Brunch at the Continental in Philly

A few weekends ago my roommate calls me at work on Saturday and asks if I want to high tail it to Philly for the night?

Random, but of course I said yes!

So we got in the car, and drove 2 and a half hours.  We went out, and we drank and stayed at some little hotel called "The Rodeway Inn" (which actually was a lot nicer than it sounded.....LOL)

Sunday morning we awoke, hungry and hungover, and well what's better to do in that situation than BRUNCH?!  And so we bruncheddd, and it was GOOD :)

Nicole's friend took us to this little joint called "The Continental" which turned out to have one of the coolest menus I've ever seen. 

Please Please PLEASE check out this menu :)

The Continental-Midtown

It was simple, but developed. Familiar but with surprises!  It's everything would want from a "diner" type setting, but with a little twist.  It was perfect. 

With choices like "The Healthy Elvis" a sandwich composed of peanut-butter, nutella, and bananas on whole wheat bread, or "Lobster Mac and Cheese" which has Orzo pasta, Gruyere and Fontina cheese, French Onion soup dumplings, Tiramasu Waffles with marscapone cream and burbon syrup, Banana Fritters with butterscotch sauce, they even had a Chicken Biscut with onion bacon marmalade and sharp cheddar cheese!!!

Ok, I am seriously hungry now after revisiting this menu....I might have to drive to Philly.....


But wait, there's more......The small section at the bottom, the DRINK MENU, well THAT was my favorite!!


and that's what I want to talk about, Mainly the "Wake and Bacon Mary"
*Spicy bloody mary with BACON INFUSED tomato vodka, a lemon, a lime and a skewer full of big fat olives :)

what?!, how??!?!? bacon? vodka???!!!! bloody mary.....well I am hungover, so I'M SOLD.

it was amazing, it was perfection, it tasted like a BLT in a glass, but BETTER.



and as we ordered our round of wake and bacon's, we had to ask the waiter how they made this glass of wonderfulness?!
(the waiter by the way was the cutest, gayest lil' thang, skinny as a bean pole, and polite as a peach.  We offered to take him home with us to NY and he blushed LOL )
He told us in a twangy, mid western sounding accent that they infuse the vodka themselves and" all u need is some tomato vodka, a lil cooked bacon and a few days, and there ya go!"



I'm surprised that I have not tried this ye since I've been home, but I ASSURE you that I will soon.....







TO BE CONTINUED.....

Cold Quinoa Salad

yup, again with the quinoa......LOL, well if i keep posting recipes for fettuccine Alfredo, and vodka sauce baked ziti, i have to balance it out with something healthy or I'd just be giving you "the fat"
so here's the skinny:


We all TRY and bring lunch to work during the week so we don't senselessly spend $ on food that could better made at home.  Homemade lunch is usually healthier for you and MUUUCHHHHH cheaper, but as we all know, it's hard to please the palate when exploring the options of what to fill that lunch bag with. Sandwiches, leftovers, yogurts, fruits and veggies usually make the cut, but there are lots of other options to explore for your mid-day munch....

The other night I was in the pantry staring at what my possibilities were and I saw that bag of red quinoa that I had purchased about a month earlier from Table Local Market in Bedford.  I hadn't cracked it open yet and seeing it inspired me to put together a nice little cold salad for lunch for the next day

Here's what I came up with:

To make this salad you will need:
- 6 Tablespoons of olive oil
-1 Red onion diced
- 2 cloves of Garlic Minced
- 2 cups of cooked quinoa (I used red quinoa in this dish)
- 3 baby cucumbers diced (or you can use one regular, or a half an english cucumber)
-2 cups of quartered grape tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
- Cracked black pepper, salt, and Lawry's season salt or Adobe


In a pan add two tablespoons of olive oil and sautee half the red onion until golden brown, then add the garlic and cook for a few minutes.  Add the Quinoa and cook until heated through and add a little salt and pepper. 
Remove from the pan,  and let cool.

asemble the vinagrette while the quinoa is cooling:

add remaining olive oil and the two tablespoons of rice wine vinegar to a small bowl and the lawrys season salt & cracked black pepper, whisk to emulsify and set aside


Now to the cooled quinoa add the quartered grape tomatoes, remaining diced red onion and diced baby cucumbers, a little more salt and pepper to taste if needed and the rice wine vinagrette.



Chill until the next day and now you have a delicious healthy lunch option :)








BTW these are the baby cucumbers I used for this dish, they make an awesome snack on their own and how cute are they!!!!!

BRAND FIND: Vermont Bread Company

Now a days everyone is definitely becoming more and more concerned with eating healthy.  We are now more conscious of things like whether our food is "processed" or "organically grown", avoiding products  containing things like trans fat or high fructose corn syrup. 

Some of us even opt to shop at local farmers markets or heath food stores, and places like Mrs. Greens, Trader Joes, or Whole Foods where we know that extra care is taken into carrying produce, meats, poultry, fish and packaged items that are better for you, or clearly stating where the food has come from, letting the consumer make a more informed decision.

While these items may be more pricey on our wallets, they are definitely worth the extra $$ in the long run when thinking of the impact it may have on our health.

Now some of you may be thinking this all sounds a little funny coming from my mouth, being i am FAR from a health nut or a health conscious person.  Well you're right, i am far from that, BUT I do know a thing or two about food, and what is good for the body and what is not.....

One thing I've found is that when trying to make a better BREAD purchase, people are still purchasing breads with all sorts of hidden bad ingredients in them.


Read this article by WEBMD for a little more of what I'm talking about:Tips for buying BETTER BREAD

And now that you're a little more informed, I'd like to share with you my new favorite bread brand :)


Vermont Bread Company

I first found this in the bread aisle at the local A&P while browsing for a better loaf of wheat bread.  I stumbled on it amoungst the rows and rows of bread choices and gave it a once over.  Looked about right to me! It pretty much met all the criteria for a better bread purchase so I brought it home and gave it a go.  I even purchased the English Muffins they had as well.  In the link above you can check out all the different types that they sell and try em for yourself, they have quite a variety and it's good stuff! :)

Uses for Vodka Sauce: a twist on baked ziti and margarita pizza

Tired of the same old pizza or boring baked ziti?  I know,i know,  how dare i call baked ziti boring, it's one of the most beloved meals in my house and to me (being Italian and all) it has most of the major food groups cheese, pasta, MORE CHEESE and marinara sauce! what is better than that?!
But we can all admit that from time to time you do try and spice it up a little bit and add some different ingredients, like spinach,sweet peppers, breaded eggplant, leftover meats like sausage or meatballs.  One of my new twists that I like to do with a nice cheesy, filling tray of baked ziti is swap out the traditional marinara or red sauce for VODKA SAUCE :) sound good? You bet it is

I also have done this swap with some homemade margarita pizzas ( i cannot claim this idea as my own, i have to give credit to the pizzeria down the street from my apartment).  I went in one day and they had some slices on display and I inquired about one of the margarita slices that the sauce looked a little more pink than usual....
"what's the deal with this one?" i asked.
and that's when they laid it on me.....instead of the traditional fresh mozzarella, basil and tomato sauce they swapped out the dollops of marinara for vodka sauce!
I had to try it, and it was as good as it sounded!

So tonight i tried both, baked ziti and homemade pizzas making vodka sauce the star of the show. It ain't just for penne anymore!


To make vodka sauce at home you will need:

 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups of diced panchetta (i have found it whole and rolled in the A&P, but most of the time you find it pre-packaged already thinly sliced)
 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
 1/4 cup vodka
 1 tablespoon tomato paste
 1large Can of crushed tomatoes  (either a 35 ounce can or 4.5 cups of tomatoes)
 4 leaves of Basil, chopped
 Salt and freshly ground pepper
 1/4 cup heavy cream

-in a large saute pan add olive oil and panchetta, and cook until fat renders out and panchetta becomes crisp.  Remove crisp panchetta, but leave the fat in the pan.
-Add onions and shallots, cook until translucent
-Add garlic, cook until golden
-Add the red pepper flake letting the dried flakes come back to life in the hot oil
-De-glaze the pan with the vodka
-Add Tomato paste and cook down and stir for about an minute
-Now add the crushed tomatoes, basil, season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil then reduce heat down to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes or until sauce reduces by one cup.
-Add the cream and simmer for another 5 minutes
-Now add the reserved panchetta pieces and stir in


Now that you have your very own homemade vodka sauce you can add it to just about anything that you would use marinara to, for a nice little change in flavor :)



try it on your pizza:

Or in your baked ziti:

I also added caramelized onions to this batch of ziti, so delish :)





try these new ideas out!

eat and enjoy :)