Recipes

White Salsa: Virginia’s Strangest Tasty Tradition

Virginia is a land of many culinary wonders: fresh oysters, mouthwatering barbecue, blue crab, apples galore, and—wait, Miracle Whip salsa? Yes, that’s right. This unconventional concoction, a flavor party that combines Kraft’s “one-of-a-kind taste of creamy mayo and tangy dressing,” along with spices and milk, is a time-honored tradition in the Tidewater region of the […]

by Hope Cartwright

Starch & Strain: The Secret to Smoother Cocktails

Mixologists are introducing rice to your favorite classic drinks, but not as a tasting ingredient. Rather, rice-washed cocktails are mixed with dry, raw rice, which is later strained out, to smoothen and purify blended flavors. The starch mellows the methanol and propanol in the booze, exposing liquors’ more complex flavors. Rice-washing works best with brash-tasting […]

by Hope Cartwright

Fat-Washed Cocktails: The Secret to Richer, Smoother Sips

By Janelle Alberts It’s been almost 20 years since a bacon-infused Benton’s Old-Fashioned launched a new technique among bartenders called fat-washing. Despite the unappetizing name, fat-washing has so gained in popularity over the years because it continues to deliver a legitimately elevated cocktail. Fat-washing is a fairly simple process of freezing your spirit with fats […]

by Staff

A Vegan, Gluten-Free, Creamy Asparagus and Pea Soup Recipe

By Stacy Watkins San-J, the international soy sauce brand located right in the Commonwealth in Henrico, offers a range of dietary restriction-friendly sauces and recipes. This soup is vegan and features San-J’s original Tamari Soy Sauce, which is naturally gluten-free thanks to the brand’s traditional Tamari brewing methods. 1 pound asparagus 3 tablespoons olive oil […]

by Staff

How to Craft a Colonial Apple Pie

Put a crust in the bottom of a dish, put on it a layer of ripe apples, pared and sliced thin—then a layer of powdered sugar; do this alternately till the dish is full; put in a few tea-spoonsful of rose water and some cloves—put on a crust and bake it. *This colonial recipe appear […]

by Madeline Mayhood

A Colonial Salad Dressing That Will Revolutionize Your Cooking

Dress a Salad To have this delicate dish in perfection, the lettuce, pepper grass, chervil, cress, & should be gathered early in the morning, nicely picked, washed, and laid in cold water, which will be improved by adding ice; just before dinner is ready to be served, drain the water from your salad, cut it […]

by Madeline Mayhood

Black Walnut Bay Sauce Recipe

Made from the young tender leaves of a black walnut tree, bay sauce is often described as a predecessor to worcestershire. Read on for a bay sauce recipe from Jeremiah Langhorne, chef and owner of The Dabney and Petite Cerise in Washington, D.C. Black Walnut Bay Sauce 1,500 grams very young/fresh black walnut leaves 200 […]

by Heather Bien

Crowning Glory

Recipes for a harvest supper to welcome the cool, crisp days of fall.

by Staff

Apple of My Eye

Recipes for Virginia’s fall bounty.

by Staff

Cooking with Kudzu

Kudzu was introduced in the U.S. in the 1940s, specifically for erosion control. Unfortunately, that was a huge bust, and this aggressive vine has become the scourge of much of the American South, invading open spaces and woodlands with lightning speed. No wonder its nickname is “foot-a-night” vine. While our relationship with this bionic creeper […]

by Madeline Mayhood

The ultimate summer lunch always includes the summer tomato

The Ultimate Summer Lunch

by Hope Cartwright

Summertime’s Sizzling Sips

Elevate seasonal soirees with one-of-a-kind drinks.

by Sylvie Baggett

Showcasing Virginia’s bounty at The Clifton’s 1799

It’s been about 20 years since I’ve enjoyed a meal prepared by chef Matthew Bousquet. At the time, I was working in the Bay Area of Northern California, and a friend, who is a food writer, recommended I checkout a French bistro called Mirepoix the next time I visited Sonoma. The chef, Matthew Bousquet, […]

by Frank Morgan

Syd’s FishPig Café

Chef Sydney Meers, owner of Syd’s FishPig Café in Norfolk, remembers when he first fell in love with food, all because of a guy named Johnny who had a Ford tractor full of watermelons. “All the kids came running when they heard that chug chug chug,” Meers recalls. “I was four years old in north […]

by peggy sijswerda

Brunswick Stew Recipe from Chownings Tavern

Winter means the days are short and cold. It’s time for winter warmers to keep me cozy. And in my book, there’s nothing quite like a hearty soup or satisfying stew to get the job done. Chowders? Even better.

by Madeline Mayhood

Kwame Onwuachi’s Favorite Mac ‘n Cheese Recipe

Kwame Onwuachi is a James Beard Award-winning chef, best-selling author, and celebrated restaurateur whose culinary roots span the African diaspora.

by Taryn White

21 Spoons Is Culinary Art with a Mission

Ann Butler keeps busy teaching the next generation about food—how to have a healthy relationship with what goes on their table and into their communities, but also important life skills rooted in food.

by John Haddad & Meredith Lindemon

Taste the Wild

Fresh mountain trout from Smoke in Chimneys has chefs and fine purveyors hooked. (Photo by Fred + Elliott) In the hills and hollers of the Alleghenies, water flows underground as it has for centuries. Within millions of miles of limestone, the water courses, finding an outlet through the cold-water springs that dot […]

by Stephanie Ganz

Linda Skeens Recipes

The queen of county fair baking’s debut cookbook is a chef’s delight. When Linda Skeens, Virginia’s own county fair queen, set the Internet ablaze last year, Virginia Living helped fan the flame (“Where In the World Is Linda Skeens?” Oct. ’22). And adoring fans began clamoring for the humble home cook’s secret recipes. Skeens […]

by Vayda Parrish

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A New Experience at the Virginia Scenic Railway

Virginia Scenic Railway Adds Dome Car for Spectacular Valley Views The popular Virginia Scenic Railway just upped its game with a vintage dome car offering breathtaking 360° views of the Shenandoah Valley. The “Shenandoah”—built in 1948 as the “Silver Palace” for the California Zephyr—now gives passengers an unmatched vantage point on three-hour excursions from Staunton. […]

by Gabriela de Camargo Gonçalves

Mom Hiked the Appalachian Trail with 13 Kids in Tow

Nikki Bettis stood on the jagged summit outcrop of Shenandoah National Park’s 4,011-foot Stony Man, awed by westward panoramic views. Her heart swelled with emotion as she turned to watch her 13 kids shoulder their loaded backpacks and fall into a clamorous single-file line heading back to the Appalachian Trail (AT). “We were in an […]

by Eric J. Wallace

Williamsburg Archaeologists Uncover Secret Garden

In Colonial America, a grand garden was the ultimate status symbol—the 18th century equivalent of a Lamborghini. So when archaeologists at Colonial Williamsburg uncovered John Custis IV’s property, they struck horticultural gold: the remains of a football field-sized garden alongside his Jacobean manor house. Custis, a tobacco magnate and Martha Washington’s first father-in-law, went all […]

by Madeline Mayhood

Recipes

White Salsa: Virginia’s Strangest Tasty Tradition

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Recipes

White Salsa: Virginia’s Strangest Tasty Tradition

Current Issue

Events

Art of the James River Park System All-Media Show – Call For Entries

2025 VCUarts MFA Thesis Exhibition Opening (Ongoing)

Yoga on the Magnolia Terrace

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A New Experience at the Virginia Scenic Railway

Mom Hiked the Appalachian Trail with 13 Kids in Tow

Williamsburg Archaeologists Uncover Secret Garden

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