Monticello Reserve Ale

Big news in Charlottesville's world of microbrews. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation and Starr Hill, a microbrewery that started in Charlottesville and has won 14 prestigous awards for its craft beers, have teamed up and here is the Feb.01,2011 Press Release from the Starrr Hill website:

Introducing Monticello's new microbrew, just in time for President's Day!

Monticello Reserve Ale will be sold in 750ml bottles at Monticello and Starr Hill's Tasting Room ONLY. It will be brewed and bottled locally at Starr Hill Brewery, in Crozet, Virginia, by Master Brewer Mark Thompson.

A revolution is brewing in the artisanal beer worlk, inspired by the taste of Thomas Jefferson and what was brewed historically at Monticello. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, in collaboration with Starr Hill Brewery, announces the launch of Monticello Reserve Ale, the official beer of Monticello.The public is invited to a free tasting to celebrate the launch of Monticello Reserve Ale, Presidents' Day, Monday February 21, 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. -in the Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center Museum Shop at Monticello. The launch will include the tapping of the first keg. Free tastings will be provided.

Monticello Reserve Ale is inspired by what was produced and consumed regularly at Monticello. It is made from a combination of wheat and corn, lightly hopped. Brewing beer was an important plantation activity at Monticello. Beer, one of the "table liquors" served with meals, was a staple of the Jefferson household. Records go back to 1772, when Jefferson's wife Martha oversaw the periodic brewing operations, producing 15 gallon casks of small beer - beer with low alcohol content - about every two weeks.

In 1815, Jefferson writes in a letter to Joseph Coppinger (himself a brewer):"I am lately become become a brewer for family use, having had the benefit of instruction to one of my people by an Englishh brewer of the first order."

Large-scale brewing began with the appearanace of a British brewer detained in Albemarle County during the War of 1812. Captain Joseph Miller improved upon the quality and quantity of Monticello beer, introducing ale, stronger beer suited to storage. While at Monticello, Joseph Miller trained the enslaved Peter Hemings in the arts of malting and brewing. Hemings - a brother of Sally - carried on the brewing operations, making 100 gallons of ale every spring and fall.

Jefferson wrote in 1821 that he had "no receipt for brewing," doubting "if the operations of malting and brewing could be successfully performed from a receipt." Using ingredients grown on the Monticello plantation, Jefferson's brews varied based on the grains that were available at any given time, including barley, and larger quantities of corn and wheat. At Monticello, about three-quarters of a pound of hops were used for every bushel of malt.

Presidents' Day Tasting
Monday, February 21, noon to 3:00 p.m.
12:15 p.m. Tapping of the first keg
Free public tasting

Recipes for Entertaining With Virginia Country Ham Slices

Here are some ideas for entertaining with Virginia Genuine Smithfield or Country Ham Slices just in time for Super Bowl:
Fruit Picks: Wap thin ham slices around melon balls, fresh figs, or pear slices. Serve with picks.
Honey Blues: Spread softened Blue Cheese on baguette slices, top with ham slices, and drizzle with honey.
Party Rolls: Mix softened butter with brown sugar, Dijon mustard, ground cinnamon and ground cloves to taste. Spread on tiny yeast rolls and stuff with thinly sliced ham. Wrap in foil and heat until warm.
Country Ham & Sweet Potato Crescents: Add a spoonful of cooked sweet potato and a slice of country ham to a flat refrigerated crescent and roll before rolling into shape. Lightly sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar before baking.
Chicken Smithfield: Stuff boneless butterflied chicken breasts with ham slices and white cheese. Sprinkle with olive oil and chopped herbs, wrap with bacon and bake.
Caesar Salad Smithfield-Style: Just add strips of thinly sliced country ham to a savory Caesar Salad

Entertaining With Blue Crab Bay Crab Cheese Ball Kits

We all love the seafood dips of Blue Crab Bay, but if you need something more elegant, then try their Crab Cheese Ball Kits. We just got in some Blue Crab Bay Crab Cheese Ball Kits, just in time for Super Bowl. Also, we are less than two months away from National Cheese Ball Day, April 17. National Cheese Ball Day is a day to stuff yourself with cheese balls! Celebrate any day with cheese balls. Serve them after dinner, during your favorite television show, or whenever it's convenient. Blue Crab Bay's Crab Cheese Ball Kit comes with a tin of premium crabmeat, crab seasoning and a packet of crushed Crab House Nuts (Extra large gourmet Virginia peanuts cooked in peanut oil and seasoned with spicy Chesapeake Bay Seasoning). Each kit makes two 6.5 cheese balls.

Here's a tip about making cheese balls. Don't think big...large cheese balls have several problems. First, after a few people dig in, a large cheese ball looks entirely unappealing. Second, because large cheese ball sits around longer than smaller versions, there's more time for the nuts to get soggy by absorbing moisture from the cheese.


We are featuring Blue Crab Bay Crab Cheese Ball Kits in some new gift baskets: Tasteful Treats Galore! , a smaller version, Tasteful Treats ! with Blue Crab Bay Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer and one with Alpenglow Sparkling Apple Cider, and Party at the Beach!

Super Bowl Snacks

Super Bowl is upon us. Celebrate the great American holiday with foods from Virginia. It's time to enjoy those extra large crunchy Virginia peanuts you may have left from the holiday. If you have gone through them and need some more, we have them....salted, unsalted, seasoned, sweet, chocolate covered, in-shell, and boiled. The pistachio basket and peanut basket are perfect for your nut loving friends on game day or anytime company comes to enjoy snacking around the house. Some great party foods for the day are Calzones, Vegetable Torta, Ribs, or how about Sweet Potato Biscuits with Ham. These and lots more ideas are in our Super Bowl Snacks section, so celebrate the Super Bowl with Virginia Foods.

Happy New Year!

We want to wish all our customers a Happy 2011! and thank you for helping us have a successful holiday season. Thanks for your support of Virginia products! Now back to blogging. It has been a cold, blustery winter in Virginia. now has been falling regularly. A great time to warm your tummy with a cup of Steamer Hot Cocoa or some James River Brunswick Stew.

Now that the new year is here, we have some winter-themed gift baskets that can be used long after the Virginia treats are gone. The Seafood Lover's Gift Basket! and Snow Day! are in a basket decorated with cheery snowmen. The Seafood Lover's Gift Basket is filled with a variety of seafood soups, Crab Town Chesapeake Bay seasoned Virginia peanuts, a clam dip kit and Blue Crab Bay Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer. The soup to warm you, the clam dip and Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer for comfort and the peanuts remind us that warm days will come again.

Snow Day! is an assortment of Virginia foods to be enjoyed on a snowy day. Pancakes and apple butter or honey to start the day. White Chocolate Flavor Steamer Cocoa and First Colony Coffee to wash them down. Crab Dip and Peanut Straws to snack on after shoveling or playing in the snow.

Let It Snow! With Blue Crab Bay Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer is another basket decorated with frolicking snowmen. This basket includes a variety of Blue Crab Bay seafood soups to enjoy through the winter and Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer with Crab Town peanuts and Clam Dip for munching.

Winter is a great time to enjoy Virginia foods!!!

Eyeing the Apple Crop

This year the summer apple harvest came a little bit lighter, a littler bit sweeter and a little bit earlier around Charlottesville. Hot weather in the first week in April started an early bloom, which led ato an early harvest. Dry weather during the summer produced slightly smaller apples with more concentrated sugar during the early start of the season.

As the leaves start to turn and the air becomes more chilly, the more popular late apples, such as Delicious and Fuji, coming in through October are as full and juicy as ever thanks to the timely rain shower in August.

Last year, Virginia apple orchards produced 4.7 million bushels. In 2008, they produced 5.4 million bushels. The Virginia Fam Bureau Federation expects about 4.5 million bushels for this year. A full production is about 6 million bushels, but 75% to 80% is not unexpected. The dryer weather produced a lighter crop but the dry weather also meant fewer disease problems. The apple harvest is going to be good!!!

At the Virginia Marketplace we have several uniquely delicious apple products, Graves Mountain Apple Butter and La Provencale Cellars Apple Grilling Glaze. We also have Jefferson Monticello Sparkling Apple Cider in Gourmet Gift Baskets.

Celebrate the 75th BRP Anniversary in a Corn Maze

The Blue Ridge Parkway's 75th Anniversary is the theme for this year's Back Home On The Farm Corn maze in Harrisonburg. Each year the farm chooses a new theme and begins preparations soon after the corn is planted in late May. As soon as the corn seedlings emerge from the ground, about a week after planting, begins the task of removing the corn seedlings to make the design. They hand cut the maze in the spring when the corn is short and then maintain the paths all summer long. It takes about a week to "cut" the maze into the field, whch is done with a detailed set of plans that are so specific that they actually show each row of corn growing in the field. The design is created by The Maize Company, the largest designer in the world. They take the theme and design it on a computer and then send a detailed grid. While the corn is shorter this year, it still stands 5-6 feet tall.

The maze officially opened August 28th, 2010. Explore 3 miles of paths and bridges while learning interesting facts about the parkway. There is a mini maze inside the larger design. The mini maze takes about 15 minutes to navigate-most peopole usually finish the large maze in under an hour.

While visiting the farm, ride the Virginia Carousel! All thirty horses represent famous Virginians, Virginia products, places and landscape. This 1940's carousel has been restored by local artist, Britney Mongold. The carousel was purchased from the Onancock Fire Department at Auction in the spring of 2007 and the horses were refurbrished in 2008 to serve as an educational homage to the state of Virginia. Each horse is painted to represent a famous Virginian or industry. Each horse was researched and detailed painting represents events of historical significance or events in the life of the featured person. The rounding board is the panel that surrounds the top of the carousel. There are twelve sections, each showcasing two places in Virginia of interest. Chosen for historical and economic interest, you'll see paintings of Arlington National Cemetery, The Dismal Swamp, and 22 other buildings and locations tharoughout the entire state. Plans yet to be completed include native wildflowers on the medallions atop the rounding boards and a mural of valley countryside around the center pole.