Month: March 2024

Easter is only a few days away, so that means the prep has begun. Easter, as with many holidays, has many special traditions and so many revolve around food. You may make certain breads or desserts, maybe a certain meal. One food item that we look forward to each year is Calzone! 

Calzone is sometimes referred to as Easter Pie, though it’s not sweet. It is a crust stuffed with different, savory ingredients. There are many different versions and different names for this–  each unique to different regions, towns, and even families. 

In our kitchen commissary, we make two different versions of this Easter Calzone from scratch– a traditional version and a sausage version.

Traditional Calzone

The Traditional Calzone is made with eggs, black olives, onions, and mozzarella cheese. All the ingredients are put into our homemade crust.

This meatless option is great for Good Friday. On Fridays during lent, those partaking are supposed to fast from meat. On Good Friday which is the Friday before Easter, you are supposed to fast. 

Fasting in Christianity calls for people to eat one full meal and two smaller meals, but the two smaller meals cannot equal a full meal when put together.

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Sausage Calzone

The other version of calzone we offer is a sausage one. This one is our homemade sausage, eggs, black olives, onions, and mozzarella cheese. This calzone is typically enjoyed on Easter day. The addition of meat makes it a heartier calzone. Heartier foods were typically used at feasts. Since Easter is a celebration and everyone is rejoicing, the more ingredients, the better for the calzone with meat!

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We will have both the traditional and the sausage calzone in stores!

Romana’s Calzone

On Good Friday, Romana and Angelo would have the calzone as their only meal of the day. Romana would make hers a the Barese way– a homemade crust with a filling consisting of onions, tomatoes, olives, and anchovies… we all know that every Barese recipe has anchovies in it somewhere!  We refer to this as Scalcione, another name for the calzone or an onion pie! This calzone was their only meal of the day to respect fasting. Want to see how this is made? Check out her daughter keeping traditions alive in our family and making this delicious Good Friday meal here

From Our Family To Yours

It’s National Sauce month! The sauce you use can change a whole meal. We have a whole line of La Bella Romana sauces that can be your sous chef and truly enhance a meal without you having to sacrifice quality or taste.

 As a family owned and operated company, we know how important what you feed your family is and we take pride in offering our extended family of customers great meal options. We go to great lengths to prepare high quality foods using the freshest and healthiest ingredients. 

Did you know that in our warehouse, located in Carol Stream, we have a kitchen where we prepare the foods that you see in-store? We make everything from scratch, exactly how you would at home… just without all the mess! We use fresh food and produce straight from our shelves to prepare these meals and dishes so you can trust what you’re getting. 

We also have state of the art technology which aids in our cooking process. Because of this equipment, we are able to extend the shelf life of our products without adding any preservatives or additives. All of the items in our prepared foods section are all natural and made from scratch using only high quality ingredients. 

So this National Sauce Month, stop by and give our sauces a try. Here are 4 of our homemade sauces and ways to enjoy them

Supreme Sauce

Our very own supreme sauce is a creamy sauce, bursting with flavor. It tastes like a pink tomato sauce.

• A breaded chicken and melted bocconcini or mozzarella sandwich (think chicken parm, but with with supreme sauce)
•  Your favorite pasta with crumbled sausage 
• As a pizza sauce 

Marinara sauce

Made with real ingredients, our homemade marinara sauce is an easy way to get your homemade Sunday sauce in, but without the time or the work!

• Your favorite pasta
• Over chicken for an easy chicken parm
• Over our homemade breaded eggplant or breaded zucchini with mozzarella for a veggie alternative to chicken parmesan
• A shortcut to your homemade lasagna
• With stuffed peppers

Vesuvio Sauce

A Chicago classic, vesuvio sauce is a white wine sauce with notes of fresh herbs, garlic, and lemon. It is light, flavorful, and can go with almost anything! While the classic dish is a juicy chicken and potatoes with peas, there are tons of other ways to enjoy it too

• Over fish
• Grilled steak and carmelized onions sandwich with vesuvio sauce
• A breaded chicken sandwich with vesuvio sauce
• Add some pepperoncini for a spicy twist

Limone Sauce

A light and tangy sauce that is versatile so it can go well with so much! It really is an all purpose, bright sauce!

• Over fish
• Over chicken
• Over vegetables
• Over sauteed shrimp and linguine
• With cheese over your favorite pasta cut

From Our Family To Yours

March 8th is International Women’s Day. It is the day to honor and celebrate the achievements of women. 

In thinking about the meaning of this day, I cannot help but to think of two incredible women who deserve so much praise– Romana Caputo and Antonella Caputo Presta. Both women have led a life of sacrifice and are foundational pillars of our company.

Our matriarch and my grandmother, Romana Caputo, was one of the best women there was. Any person who has crossed her path is sure to tell you a memory centered around her cooking skills, generosity, or classiness. A self taught cook, she spent hours in the kitchen–  preparing feasts, cookies for weddings or parties, or a simple dinner which was probably the best meal you’ve had. No one who encountered my nonna was left hungry. She loved her family and did everything she could for them, no questions asked. It was her mission to make sure all of her loved ones were happy. She did everything she could to lift others up. She was always there for her husband, Angelo Caputo, as his biggest support and his rock through the grueling hours of his hard work. She had the biggest heart and the kindest soul. The picture of class, she made everyone in her presence feel like a part of her family.  It is inspired by her beauty and exceptional cooking skills that we get the name of our private label, La Bella Romana. Translated to the Beautiful Romana,  Angelo created our private label as a way to acknowledge all she did for our family and company. Although gone too soon, she has left a beautiful legacy and we continue to honor her in every way that we can. Her spirit and her mission lives on through her daughter, Antonella.

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My mother, Antonella Caputo Presta, is the rock of our family and an incredibly important part of our company. She has made it her mission to make sure the legacy and work of her parents do not go unnoticed or unappreciated. She proudly tells anyone with tears in her eyes about all her parents did in their lives. What she doesn’t realize is that the same traits that she so proudly uses to describe my grandparents are the very same traits that she embodies. Strong, smart, hard working and protective like Angelo and generous, dedicated, humble, and classy like Romana… Just to name a few. She has spent her whole life (and continues to) honoring her parents and I know they were so proud of her. She will never look for credit or draw attention to anything she does, but we would not be where we were today without her. She started working at a very young age . She would take early morning trips to Michigan with Angelo to pick up fresh produce at the age of about 9 years old. She can tell you about the freezing days at the original store on Harlem and Wrightwood, the distinct smell of the store that brings tears to her eyes at just the thought of it, or her exceptional skills in the front end (she could beat anybody in a bagging groceries competition.) She will sacrifice her happiness and wants to make sure that her kids or grandkids are happy. As you get older, you look back and start to realize all the sacrifices your mom made for you and as we reflect, the list of sacrifices our mom made for us, for her parents, and for her loved ones is endless.She has taught us the importance of family, which I am so grateful for as my siblings are my best friends. She is always there for advice, a story, a prayer, a hug, a meal, and anything else you may need. 

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I am blessed to have such strong, beautiful women in my life and am so grateful to be able to call Romana Caputo and Antonella Caputo Presta my role models.

Don’t forget to honor the women in your life on March 8th by picking up mimosa cakes and cupcakes. If you order ahead, you will receive a free Caputo’s cake server! Also on March 8th, female shoppers will receive a yellow rose while supplies last.

Happy International Women’s Day to all the beautiful women ❤️

From Our Family To Yours