Basic to Brilliant, Y'all
150 Refined Southern Recipes and Ways to Dress Them Up for Company [A Cookbook]
by Virginia Willis
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Pub Date Sep 27 2011 | Archive Date Sep 01 2012
Description
Virginia Willis’s legion of fans love her knack for giving classic French dishes a down-home Southern feel and reimagining homey Southern favorites en Française. In Basic to Brilliant, Y’all Virginia builds on her signature style, offering 150 soul-satisfying recipes and accompanying each with a new preparation technique, fresh presentation style, or creative recipe variation that transforms an already wonderful dish into an all-out show stopper.
In Virginia’s hands, a cozy Kale Omelet becomes sophisticated brunch fare when it’s baked in a sourdough boule; rich Gruyere Flans elevate a rustic red wine-infused Roasted Tomato Soup; and Spiced Skirt Steak with Shallot Marmalade is enhanced with just a few simple changes into a gorgeous roulade. Peach Dijon-Crusted Pork Tenderloin goes from elegant continental entrée to the pride of Dixie when it’s cradled between Chive Cornmeal Griddle Cakes, and a country dessert like Sweet Biscuits with Stewed Blackberries is kicked up a notch when served topped with Blackberry Fool.
Throughout Basic to Brilliant, Y’all, Virginia paints a vivid portrait of growing up in Louisiana and Georgia, spinning tales of close family and friends—and unforgettable food—interwoven with vignettes from her years living in and visiting France, drawing you in with vibrant accounts of cooking and eating at La Varenne in Burgundy.
Whether you choose the Basic or the Brilliant approach, this bounty of Southern flavors dressed up with time-honored French techniques delivers meals that will keep you and your kin coming back for more.
In Virginia’s hands, a cozy Kale Omelet becomes sophisticated brunch fare when it’s baked in a sourdough boule; rich Gruyere Flans elevate a rustic red wine-infused Roasted Tomato Soup; and Spiced Skirt Steak with Shallot Marmalade is enhanced with just a few simple changes into a gorgeous roulade. Peach Dijon-Crusted Pork Tenderloin goes from elegant continental entrée to the pride of Dixie when it’s cradled between Chive Cornmeal Griddle Cakes, and a country dessert like Sweet Biscuits with Stewed Blackberries is kicked up a notch when served topped with Blackberry Fool.
Throughout Basic to Brilliant, Y’all, Virginia paints a vivid portrait of growing up in Louisiana and Georgia, spinning tales of close family and friends—and unforgettable food—interwoven with vignettes from her years living in and visiting France, drawing you in with vibrant accounts of cooking and eating at La Varenne in Burgundy.
Whether you choose the Basic or the Brilliant approach, this bounty of Southern flavors dressed up with time-honored French techniques delivers meals that will keep you and your kin coming back for more.
Advance Praise
"A charming, gorgeous, and thoroughly practical guide to the best fundamental French techniques mixed with Willis's uniquely American saucy Southern style. An instant classic."
-Kathleen Flinn, author of The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry and The Kitchen Counter Cooking School
"Virginia Willis is a natural teacher, a gift that shines in each of her carefully crafted and doable recipes. In Basic to Brilliant, Y'all, Virginia gives us a fresh, bright, beautiful book that beckons us into the kitchen to cook-daily,
happily, and very well."
-Dorie Greenspan, author of Around My French Table
"Virginia Willis creates a refined Southern cuisine in Basic to Brilliant, Y'all,bringing you into her world through the pages of this gorgeous and inspiring book. A fellow Southern chef, she blossomed during her years in France and New York and returned empowered with culinary knowledge. Virginia has hit a home run with this exciting and wonderfully articulate book. It is destined to become a classic for anyone's culinary library-north or south of the Mason-Dixon line."
-Frank Stitt, chef-owner of Highlands Bar and Grill, Bottega, and Chez Fonfon
"VirginiaWillis is amazing at putting that finishing polish on down-home Southern specialties that will fill your home with automatic hospitality."
-Bobby Flay, chef-owner of Mesa Grill, Bar Americain, and Bobby Flay Steak
"VirginiaWillis has married some of the most beloved Southern dishes with flawless technique. It is a match made in heaven. Home cooks who desire acollection of recipes for any day of the week will find just what they need. And those who want to put on some party clothes will be overjoyed!This book will spend plenty of time on my kitchen counter-and by my favorite reading chair. Really, y'all are going to love it!"
-Martha Foose, author of Screen Doors and Sweet Tea
"VirginiaWillis has done it again-created a totally unique, mouth-watering book of recipes, wisdom and charm. This is a book you will savor reading as well as cooking from."
-Nathalie Dupree, author of New Southern Cooking
"Asa busy mom, I truly appreciate Virginia's Brilliant tips that accompanyevery recipe; many of them take only a few minutes more to transform ordinary family favorites to extraordinary, company-worthy centerpieces.From these tips, I've learned so many clever techniques, short recipes,and presentation ideas!"
-Jaden Hair, author of The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook
-Kathleen Flinn, author of The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry and The Kitchen Counter Cooking School
"Virginia Willis is a natural teacher, a gift that shines in each of her carefully crafted and doable recipes. In Basic to Brilliant, Y'all, Virginia gives us a fresh, bright, beautiful book that beckons us into the kitchen to cook-daily,
happily, and very well."
-Dorie Greenspan, author of Around My French Table
"Virginia Willis creates a refined Southern cuisine in Basic to Brilliant, Y'all,bringing you into her world through the pages of this gorgeous and inspiring book. A fellow Southern chef, she blossomed during her years in France and New York and returned empowered with culinary knowledge. Virginia has hit a home run with this exciting and wonderfully articulate book. It is destined to become a classic for anyone's culinary library-north or south of the Mason-Dixon line."
-Frank Stitt, chef-owner of Highlands Bar and Grill, Bottega, and Chez Fonfon
"VirginiaWillis is amazing at putting that finishing polish on down-home Southern specialties that will fill your home with automatic hospitality."
-Bobby Flay, chef-owner of Mesa Grill, Bar Americain, and Bobby Flay Steak
"VirginiaWillis has married some of the most beloved Southern dishes with flawless technique. It is a match made in heaven. Home cooks who desire acollection of recipes for any day of the week will find just what they need. And those who want to put on some party clothes will be overjoyed!This book will spend plenty of time on my kitchen counter-and by my favorite reading chair. Really, y'all are going to love it!"
-Martha Foose, author of Screen Doors and Sweet Tea
"VirginiaWillis has done it again-created a totally unique, mouth-watering book of recipes, wisdom and charm. This is a book you will savor reading as well as cooking from."
-Nathalie Dupree, author of New Southern Cooking
"Asa busy mom, I truly appreciate Virginia's Brilliant tips that accompanyevery recipe; many of them take only a few minutes more to transform ordinary family favorites to extraordinary, company-worthy centerpieces.From these tips, I've learned so many clever techniques, short recipes,and presentation ideas!"
-Jaden Hair, author of The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook
