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Capone Foods Newsletter |  |
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I am often asked how I come up with the food preparations we offer. I don’t think it’s a big deal. When it comes to new food ideas, aside from a very simple matter of embellishing, adapting, and borrowing (lying, cheating, and stealing), I also dream up this stuff. No, no. I don’t just dream it up, I really dream about it. Take our Flat Bottom Meatballs, for example. I dreamt about my mother making these wonderful, soft and tender morsels bursting with fresh flavors of garlic, parsley, and Romano cheese. They just melt in your mouth! So I did some embellishing, a little adapting, and then borrowed her recipe. If you happen to be a Flat Bottom Meatball devotée, please don’t feel bad. Continue enjoying them as I take full responsibility for the lying, cheating, and stealing Our Plum Tomato with Chicken sauce was inspired by another dream I had about my youth in Argentina and is a complete swindle from a fishing and cooking camp I attended when I was about 12 years old (yes a cooking camp, is there a problem with that?). When we came back from a busy morning of fishing in an area very close to where the Rio de la Plata empties into the Atlantic ocean, our lunch consisted of spaghetti with a tomato and chicken sauce made from chickens that were walking around that warm morning in a densely vegetated, humid area filled with lots of natural chicken food. I can still remember the fresh, intense, complex flavors. OK, so I cheat nowadays — our chicken comes in plastic bags and packed in ice. But the sauce is still excellent. You should try it. Ever dream of potstickers? I do. So I filled empanada dough with my own adapted potsticker filling and dusted them with sesame seeds. It works! And while others may call this a “fusion” of flavors, I say it is just plain lying, cheating, and stealing. My daughters tell me these empanadas are great, but I need more reassurance and would really appreciate you buying some and letting me know if they are lying to me. And then there are the vegetable sides: sautéed Spinach with Mushrooms and Roasted Butternut Squash. I was finally shamed into offering some vegetables, so I cheated and lifted these ideas from some of my other proven recipes. No dreams were involved in these dishes, and since they are my original recipes, I consider this just an inside job. Wait, I think I stole the original ones also! For a steal of a deal check out our special offer.
It has been a while since the last newsletter, so we have a lot of new things. Here are some of them, all on special this month (see Special Offer): Asian Flavors Empanadas - A rich mixture of pork with cilantro, ginger, green onions, garlic, and other spices. Great with a light soy sauce as a dip. Prosciutto Empanadas - with cheddar cheese, sautéed onions, and red bell peppers. The perfect appetizer. new vegetable sides: Roasted Butternut Squash or Spinach with Mushrooms.
We lie, cheat, and steal to come up with our recipes, so it’s only fair to pass the savings on to you, our customers. We’re taking 1.00 off the abovementioned items until the end of March.
Richard Varano, owner-chef of Varano’s Italian Restaurant in Wells, Maine, has been in business with Capone Foods since 1981. (That’s when Capone’s was still Boston’s Haymarket and owned by Al Capone senior.) At that time, Richard, a CIA (Culinary Institute of America) grad and Boston chef, had dreams of moving his cooking career south. Instead, he ended up in Maine. “I never seem to be able to get out of the cold,” he laments. It was the condo boom that lured him up there in 1989. The condo project went bust, but Richard opened his first restaurant, Billy’s Chowder House, in Wells. Billy’s To Go was his next enterprise and, finally, in 2000, Richard opened Varano’s at the Misty Harbor Resort. The restaurant overlooks the Rachel Carson Wildlife Preserve and Wells Harbor and has a fireplace diners can cozy up to during those long, cold Maine winters ... right, Richard? Varano’s impressive list of 190 Italian wines recently earned a Wine Spectator award for excellence And the pasta? Capone’s, of course. Our fresh pasta sheets are used to make mouthwatering manicotti, our cheese ravioli is topped with homemade marinara or pesto cream sauce, and our gnocchi are sautéed with marinara sauce, grated Romano, and sweet butter — “just like Nana used to make.” Richard and Al have been known to exchange cooking advice. Richard helped Al perfect a seafood sausage dish he was developing, and Al once made last-minute chocolate ravioli for a Varano’s wine dinner. Varano’s wine dinners are practically the stuff of legend — go to varanos.com to sign up for announcements. Varano’s is located at 60 Mile Rd., Wells, ME. Phone: 207-641-8550.
Our newest Capone’s extra virgin olive oil is a blend from the latest harvest (2005 crop). Typical of good Tuscan oils, it has a hint of green grassy taste. We still sell it for a very good price, making this an excellent every day oil that’s good for cooking as well as flavoring and in salad dressings. And as always, you can save even more by bringing your bottle back and having it refilled. 16.95 for 750 ml and 13.95 for a refill. That great tasting Plum Tomato with Chicken sauce I mentioned on the front page? It’s just right over Rosemary and Garlic Pappardelle with some shaved table ricotta on top. And for all you late birds who like to be early to catch the latest thing, our friends at Dalí restaurant are now offering a late-night bar menu, so when you’re feeling peckish and need a midnight snack, Spanish-style, fly over to Dalí, perch at the bar and eat! Give them a try, they don’t steal any recipes. Check out their menu at dalirestaurant.com.
Mediterranean Chicken Soup. Serves 4 hungry people I often use our sauces and stocks as ready-made components for other dishes. Here is an example of a delicious, hearty soup that can be assembled in minutes when using this technique.
Start boiling the water. In another pot, mix the chicken stock and tomato sauce and heat to boil. Lower heat and keep hot. Next, drop pasta in boiling water, stir and cook for about 3 minutes. Drain and add to soup. Place soup in large bowls and swirl a spoonful of Crème de Crème in each bowl. Top with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, chopped parsley, and a good swirl of olive oil Enjoy with some Clear Flour bread (I like their Rustic Italian), and as far as the wine, Dan from the Wine and Cheese Cask suggests a Corino Barbera. 617-623-8656
15 % DISCOUNT* AND FREE DELIVERY IN SOMERVILLE, CAMBRIDGE AND BOSTON. Discount from web site prices also apply to orders picked-up at our store. WHY? Because our shipping and handling costs are lower in these areas, we can offer you this discount! * For deliveries, total minimum order must be at least $75.00 after discount. * Discount and free shipping will not be allowed on orders shipped outside of Somerville, Cambridge or Boston. If the shipping address of your order is in Somerville, Cambridge or Boston, we will waive the shipping charges and give you a 15% discount from the prices listed on line. When placing your order on line, use Coupon Code # 1500 to apply your discount and select UPS “ground”. Shipping charges will show but will not be added to your total. You can call to place your order: 617-629-2296
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