November 25, 2013

    Y'all, this is such a good recipe. Really delicious!

• Mama's baked pecan and acorn squash

  • lkgrover on January 05, 2021

    Excellent winter squash. I used maple syrup instead of sorghum.

• Mama's mayonnaise biscuits

  • mirage on June 26, 2010

    Ugly but very tasty!

• Meme's pound cake

  • KristenS on April 26, 2020

    This is good, but much lighter than a traditional pound cake. The crispy edges are delicious and taste like sugar cookies.

• New Southern chicken and herb dumplings

  • mirage on June 26, 2010

    Used half breast, half thigh.

• Pork chops with dried plums

  • mirage on June 26, 2010

    Quite Good!

  • lkgrover on December 04, 2020

    Delicious pork recipe; the prunes add a little sweetness. And the preparation is fast: 15-20 minutes, for an easy weeknight dinner.

• Smoky collard greens

  • britt on March 26, 2011

    This is an excellent vegetarian version of southern greens. I use smoked Maldon salt in the recommended amount, and the final dish does not taste smoky, just full flavored.

• Spicy okra and tomatoes

  • ddenker on March 25, 2015

    Delicious! Definitely a notch up from the standard okra and tomatoes and not difficult at all. Just a little bit of time to chop the onion, garlic and ginger. Will definitely make this again.