September 13 is National Peanut Day

September is the start of autumn and the harvesting of peanuts. Peanuts are planted after the last frost in April or early May and the heaviest harvesting months are September and October.

The peanuttiest of days is September 13^th, National Peanut Day.  Actually, peanuts are not nuts. They are "legumes", like peas, beans, and lentils. Peanuts are one of America's favorite snack foods, and it’s more than a snack food. Peanuts are the main ingredient in peanut butter. Peanuts star in a variety of recipes, and are a topping for countless foods and desserts. Many Chinese recipes use peanuts in main menu items.

Peanuts once took the rap as a not so healthy food. More recent research suggests that peanuts can reduce cardiovascular disease and lower triglycerides in the body. Peanuts are high in protein and fiber, and are now believed to help curb hunger and therefore help in diet control.

Celebrate National Peanut Day by eating Virginia Peanuts wherever and whenever during the day that you can. Eating Peanut Butter counts, too. Want to try something different (and peanutty, of course), try some Peanut Soup or Peanut Straws.

The Virginia Peanut Festival in Emporia, Virginia will be Sept. 20-23. The Virginia Peanut Festival will celebrate its 50th Anniversary. The majority of exhibits and entertainment are free to the public. There will be storefront displays, a parade, arts and crafts, antique farm equipment, a quilt show, a peanut cook-off, music and great food. A carnival will be back with even better rides than last year, ones that will appeal to the young and young at heart. Virginia is for lovers.....Emporia-Greensville is for nuts.

Homemade Blue Crab Bay Seafood Appetizers

Triple Dip

According to the Feb/Mar issue of Fancy Food and Culinary Products, cheese balls and dip mixes have created their own role in the food industry. Blue Crab Bay markets its cheese balls and dip mixes as being particularly all inclusive. All customers need to add is a dairy base for an outstanding dip or cheese ball with bold flavor. Ease of use is something that is important to customers and these mixes give that restaurant quality taste with items you have on hand. The company’s dip kits make wonderful gifts.

We sell Blue Crab Bay Crab Cheese Ball Kit and Crab, Clam and Shrimp Seafood Dip Kits. The Clam Dip Kit contains chopped clams and salt free Clam Dip Blend.  Blue Crab Bay Clam Dip Kit was a favorite item as seen on Rachael Ray. The Shrimp Dip Kit contains a tin of Tiny Wild Cocktail Shrimp and a packet of our Shrimp Dip Blend. Only mayonnaise and cream cheese are required. The Crab Dip Kit contains premium crabmeat with Blue Crab Bay's own Crab Dip Blend and a recipe for "Company Crab Dip". Only cream cheese and sour cream are required.

Virginia Gourmet Treasures

We sell the seafood dip kits on their own, in a trio called The Triple Dip and in our Virginia Gift Baskets and Virginia Seafood Gift Baskets and Virginia Gift Boxes.

Virginia Brunch Selections Gift Box

Blue Crab Bay Crab Dip Kit is featured in our Virginia Brunch Selections gift box. 

We feature four Blue Crab Bay Seafood Soups with the three Blue Crab Bay Seafood Dips in a gift box that is perfect for a seafood lover or a hostess gift.  

We feature Blue Crab Bay’s Crab Cheese Ball Kit in several baskets, Virginia Gourmet Treasures is one of our favorites.  and the Clam Dip Kit in Gourmet Treasures of Virginia. 

August Is....

Aug. 3 is Grab Some Nuts Day! Start with Virginia Peanuts, known for their large size and crunchy texture and have been referred to as "the peanut of the gourmet." Of course, if you want variety, there are also Georgia Pecans, Pistachios, Almonds, Indian Cashews, Marcona Almonds.....

Aug 4 is National Chocolate Chip Day

Who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies, but how about kicking it up notch...

Paula's Coconut Chocolate Chip Gooey Cake ,Yum! Thirty-two ounces of pure heaven. Coconut, Chocolate Chips and all the rich flavor of Paula's traditional gooey butter cake!

or

Peanut Butter Brownie Cake  you'll just die for. This rich chocolate brownie flat-cake, is overflowing with a thick creamy peanut butter filling, sprinkled with chocolate chips, and drizzled with icing. Available Sept. - May

July is National Picnic Month

July is National Picnic Month
Here's just a few ideas for a great picnic:
Virginia Peanuts

Roasted In-Shell Peanuts In Bushel Basket - 10 lbs. Unsalted or Salted

Blue Crab Bay Seafood Dips
Genuine Smithfield Ham Biscuits

July 4 National Barbecue Day

See our May blog for National Barbecue Month

July 12 National Pecan Pie Day

Our Pecan Pie uses only fresh ingredients and fancy Georgia Pecan halves.

July 30 National Cheesecake Day

Cheesecakes are available May to September
Praline Cheesecake is made from scratch - using crushed pecan pralines for the crust and a creamy pecan caramel topping.
Key Lime Inspiration Cheesecake with Pound Cake - Cheesecake baked over Rowena’s famous Island Kissed Key Lime Pound Cake, tart and sweet, touched by a Caribbean influence.

Chocolate Caramel Peanut Cheesecake - Handmade chocolate cookie crust, layered with New York cheesecake and topped with creamy caramel, our signature Virginia Peanuts and Praline Peanuts. Then drizzled in a decadent chocolate ganache. All natural ingredients! Yummy!

Sunday, June 19 is Father's Day

Father's day is the day we celebrate our fathers, father-figures, and fatherhood!. It was invented by a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd who was raised by her father and thought that they should be celebrated just as much as mothers. Her father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, was a single parent who reared his six children in Spokane, Washington. Although she initially suggested June 5, her father's birthday, she did not provide the organizers with enough time to make arrangements, and the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June.Her dad was born in June so she chose to hold the first father's day on June 19th of 1910. It was President Calvin Coolidge who decided to hold father's day on the third Sunday of June 14 years later In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. Six years later, the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.

Dad's love Virginia Peanuts. Father's Day is one of two holidays when Virginia Peanuts sell best. Dads also love tasty BBQ sauces such as Bone Doctor’s Original Tomato Based and Vinegar based Carolina BBQ sauces, James River Barbecue Sauce and Virginia Gentlemen sauces flavored with Virginia Gentleman 90® Small Batch Bourbon. How about some ribs......

May is National Barbecue Month

National Barbecue Month is the time to talk about our barbecue sauces.

Montebello Kitchens Virginia Barbecue Sauce is made with seasoned tomatoes, onions, red chilies, house spices and apple butter. Regionally grown apples are used to create their apple butter that sweetens this delightful sauce. It is made with all natural and organic ingredients by hand in small batches. Can be found in many of our gift baskets.

New to our gift baskets is Pork Barrel BBQ Sweet BBQ Sauce, an award winning sauce developed by two Senate staffers working late into the night. Pork Barrel BBQ is a national award winning BBQ sauce and rub company who competes on the professional barbecue circuit and has a restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia. Sweet Pork Barrel BBQ Sauce is an exceptional way to give your food tasty, sweet flavor with a perfect smokin' kick! All natural ingredients and contain no preservatives or MSG.

We also have BBQ sauces from Virginia Gentlemen and from Smithfield, James River Barbecue Sauce and Bone Doctor’s. Virginia Gentlemen’s award-winning sauces with the traditional hunt scene labels are anything-but-traditional when it comes to the taste sensation you'll experience. They are flavored with Virginia Gentleman 90® Small Batch Bourbon, the perfect complement to all your favorite pork recipes. They come in a three bottle variety pack: Bourbon Maple, Bourbon Teriyaki and Bourbon Chipotle.

Bone Doctor’s barbecue sauces are handcrafted by orthopedic surgeons! They are from family recipes, created with surgical precision by two Bone Doctors over years of weekend barbecues. Try both the Original tomato based and Carolina Bold zesty vinegar based sauces.

Smithfield’s ever-favorite original James River Barbeque Sauce is unchanged since the 1950s. Smithfield, VA., is one of America's oldest and largest meat processing centers. What better place to find perfect BBQ sauces developed by the meat experts. This is a wonderful all-purpose sauce but especially as a condiment for pork.

In addition to Barbecue Sauces for National Barbecue Month try some North Carolina Style Pork Barbecue. Hickory smoked and cooked with plenty of zesty vinegar and seasonings. Nothing to hide the smoky flavor of this tender pulled pork barbecue, made locally Carolina style. 5 lb. tub.

Another option is Smithfield’s new improved BBQ Pork Ribs, unsurpassed for pure tenderness and flavor. Fully cooked in their special sauce. 

April is National Pecan Month

Celebrate National Pecan Month with The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg’s Sweet Georgia Pecans -handcooked in copper kettles with fresh creamy butter and brown sugar according
to our old-fashioned Southern recipe or Praline Glazed Pecans – mammoth Georgia pecans are hand cooked and generously coated with a sweet praline glaze. Or try their Southern Pecan Trio sweet and salty - enjoy these mammoth pecan halves any way you like 'em. Roasted & Salted, Praline Coated, or Sugar & Spice.


Other celebrations in April Include:

April 2 National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day (See our blog on Peanut Butter)

April 17 National Cheese Ball Day
Entertain the easy way with Blue Crab Bay's Crab Cheese Ball Kit. The kit includes a tin of premium crabmeat (product of Thailand), 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. Available in some of our gourmet Virginia Gift Baskets



April 21 is National Chocolate-Covered Cashews Day
Try some of The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg’splump firm Cashews double-dipped in rich creamy milk chocolate. There’s nothing better!!