Creminelli Fine Meats are a staple in our meat counter for a reason. These precious pieces of meat gold are made in the Old World Italian style, hand-tied, and cured to perfection. The recipes are produced here in Salt Lake by salumi royalty and use pork from family farms that operate on a small scale and raise their pigs the way pigs should live: with pasture access (pigs are creatures of comfort and like to be warm when it’s cold, cool when it’s hot, so they like shelter), in proper social structures (i.e. with their families and social groups), good vegetarian feed (not industrial detritus); and never ever treated with antibiotics.

These great sticks of joy can be used as a centerpiece on any artisan charcuterie board, tossed quickly on top of Neapolitan style pizza, or diced up in a ten minute pasta like my Aglio E Olio recipe. Truth be told I was going to make pizza, had the dough all beautiful and plump, sauce balling out. Then my oven broke. No lie. Game-changing anger. Two choices boiled in my brainstomach: Eat the salami all sad and alone on a cutting board, or open the pantry doors and dig for a meal. Super simple, easy and affordable.

Aglio E Olio with Creminelli Salumi 

• 1 lb. of pasta (any kind, but longer cut is the classic Campanian approach)
• 4-6 cloves of minced garlic
• 1/2 a cup of extra virgin olive oil
• A grip of parsley (1/4 cup minced up)
• 1/2-1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper for tasting
• 1 stick of Creminelli Campania salami (any Creminelli salami will do, I just like the juxtaposition of spice and smoke with this style)
• 1 cup of grated 2-year Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly-salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked al dente, about 10-12 minutes. Drain and transfer to a pasta bowl when ready. While pasta is boiling, combine garlic and olive oil in a skillet. Cook over medium heat to slowly toast garlic for about 10 minutes. Lower heat to medium-low when olive oil begins to bubble. Cook and stir until garlic is slightly brown, about another 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Peel the salami from it’s natural casing and cut into small pieces. Stir the salami, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt into the pasta. Pour in olive oil and garlic, and sprinkle on Italian parsley and half of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Stir and toss, and stir and toss. Serve pasta topped with the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

There are a lot of Italian-American rockstars. Kids who at one point said, “Hey, I’ve got a real talent for this; I’m special; I’m beautiful.” To name some of my favorites: Tony Bennett (Anthony Benedetto), Sonny Bono (Salvatore Phillip Bono), and Lady Gaga (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta).

Cristiano Creminelli never changed his name, nor is he a true rockstar to the musical masses. Cristiano is a humble man who ventured out of Italy to live the American Dream—just like your grandparents and mine. He has, however, become a rockstar in our culinary world, and if this blog was the cover page of Rolling Stone there would be fireworks bursting in the background, tigers lounging, and maybe an eagle perched on Cristiano’s shoulder.

Anyway, this story begins about 400 years ago, in the region that is now Piedmont, Italy. Sandwiched between Milan and Turin sits a town named Biella. Northern Italy is notorious for amazing culinary traditions, such as its wines, cheeses and, of course, the salamis that saturate our palates with rich and classic flavors.

Cristiano’s family has been producing salami in the Biella area for 400 years, and they have gotten really, really good at it. Cristiano’s grandfather, Ugo Creminelli, was the personal chef for General Pietro Badoglio, who was also Italy’s Prime Minister for a year before things got a little weird in the mid-1940s. Cristiano’s father, Umberto Creminelli, (some killer names in this family) later took over the family business, Salumificio di Vigliano. Cristiano began making salami when he was a young teenager under the teachings of his father. And in 1996, this young artisan began running day-to-day operations at the salumeria.

Cristiano immigrated to America in 2006 to bring his Old World Italian culinary traditions to a new—and wanting—clientele. He yearned to produce salami just like his family had for centuries, so he left Salumificio di Vigliano, leaving his younger brother, Andrea, to run the company. Cristiano found Utah to be a great location to start Creminelli Fine Meats because of a specific bread of pig, named Duroc, found here. Durocs are similar to the style of pig used in northern Italy and are a long-standing American farmer favorite due to their fast growth rates, lean and rich fat marbling, and high moisture levels in the meat, which yields larger amounts of usable cuts. Their advantage in muscle quality combined with their well-established ability to grow fast was what Cristiano needed and valued.

Creminelli uses family farms that operate on a small scale and raise pigs the way pigs should be raised: with pasture access (pigs are creatures of comfort and like to be warm when it’s cold and cool when it’s hot, so they like shelter), in proper social structures (i.e. with their families and social groups), good vegetarian feed (not industrial detritus), and never treated with antibiotics. Some of the Creminelli meat is also sourced from Iowa now, because Creminelli found a group of farmers who follow the same standards as the farms in Utah. Not many companies go the extra mile that Creminelli does when selecting and producing meats. When you mix that with generations of Italian salami mastery, you get the same artisan product that you would in Biella, Piedmont.

Now comes the fun part of Cristiano’s American salami dream. He found an area to begin production and farms to work with, so the next step was figuring out where to make the salami. This is where the legendary Tony Caputo comes crashing into the Rolling Stones story. Tony has always been heavily involved in the Italian-American community in Utah, and he invited Cristiano to produce in the basement of the downtown store. Ten years ago, Caputo’s looked dramatically different from what it is now. The sandwich shop was on the corner of the street, the market was where the deli is now and our basement was empty enough to race up and down on pallet jacks (think Ben-Hur meets Mario Kart). I remember meeting Cristiano about a year after I started working for Matt and Tony. His English was decent, but raw. His demeanor was cordial, but stoic. His smile was tremendous. We cornered off a piece of the basement for Cristiano to work his magic. This was a sacred area where not even the most epic pallet jack race could enter (if you’re still having trouble imagining this style of race just picture teenagers wearing aprons peddling giant medal scooters that are intended to move literal tons of canned tomatoes…sorry, Tony).

Cristiano worked relentlessly for the first months of production. At one point, he wanted to make sure the baby salamis were beginning their lives perfectly, so he put a cot in the basement near the curing cell to sleep on during the night, every few hours waking to make sure the humidity and temperature levels were accurately accounted for. The salami came out of their cell weeks later, gentle to the touch and rich with flavor. Originally the salami was sold out of a specialty cooler by the unit. Later came fancy butcher paper with colored labels; then, came atmospheric controlled bags that I swear you can shoot into space. Over time, as more and more Utahns caught wind of the amazingness of the meat magician Cristiano Creminelli, the salami production and sales grew and grew. Cristiano could no longer produce the amount necessary to keep up demand in our basement, and he moved to a much larger facility by the airport.

Over the years, Creminelli Fine Meats has changed its packaging on its meats and continues to grow the brand and salami styles to extraordinary heights. But the company’s product quality and integrity to sustain Italian culinary traditions has remained true. The company now has more than 50 employees and is growing steadily.

Cristiano came to America a humble salami maker wanting to bring his family’s traditions to a new world, and he’s still is living that dream to this day—one stick of cured, delicious, meat magic at a time.

April, you love it or you hate it. I love it, and I love this month’s cravings. We kept it short and sweet for April since we’re all busy scrambling to clean up Easter eggs and get our taxes submitted. Here’s what we can’t get enough of this month:

CHEESE: Leonora

If you’ve visited any of our stores recently, namely downtown, there may have been an incredibly eager cheesemonger or two nearly force-feeding you a sample of this little beauty. What you’re experiencing is cheese geekiness in its more exhuberant, pure form. Leonora was an all-star staff favorite years ago at Caputo’s. We lost it for a long period. All of a sudden this winter, it was back, gracing our cases and palettes with its acidic perfection. This log of pure goat’s milk cheese from Leon, Spain has an intense acidity in its flaky, dry interior, but blanaces itself with a cream line just beneath its thin rind that makes it its own best friend. Wanna guess what I like to pair with Leonora? More Leonora. If that’s an unacceptable answer, then I’d say white wine. All the white wine, to be exact. Stay tuned for musings from Evan and make sure to come by for a taste of this cheese. It’s a knockout. But be warned, no one has ever loved Leonora more than Evan.

SWEET: Marou Ben Tre 78%

Don’t look at me, Matt always says it best when it comes to the chocolate obsessions.

“Marou evokes many thoughts and emotions. From exhilaration, lust, fear, and back to comfort. It is an incredibly complex and exotic chocolate. It manages to be ethereal and visceral at the same time. On the one hand it is like an exotic and mysterious woman whispering in a language you can’t remotely comprehend. On the other it is like a musical journey from slow Asian instrumentals to death metal.

Using 100% Vietnamese ingredients including shade grown cacao from 5 different provinces, Marou captures aromas and flavors never before experienced by our Western palates. While it will take us much more tasting to really get to know the soul of Marou’s chocolate, one is perfectly clear. The two French expatriates behind Marou live in Vietnam make chocolate that is a cousin to French, but distinctively Vietnamese. Marou makes globalization look sexy.”  -Matt Caputo

Yep. Marou. The Ben Tre region along the Mekong River lends itself to cacao that is well balanced and not too acidic. It’s a thing of Vietnamese beauty, and one that I’ve loved using this for budinos and flourless cakes. My craving extended beyond the bar, but be sure to give this a try next time you visit one of our stores. You’ll see what Matt’s talking about.

SAVORY: Salame Beddu Cacciatorini

We’ve got a soft spot for small batch salami, and boy does this fill that soft spot with delicious, porky goodness. Salame Beddu is a small artisanal production in St Louis that is nothing short of exciting. I first tried this at a recent dinner gathering with some work pals. One of our warehousing guys brought it along as an afterthought and hostess gift for yours truly. Turns out it was the star of the entire evening (even more so than my famous Amatriciana). We couldn’t get enough and immediately polished off the piece, and then we couldn’t stop talking about it. Seriously, half the night’s discussion was about this new brand none of us had ever heard of. Salame Beddu passed the taste test well before we heard their lovable story of artisanal passion and dedication to quality. Due to such a small production and recent well-deserved attention, we may run out of this little guy. But fear not, we’ll stock whatever we can get from our friends in St. Louis. Everything we’ve tried is equally as delicious as the devilishy spicy Cacciatorini.

After the Easter decorations are stashed away for 2016 and you’ve submitted those pesky taxes, you’re going to be hungry. And you’ll definitely want something tasty and satisfying, whether it’s pork, cheese, or chocolate. You deserve, we’ve got your back on this one.

We’ve had so much fun trying new recipes out with our beloved fennel pollen in preparation for this week, but it’s time to touch on a classic recipe for today. There are few things in this world that love each other as much as pork and fennel do. It’s a lovely symbiotic relationship that enhances the flavor of high quality pork and the aroma of the fennel pollen. You’ll find various cuts of pork prepared with fennel pollen, seeds, or the entire vegetable across all of Northern Italy, but Piemonte is where I would pinpoint this combination if I had to. Let me tell, those Northern Italians had this figured out. Pork loves fennel and fennel loves pork, it’s just that easy.

Here, we’ll use the pollen as a rub for tenderloin. The longer it can rest on the meat before cooking, the better. I would also suggest cooking the pork until the internal temperature hits 145 degrees. This will keep it from drying out. If you prefer a more well done protein, there’s no shame in a little extra cooking time. We’ll finish this dish with a drizzle of Tuscan condiment olive oil, so that extra hydration will go a long way for a longer cooked loin.

Give this classic a try. The weather is back on the cusp of warming up and this is a good, lighter protein option I love serving alongside farro or a big salad. Enjoy your daily dose of fennel pollen!

Fennel Pollen Pork Loin
Serves 4

• 1 pound pork tenderloin
• 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
• 4 teaspoons fennel pollen, divided
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• condiment grade olive oil, like Laudemio

Cut about 4 shallow slits in the tenderloin, lengthwise, and stuff slices of garlic evenly amongst the slits. Combine 3 teaspoons of fennel pollen with the salt and pepper and rub all over the loin along with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Allow to sit at least 20 minutes, ideally 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat with the remaining olive oil. Brown all sides of the tenderloin, about 2 minutes per side. Move skillet to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 140 degrees.

Allow loin to rest about 10 minutes on a cutting board. Slice loin, remove to a serving platter and drizzle with your condiment olive oil of choice.

Guys, it’s already March! We’ve dabbled in spring, I pulled out a pair of shorts, and then I had to dig my snow boots out again. It’s been a crazy few weeks for us here at Caputo’s. We’re adding new brands of chocolate and delicious new treats to the cheese and charcuterie cases almost weekly. The influx of exciting new ingredients and the crazy weather have us craving all sorts of things.

Here’s what we can’t keep our hands off of and how we play on consuming them:
CHEESE: Testun al Barolo

Testun al Barolo is a semi-firm mixed milk cheese from the Piedmont region of Italy. The cheese has a beautiful, complex flavor thanks to the sweet and grassy milk from alpine pastures and its aging process. It ages for a minimum of four months in small oak barrel under the residues of the Nebbiolo grapes, the grapes for making Barolo wine. The fruity wine flavors seep into the crumbly paste, adding sweetness and complexity to the paste. There’s no better presentation, in my opinion, than our testun cheeses. The packed Nebbiolo on the rind of this cheese is intriguing, lovely, and a fun center piece for a cheese plate.

CHOCOLATE: Rozsavolgyi Csokolade Trincheras 

Don’t let the name scare you. I know, it’s a mouthful of letters in an intimidating order, but this bar is so worth fumbling through the pronunciation. Our friends at Roszavolgyi in Hungary are making beautiful, award-winning bars we can’t help but devour. Awarded a Silver Medal by the Academy of Chocolate in the “Bean-to-Bar Best Dark Bar” main category, these cocoa beans from Trincheras, Venezuela are roasted at very low temperatures to preserve every little bit of their natural taste. Guys, this is the stuff dreams are made of. Just wait until you hear what Matt has to say about this one.

SAVORY: Salumeria Biellese Culatello

Prosciutto is often considered the king of Italian salumi. This is the one cured meat that will forever reign in our hearts. Salumeria Biellese makes their culatello in the most traditional and delicious way. Only the largest muscle mass from the hind leg of heirloom breed pork is used. Simple seasoning and over a year’s worth of curing results in a supple, delicious cured pork that is second to none. Slightly drier than traditional prosciutto and more robust in flavor, culatello is a remarkable item perfect for serving alongside other fine charcuterie. Wrap spears of asparagus, layer on flatbreads and pizza, or add to your favorite pasta and vegetable dishes.

SWEET (But also savory): Fennel Pollen

This is the main event, the creme de la creme, the Justin Timberlake of the NSYNC lineup for March. Blame Matt. I got so excited about this that we’re dedicating an entire week of March to this one ingredient. If you are familiar with the flavor of fennel, this is the more heavenly, aromatic, fantastic version of ground fennel seeds. I really can’t say enough about how much I love this. It belongs in cakes, on top of roasted chickens, as part of a crust for roasted red meats, even in semifreddo. Intrigued? Fennel pollen week will convince how versatile this is, and how desperately you’ll need a jar of your own.

I can’t wait to share our recipes this month. As always, eat deliciously, and feed those cravings.