New Sausage Temptations from Smithfield Marketplace 2021

Four new sausage temptations and one longtime favorite back by popular demand at The Smithfield Marketplace!

Smithfield Fully Cooked Sausage Links
A great breakfast, brunch, or anytime option. Smithfield All Natural Sausage Links are made with 100% Pork! Start off the most important meal of the day the right way, with sausage links of course! Three 20 oz. bags.

Smithfield Turkey Sausage
Low in fat, big in flavor! Our Turkey Sausage Patties are all natural and free of preservatives and artificial ingredients. Not to mention, no MSG! About 13 Servings Per Package.

Smithfield Hometown Original Sausage Chubs
Smithfield Hometown Original Breakfast Sausage Chubs are made from our premium pork and is one of our most asked for breakfast items. It's a goooood morning!

Smithfield Country Ham Sausage
Longtime customer favorite back by popular demand! A unique blend of fresh ground pork seasoned with delicious Smithfield Country Ham. Great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Mix into a quiche, or use in place of ground meats to spice up any recipe. Flavor packed!
Four 16 oz. chubs. Serves about 24.

All Natural Fully Cooked Pork Sausage Patties
Lower in fat, big in flavor! Smithfield Hometown Original Sausage Patties are all natural and free of preservatives and artificial ingredients. Not to mention, no MSG! About 13 Servings Per Package. Microwaveable for a quick and easy snack or meal. Three 19.5 resealable packages

Another New Addition - Gordon’s Chesapeake Naturally Clam and Corn Chowder from Chincoteague Seafood

 We love Chincoteague Seafood Co.’s Naturally Sea-licious soups: no artificial preservatives, no artificial coloring, no MSG, and no preservatives. Gordon’s Naturally Clam and Corn Chowder from Chincoteague Seafood is no exception.  When we discovered there was a chowder that was a combination of two great chowders, clam and corn, we couldn’t resist adding it to our offerings. In addition to delicious, wholesome ingredients, Gordon’s Chesapeake Naturally contains: Heritage (the traditions of great grandfather Gordon's Baltimore restaurants continue today with the Gordon family's delectable soups, each brimming with the bounty of the Chesapeake Bay), Nature (we only use the finest ingredients, so you get only the most scrumptious soups), Commitment (we have never compromised the flavor or quality of our soups in the name of convenience or even profit), and taste (it speaks for itself).

Will you enjoy your next bowl of chowder any more now that you know what they are, and where they came from? I don’t really know, but here's some information from Chowhound: The word chowder likely comes from the French word, chaudiere, which is a special type of cauldron that was likely used to make what has evolved into what we now know of as chowder. While the exact origins of chowder are a bit unclear, the tales that suggest chowders were first made on French or English fishing boats off the coast of New England and Nova Scotia about 250 years ago seem plausible. With the arrival of French and English seafarers to parts of Canada and New England, came the arrival of their chowder. While the earliest chowders probably originated in the 1700s, the earliest American recipes have been around since the 1800s. Chowder has managed to adapt and evolve. That’s why you now have corn, pumpkin, sweet potato, chicken, and even bean chowders along with the traditional clam and seafood varieties.

Try Gordon’sChesapeake Naturally Clam and Corn Chowder from Chincoteague Seafood Co. yourself or gift it in a seafood gift basket or gift box.

Allens Scottish Shortbread - Our Newest Addition

Allens Scottish Shortbread is a family-owned business in Charlottesville, Virginia, with a mission to “hand out happiness with every box of shortbread." The Allen Rabbit Family bakes their own batches of the beloved Scottish Shortbread recipe passed down from Grandma Rabbit of Glasglow, Scotland 35 years ago. Shortbread is called short because of the traditional ratio of one part sugar to two parts butter that lends a high fat content to the dough. This yields a soft, buttery crumb that melts in your mouth, similar to short crust pastry. The mouth-watering shortbread consists of four ingredients: flour, butter, sugar, and rice flour.

The box is branded with Beatrix Potter-style rabbits drawn by artist Cole Wardell. The figures in the drawing represent the owners and their daughter. There’s this really whimsical, warm, inviting scene that you see on the cover of the box. They wanted to keep the tartan pattern on the rabbits for the Scottish theme, but without associating it with the idea of the winter holiday stereotype. “In America, people associate Scottish shortbread with the holidays, but in Scotland they eat it every day,” Laura Allen said. “We want to be a part of people’s daily ritual.”

The Virginia Marketplace is excited to have Allens Scottish Shortbread, made right here in Charlottesville, to add to some of our gift baskets and gift boxes. The traditional flavor comes in 4 stick and 6 stick boxes. The 6 stick box is featured in Bucket of Treats and the 4 stick box is featured in our Spring Gift Box.

 

Bucket of Treats

Spring Gift Box

Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mix is Now Back in a 32 fl. Oz. Bottle

Blue Crab Bay
Bloody May Mixer

The cocktail known as a Bloody Mary is synonymous with brunch. One thing we know for sure, Blue Crab Bay’s Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer with Ocean Clam Juice is fantastic. It is now back in a 32 fl. oz. bottle so there is even more to savor.

But who, exactly, was Bloody Mary, and how did she get a drink named in her honor? The best-known Bloody Mary in history is none other than Mary I of England, also known as Mary Tudor, the first queen of England to lay claim to the throne. she bears this unfortunate nickname because she burned over 300 Protestant heretics at the stake. In more recent times, Bloody Mary is an urban legend shared among kids throughout the United States. The "ritual" usually involves a person standing in a dark bathroom chanting "Bloody Mary" 13 times until a ghostly woman appears in the mirror (Bloody Mary might be friendly or not).

It's not exactly clear how the cocktail ended up named Bloody Mary. In the book The Bloody Mark: The Lore and the Legend of a Cocktail Classic,, author Brian Bartels explains that the drink likely originated at Harry's New York Bar in Paris, France in the 1920s. Bartels shares a few possibilities about how the drink came to be, with the likeliest explanation being that famed bartender Fernand Petiot took an existing blend of tomato juice and vodka, and added flavoring agents like lemon juice, Tabasco, and horseradish.

In 1939 comedian George Jessel claimed in the New York Herald Tribune that he invented the Bloody Mary. In a later interview, though, Petiot acknowledges that the vodka and tomato juice combination existed before he "took it over" and dressed it up with spices.

Even the reason for naming the drink "Blood Mary" is unclear. One myth that Geroge Jessel perpetuated was that he whipped up the tomato juice and vodka cocktail when hungover in Palm Beach, and socialite Mary Brown Warburton happened to walk by, try the drink, and spill it on her white dress; she laughed and said that he could call her Bloody Mary. Others suggest that Queen Mary I inspired the red drink's name with the red being reminiscent of the executed protestants. And another legend is that it's named after a waitress that Petiot met in a Chicago saloon nicknamed the Bucket of Blood

Hot Cocoa Bombs and Hot Chocolate Charcuterie Boards For the Cold Winter Months

 

Hot cocoa bombs have taken over TikTok. If you want to make hot cocoa bombs yourself you will need a key piece of equipment: a mold.

There are several variations, but, for the most part, they all follow the same basic recipe steps:

1. Make the chocolate shells with melted/tempered chocolate and some sort of half-sphere candy mold. Allow the shells to harden completely before peeling them out.
2. Fill one half of the sphere with hot cocoa (either powdered mix or chocolate shavings).
3. Add the extras: a spoonful of mini marshmallows, candy cane bits, sprinkles, or whatever else you want to use to add more flavors.
4. Place the other half of the sphere on top, and then seal it with more melted chocolate.

Once the bombs are constructed, they’re ready to use. Just like the premade versions, all you have to do is heat up some milk. When you gently pour it over the sphere, the chocolate will melt and create a cup of hot cocoa with your mix-ins.

Hot chocolate charcuterie boards are popping up all over Instagram. Rather than cheese, meat, and fruit, these charcuterie boards are filled with all the necessities for a tasty mug of hot cocoa. Whether you top it with whipped cream, sprinkles, marshmallows, or candy cane pieces, these creative cocoa creations will help you celebrate the cold winter months. You can also include cookies, crackers, and candies to dip in your mug of chocolate.

Check out the new Virginia Diner Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix, a hot chocolate for the serious chocolate lover! Made with sugar, cocoa powder, milk, nonfat dry milk and creamer. We have included 

it in some of our gift baskets and gift boxes at The Virginia Marketplace.

Use Blue Crab Bay Bloody Mary Mix for February 25, 2021 National Chili Day

Blue Crab Bay’s award winning Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mix is great for making your Bloody Marys, We sell Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mix and use it in our Virginia Gourmet Gift Baskets and Seafood Gift Baskets. It can also be used as a delicious cooking sauce. In honor of National Chili Day, Feb. 25, 2021, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of February, here is a unique recipe for Jim's Bloody Mary Chili using Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mix

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey
2 c. Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer
2 15 oz. cans chili beans, drained
12 oz. jar roasted red peppers
 6 oz. can tomato paste
large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
 2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium pan, heat olive oil. Sauté onion and garlic until golden brown and remove from pan. Brown turkey in pan, season with salt and pepper if desired. Add onion and garlic back to the pan. Add all other ingredients except cilantro. Cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, for at least half an hour or until flavors develop. Prior to serving, stir in cilantro or use as a garnish. Serve with your favorite toppings, such as sour cream, grated cheese, hot peppers, etc. Serves 4 to 6.

When it comes to the story of chili, tales and myths abound. While many food historians agree that chili con carne is an American dish with Mexican roots, Mexicans are said to indignantly deny any association with the dish. 

Enthusiasts of chili say one possible though far-fetched starting point comes from Sister Mary of Agreda, a Spanish nun in the early 1600s who never left her convent yet had out-of-body experiences in which her spirit was transported across the Atlantic to preach Christianity to the Indians. After one of the return trips, her spirit wrote down the first recipe for chili con carne: chili peppers, venison, onions, and tomatoes.

Another yarn goes that Canary Islanders who made their way to San Antonio as early as 1723, used local peppers and wild onions combined with various meats to create early chili combinations.

Most historians agree that the earliest written description of chili came from J.C. Clopper, who lived near Houston. While his description never mentions the word chili this is what he wrote of his visit to San Antonio in 1828: "When they [poor families of San Antonio] have to lay for their meat in the market, a very little is made to suffice for the family; it is generally cut into a kind of hash with nearly as many peppers as there are pieces of meat--this is all stewed together.”

In the 1880s, a market in San Antonio started setting up chili stands from which chili or bowls o'red, as it was called, were sold by women who were called "chili queens." A bowl o'red cost diners such as writer O. Henry and democratic presidential hopeful William Jennings Bryan ten cents and included bread and a glass of water. The fame of chili con carne began to spread and the dish soon became a major tourist attraction. It was featured at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893 at the San Antonio Chili Stand.

By the 20th century chili joints had made their debut in Texas and became familiar all over the west by the roaring ‘20s. In fact, by the end of that decade, there was hardly a town that didn't have a chili parlour, which were often no more than a shed or a room with a counter and some stools. It’s been said that chili joints meant the difference between starvation and staying alive during the Great Depression since chili was cheap and crackers were free.

U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson was a big chili lover. His favorite recipe became known as Pedernales River chili after the location of his Texas ranch. Johnson preferred venison, which is leaner to beef, probably due to doctor’s orders about his bad heart. Lady Bird Johnson, the First lady, had the recipe printed on cards to be mailed out because of the many thousands of requests the White House received for it.

"Chili concocted outside of Texas is usually a weak, apologetic imitation of the real thing,” Johnson is quoted as saying. “One of the first things I do when I get home to Texas is to have a bowl of red. There is simply nothing better.”

In 1977, chili manufacturers in the state of Texas successfully lobbied the state legislature to have chili proclaimed the official "state food" of Texas “in recognition of the fact that the only real 'bowl of red' is that prepared by Texans.”

Dec. 12 is National Cocoa Day

The weather outside may be frightful, but cozying up with a mug of hot cocoa can make the day more delightful. December 12 is National Cocoa Day! It could hardly come at a more appropriate time. Since the 19th century, the mixture of chocolate (or cocoa powder), heated milk/water and sugar has been a fixture of the winter holidays. Prior to that, (dating back to the Mayan and Aztec civilizations), the concoction was considered to be primarily medicinal in nature, particularly for stomach problems.

Did you know that monkeys were the first creatures to discover that the cacao plant was edible and quite tasty? Over 1500 years ago, monkeys began to consume the pulp of the plant and spit out the beans. Humans soon began to follow the monkey's example and the rest is history.The Mayans are first credited with cultivating the cacao bean to brew xocoatl, an unsweetened version of modern-day hot chocolate. Much later in the 17th century, Spanish doctor Antonio Colmenero de Ledesma published the first recipe as an elixir, adding different spices to treat a number of ailments. Even President George Washington washed down his breakfast of cornmeal hoe cakes with a cup of hot chocolate.

To celebrate national Cocoa Day, send a gift with our new Virginia Diner Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix. a hot chocolate for the serious chocolate lover. Just mix with hot water or milk, stir and enjoy. For a holiday twist on a traditional cup of cocoa, try adding a candy cane!