Caputo’s Sandwich Recipe Contest

On the go, packed for lunch, a quick bite to eat… sandwiches are a versatile meal option! August is National Sandwich Month and National Panini Month. Our deli is the perfect place to celebrate this.

Our international deli has a large variety of imported and domestic, premium meats, cheeses, and olives. There are a plethora of options for you to make your perfect sandwich. Prosciutto or Turkey, Swiss or Provolone, a mix of deli meats and cheeses– we want to know what your go-to is!  

Think you’re the best sandwich maker? Put it to the test for your chance to win a Caputo’s gift card! 

We want to know the ingredients you use to make your sandwiches. Submit your sandwich recipes. The brands, the slicing preference, the type of bread, hot or cold– we want to know it all.

Here’s how to enter:  

Step by Step Directions

  1. Shop at Caputo’s for all your sandwich making necessities
  2. Make your sandwich and document it as detailed as you can
    1. Write down all the ingredients you use. We want to know what you put in your sandwich that makes it better than everyone else’s.
  3. Take a picture of it… lots of pictures! 
  4. Fill out this form with all the above info and submit any extras we should know. We will take your submission, review it, and test out the recipe! Our team will judge based on overall flavor and decide who has the best sandwich!

What you can win

  1. A Caputo’s Gift Card
    1. 1st Place- $100
    2. 2nd Place- $50
    3. 3rd Place- $25
  2. Your recipe is featured on our social media, websites, and is available for purchase as a special in our hot foods department on September 10, 17th, and 24th! The special and recipe will feature your name so everyone knows where it came from!
    1. Your recipe will be featured on our website so other shoppers can test it out for themselves! It will also be featured in a banner on our homepage 
    2. We will then offer your sandwich as a special in our hot foods departments in our Addison, Carol Stream, and Naperville stores every Friday throughout the month
  3. Bragging Rights

The Rules

You have the whole month of August to submit. We will go over the recipes and make the sandwiches, then pick a winner from there. The winners will be contacted and then announced on September 6.

Be sure to follow us on social media to stay up to date and see our family share our go-to sandwiches!

Submit your recipe here

From Our Family To Yours

Summer Charcuterie Board

The weather is beautiful, the nights are long, and there is a lot to celebrate. If you’re looking for something beautiful and delicious to bring to a get together or to put out for guests, we have just the thing! 

This board features new cheeses, fresh summer produce, unique crackers, and more! This board has what every good charcuterie board needs– a mix of flavors, shapes, textures, and colors! It looks beautiful and tastes delicious.There is something for everyone.

Before we get started, here are a few key things to remember when making a charcuterie board

  • Placement– When placing your items on the board, do not have anything that rolls in the corners or on the edges. This prevents items from falling off your board
  • Balance- You want to balance the items on your board. Have a mix sweet and savory, different textures, and different shapes
  • Color- having little pops of color goes a long way! Choosing a few bright items like green olives or colorful fruits and veggies is an easyway to accomplish this!
  • Nothing will be perfect, just have fun with it! 

Now it’s time, here are the items on our summer, farmer’s market charcuterie board! 

Cheese 

Even if you aren’t looking to make a board, we have some fantastic and different new cheeses that you must try!

Windsor Red 

This is a creamy and mild English cheddar. During the making process, port wine and brandy is infused into this cheddar which is where the unique red marbling color comes from. The result is a beautiful looking cheese that is sweet and savory at the same time. You get the sweetness of the wine and the sharpness of the cheddar in every bite. For our board, we cut this cheese into wedges. 

3 year Gouda 

This Vintage Lot Gouda is aged 36 months and from the Netherlands. It has a nutty, caramel, butterscotch taste and a firm bite. The aging allows salt crystals to form which give it a crunchy, yet creamy bite! For the board, we cut the cheese into matchsticks. 

Mustard Seed Gouda 

This cheese is a sweet, but savory gouda with mustard seeds in it from Holland. It is a lighter, mild cheese that is extra creamy. 

 For the board, we cubed this cheese. 

Wooly Woolly

Wooly Woolly is a fresh sheep’s milk cheese that is spreadable and extremely versatile. This is great on crackers, in pasta sauce, with jelly, or even straight up with a spoon! It is fluffy and tastes rich, sweet, and mild. It is very different from any other sheep’s milk cheese because of how mild it tastes. 

For the board, we cut it in half and added a spoon to the cheese. 

Blueberry Lemon Goat Cheese

Even if you don’t like goat cheese, this is a must try! Incredibly creamy with a sweet tang, this goat cheese log is delicious! With a taste almost like a blueberry lemonade, this adds a sweet flavor to the board. This cheese would be good in salads or even as a dessert!

Homemade Bocconcini 

A fan favorite, we also included our homemade bocconcini! Soft and fresh, our homemade bocconcini is unlike any other. This hand stretched and tied mozzarella is a must on any board!

Supreme Brie Bites

Bite size, individual pieces of brie. Each piece is incredibly rich, creamy, and buttery! This cheese comes pre packed, so we took it out of the packaging and added it into spots on our board to add some dimension.

Crackers 

We used some new, delicious crackers on this board! 

Effies Homemade Oat Biscuits

 New to Caputo’s is the Effie’s biscuits, In a few different varieties, they are versatile and full of flavor. We used the oat biscuits on our board. They are buttery, great with every cheese. These are truly addicting!

Isola Cranberry and Poppy Seed Flatbread

This cracker has a great texture and flavor. It’s not super sweet and a great addition to any board!

Rosemary Sea Salt Mediterranean Baked Crackers

We chose these as a new texture, flavor, and because they are great on a cheese board 

Meats 

Peppered Salami

This peppered salami is a great contrast to a board that has a lot of fruit and no spicy cheese. This adds a new flavor and a good look as you can fold it into fun shapes 

Mortadella

A great and simple meat, we suggest folding it softly into fluffy shapes

Parma Prosciutto

Another classic! We suggest rolling it lightly and on a bias for a full flavor profile

Savory

For a change in flavors, textures, and fun colors, we chose a few savory items to put on the board. 

Castelvetrano Olives

These olives imported from Italy are sweet and buttery. They’re great for snacking and good with lots of cheese!

Roasted Red Bell Peppers

Available pre-marinated in our deli, these are a new, oily, savory flavor profile! They add color and good to stop items from rolling 

Condiments

Little items to pick on that provide different textures and flavors, they are great for snacking between bites!  

  • La Bella Romana unsalted pistachios
  • Valencia almonds with fine herbs 
  • Mitica caramelized walnuts

Produce

Summer is a great time for fresh produce. There are so many items currently in season that go great on a board. This board has an emphasis on fresh produce to give it a farmer’s market feel! 

Fruit

It’s stone fruit season, so those are a must!

  • peaches 
  • white nectarine 
  • sapphire grapes (not super sweet, but natural sweetness and adds a fun shape) 
  • Cherries

Veggies

  • Persian cucumbers  (Rich and buttery)
  • Orange bell pepper
  • Carrots (good for color and munching. We cleaned the carrot, cut tip, and halved i, but left some of the stem on it) 

Now all you have to do is enjoy!

From Our Family To Yours

Italian Favorites to Cheer on Team Italy

Italy has advanced to the finals and we could not be more excited! It has been an exciting run and we cannot wait to see Sunday’s game! Maybe you’re getting ready to watch with family or planning to come to Caputo’s and watch in the bar. No matter how you’re watching, we are sure food will be involved.

What better way to cheer on Team Italy than with some Italian classics. At Caputo’s, we are very proud of our Italian heritage. We have a variety of items imported straight from Italy and some classic Italian items. 

Here are some staples that are great to cheer on Team Italy this Sunday! 

Panzerotti

Panzerotti is dough stuffed with sauce, cheese, and other pizza ingredients! A classic in Angelo’s hometown of Mola di Bari, you can often see people in the piazza late at night enjoying panzerotti!

Taralli

Have you tried taralli? They are an Italian snack item that taste almost like a cracker and we have them available in a variety of flavors. They are great on their own or paired with cheese or salami!

Lupini

 Lupini are a common Mediterranean snack related to chickpeas and lentils. In addition to their delicious taste, they are full of nutrients too. Lupini are a great source of fiber, protein, vitamins, and more! 

Focaccia

Focaccia is a bread baked in an oven and topped with oil, tomatoes, salt, and more! We make ours in-house daily and in multiple sizes and shapes. It is known for its light and airy texture. It is great to make sandwiches with or eat on its own!

Sausage

Tradition is important to us and our sausage is a testament to that. Our homemade sausage is full of flavors and aromas that will make your home taste like Italy!

Our sausage is made in-house daily. The process starts with our old-world tradition of using hand-trimmed lean pork. We mix the pork with our private blend of spices and seasonings, developed specifically for our sausage. 

Let us know what other Italian staples are your favorites!

From Our Family To Yours