The Grapevine

May is Wisconsin American Cheese Month. If you love supporting local and you love cheese, it’s the perfect month for you! All month long we are teaming with local Wisconsin Dairy Farmers to promote local Midwest Cheeses. 

One of our Farms is Belgioioso– Headquartered in Green Bay, Wi. 

Belgioso has a wide variety of cheeses– soft, classic, artisan, you name it! This week we are showing off our Belgioioso Provolone hand cut right off of the torpedo. All Belgioioso Cheeses are all Natural, gluten free and crafted from rBST free milk. 

Another one of our Farms is Deer Creek located in Sheboygan, Wi. 

Deer Creek spends a lot of time making their specialty cheeses and choosing the highest quality vats to make their cheeses in. One of their most popular cheeses and one of our favorites is the Rattlesnake cheese. Rattlesnake is a nice medium cheddar infused with a premium gold tequila and Habanero peppers. The warmth and sweetness of the tequila open your palate to the smooth and mellow creaminess of the cheddar. Then an unforgettable burst of heat!

Another one of our Farms is the Sartori Company in Plymouth, Wi. Sartori is a family on their 4th generation Cheesemakers!

This month, we are highlighting Merlot vs Chardonnay, two cheeses soaked in a vat of Wine. Merlot Bellavitano picks up plum and berry notes, while Chardonnay Bellavitano picks up bright and buttery notes. Your preference between these two cheeses could reflect whether you prefer red wine or white wine. We would like to know your favorite!

You have the entire month of May to taste these two cheeses– get familiar and compare them! May 23rd-May 30th each store will have a Ballot Box located near the deli where you should cast your vote on which one you like better. On May 31st, we will pick 1 random winner from each store and that lucky customer will win a Gift bag from Sartori featuring an assortment of their cheeses. (1 vote per customer, employees not eligible. ) 1 winner per store ! Winners will be contacted the week of June 1st and announced on social media. 

These are just some of our favorites. We like to pair all of these with LOCAL Chicago Salumi’s, Sabitino’s Truffle crisps and Firehook Crackers!

Let us know your preference of Wisconsin cheeses and don’t forget to stop in the store May 23-May 30 to cast your vote for the chance to win a Sartori Gift Basket!

From Our Family To Yours

Salads get a rep for being boring and repetitive, but we disagree! Salads can be fun and nutritious! You can put a  variety of things in a salad to make it taste good and different! 

If you make your salad at home, there are plenty of ingredients you can throw in a salad. Some of our favorites that you may not think of are

• goldfish or a cheese cracker instead of croutons
• dried cranberries
• almond slices
• fruit like oranges, apples, or strawberries
• sunflower seeds
• corn
• rotisserie chicken

If you don’t feel like making your own, but want something different, We have a large selection of gourmet salads to choose from. Your classic garden salad to a fun chopped salad, there is a salad for everyone! 

Here are some of our favorite La Bella Romana salads!

Julienne Salad

 Julienne is a type of cut that means the food is sliced into thin strips and this is reflected in the ingredients of the salad! With different types of lettuce, ham, cheese turkey, and a few different vegetables, this is a great summer salad! 

Bacon Ranch Salad

 Our rotisserie chicken mixed with mozzarella, bacon, tomatoes, and croutons tossed in ranch dressing! 

Chopped Salad

A variety of diced ingredients for maximum flavor! This salad has eggs, turkey, ham, cheese, bacon, cucumber, onions, and tomatoes. There are so many veggies and proteins!

Greek Salad

Onions, peppers, cucumbers, feta, tomatoes, and olives… a Mediterranean dream! 

Mexican, southwest, tropical, caesar… there are so many more! 

May is National Salad Month and in honor of it, we are featuring a salad of the week. Every week throughout the month of may, we will be highlighting a few different salads in our ad and in store! Be sure you’re following us on social media to see what unique salad is being highlighted!

From Our Family To Yours

Do you love cheese? If you do, you have probably paid a visit to our deli and seen the large selection of imported and domestic cheeses, specialty cheeses, and, a personal favorite, homemade cheese! One cheese that we NEED to have in our fridge at all times? Homemade Ricotta!

Ricotta is made from re-cooking the milk whey leftover from the production of other cheese. The result is a soft, creamy, and delicious cheese! The taste is like no other. It’s fresh, creamy, and versatile– it can be a great compliment to any dish or main ingredient in another! You can change the flavor profile depending on what you pair it with and use it to elevate any dish or meal! 

• 

Here are some of our favorite things to do with ricotta!

Ricotta with honey and cinnamon

Mixing ricotta with honey and cinnamon makes a sweet and delicious topping! Try to put it on toast for yummy breakfast or even mix it with berries, peaches, or other fruit for a nice snack!

Ricotta & Avocado Toast

Italian avocado toast! Mix the ricotta with olive oil, salt, and pepper (also great with bread on its own), spread it on bread or even friselle, then put some avocado and everything bagel seasoning on top. You have a delicious and escalated avocado toast!

A Pizza Topping

Scoops of ricotta on a pizza is one of our favorite pizza toppings! We like to add some giardiniera and sausage too!

In a Sandwich

There is nothing like imported prosciutto and arugula on fresh bread with some creamy homemade ricotta. Add a little olive oil for flavor and even throw some giardiniera on it! 

With Lemon Olive Oil

If you’re looking for a light and refreshing bite, this is it! Mixing ricotta with a lemon olive oil or plain olive oil and a squeeze of a lemon is a wonderful treat! You can put it in a salad or even enjoy it with a piece of bread. It is fresh, light, and a great summer snack!

Use it in lasagna, in cookies, in a salad, in pancakes, with eggplant, in stuffed zucchini… the options are endless! Let us know what you use ricotta for and stop by our deli to try out our homemade ricotta… your life will not be the same!

From Our Family To Yours

Did you know we make our own tortillas?

In 2018, we remodeled our Addison store. Part of this remodel was bringing in a brand new tortilla machine from Mexico! This machine allows us to make our very own, homemade corn tortillas in-house every day. We then take it one step further and turn our tortillas into tortilla chips!

Like all of our other prepared foods, our tortillas are all natural and have no preservatives. We offer yellow or white corn tortillas that are made from scratch in this machine daily. The tortillas are made in our Addison location and then sent to each store from there. 

• 

• 

Our tortillas are great for Taco Tuesday and once you have tortillas, our meat department is the next stop. We have a variety of pre-marinated taco and fajita meats and poultry ready to go. They are located behind the meat counter. All you have to do is cook and enjoy! 

• 

• 

We also turn our homemade tortillas into tortilla chips! We cut the tortillas into triangles and throw them in our fryer. They are salted, cooled, and packaged in brown paper bags. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Our chips also pair wonderfully with items from different departments, especially our homemade guacamole and salsas. Made fresh daily, our guac and salsas are made using items right from our produce section! Guacamole, classic salsa, pineapple salsa, mango salsa, and more! You can also try our chips with our homemade chili! They are great for dipping in the chili on its own or making chili nachos!

• 

• 

Check out this video on our tortillas here

From Our Family To Yours

Bracket season has begun and we have a little bracket challenge of our own! Caputo’s Madness is back! Your favorite Caputo’s items are going head-to-head to see which of our signature items is the winner. 

The rules are simple and the prizes great!

The Basics 

You enter by filling out and submitting your bracket either in store or online by March 21, 2021.

Voting begins on March 22 and you’re in control! Voting is done through social media, so make sure you’re following us to cast your votes!

The brackets will be tallied up and the winner(s) with the most points will receive a $25 Caputo’s gift card and a Caputo’s apron. We can have up to 15 winners total

Each contestant who chose the winning item, but did not win the bracket will win a $5 Caputo’s Gift Card

Get all the info you need and how to enter here! 

Good luck!

From Our Family To Yours

I think we can all agree that sometimes we need a meal that tastes like a hug feels. Most of the time, a grilled cheese sandwich can do the trick! It’s the ultimate comfort food for many reasons! Maybe it reminds you of being a kid, maybe it’s the melted cheese (because who doesn’t love melted cheese), maybe it’s the special way you make it. No matter the reason, grilled cheese is classic.

When you think about grilled cheese, you probably automatically picture two pieces of American bread and a slice of American cheese, but there is so much more that you can do to make your grilled cheese burst with flavor! 

You can use a specific bread, a mix of cheeses, specialty cheese, or maybe you add extras to your sandwich that take it to the next level! You can add things like mac and cheese, bacon, avocado, tomatoes, flavored olive oil, and more to make your grilled cheese elite!

Do you make a special grilled cheese? We want to know! Plus you can win money for it! 

April is National Grilled Cheese Month and in honor of it, we want to know how you make your specialty grilled cheese! Share your grilled cheese recipes with us for a chance to win! The rules are simple and the prizes great! 

Click here for all the rules and how to enter!

From Our Family To Yours

March 8th is International Women’s Day. It is the day to honor and celebrate the achievements of women. It is such a special and significant day, that many countries in Europe treat March 8th as Mother’s Day. 

International Women’s Day is all about honoring the strong women in your life. 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. They are the heart and soul behind our company. Their unending support, dedication, and hard work are the foundation of who we are.

• 

My grandmother and our matriarch, Romana Caputo, was one of the best women there was. She was a beautiful soul with the kindest, most generous heart. It was her mission to make sure others were happy– especially her grandchildren. She would do anything for us, all we had to do was ask. Anyone who had any type of encounter with my grandmother can attest to two things- 1. She was incredibly kind and classy 2. She was the best cook. 

Her self-taught skills in the kitchen were remarkable. Anyone lucky enough to have had a meal prepared by Romana Caputo knows that she went all out, no matter the occasion, and that it may have been the best thing you have ever eaten. Her ability to prepare a meal and make anyone feel like they are a part of the family. She is the inspiration behind our private label, La Bella Romana. It was inspired by her beauty and 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.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Another pillar of our company is my mother, Antonella Caputo Presta. She often talks about the beautiful spirit of my grandmother, but does not realize that she has those same, incredible qualities that she thinks so fondly of my grandmother for. She is the most selfless, most humble, and the hardest working person I know. She began working for my grandfather at a very young age. She could tell you many stories like driving to Michigan at 3 in the morning with my grandfather to get produce or memories about what those freezing winter days working at our original location on Harlem and Wrightwood were like. She will never look for credit, but there is so much we owe to her. She takes the time to point out all the good others have done and praise others for their accomplishments, but will never draw attention to herself. She has made countless sacrifices and lives her life to make sure everyone around her is happy. She has done so much for us, as a business and as a family, and we would not be where we are today if it weren’t for her. She is always there for advice, a lesson, a prayer, a hug, a meal, and anything else you may need. She always was and still is an integral part of our business and we are lucky to have her as a guiding force.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

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.

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

Don’t forget to honor the special ladies in your life on this day with a mimosa cake

From Our Family To Yours