When planning my make-ahead brunch, I was looking for a hearty salad to pair with the Spinach and Cheese Strata. At first I considered something with, well, bacon (I told you I was conflicted about serving a brunch without breakfast meat!), but then I came across this salad. Hold the bacon, add the squash! It may not seem like the most exciting move but, trust me, you can’t get better than deeply caramelized chunks of butternut squash tossed with escarole, apple and high-quality aged cheddar. And then you get the satisfaction of having made a totally satisfying, meat-free brunch.
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Romain lettuce, tomatoes, cukes, feta cheese and, if you’re down, some olives and anchovies. Toss with the simplest red wine vinaigrette and you’ve got the classic Greek salad. But here’s a little secret. Try horiatiki instead (should be offered at any authentic Greek restaurant) and you’ll eat the real deal: a greek salad minus the lettuce. It may seem like a minor edit, but it makes a big difference. It’s like taking out the filler. You’re left with all the good stuff, all the stuff that matters.
In Greece, horiatiki is most often served as a slab of creamy feta over a bed of tomatoes and cukes tossed in red wine vinaigrette, garnished with a sprinkle of dried oregano and a few kalamata olives. Just describing it brings me back to lunch on the beach in Santorini or dinner in a busy tavern in Athens (or Queens, NY!). Tart from vinegar spiked with lemon, peppery from great olive oil, salty from cheese, cool and crunchy from cucumbers, it’s simply the best salad ever. (What? Me, biased?) It’s also easy to make and, served alongside simply broiled fish or with lemony grilled chicken on top, it makes a quick and satisfying meal. I sometimes even add chickpeas. Bonus! Without the ever unpopular raw leafy greens, young ChowBabies get down with this salad, too. Even eat it with their fingers!
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I haven’t made lentil soup in a long, long time. See, many years back, upon our return from a trip through northern Greece and Turkey, I made a killer red lentil soup that I’d learned to make in a cooking class in Istanbul. It tasted divine. And then wreaked havoc, if you know what I mean. To this day, the ChowPapa and I can’t stop laughing about the red lentil soup aftermath. It was so hard on our systems that we decided we could never do red lentils again. Until…
I recently spotted a recipe on the always inspiring and gorgeous La Tartine Gourmande for white lentil soup with chorizo and a poached egg. Using a fried or poached egg to make soup or salad heartier is a favorite trick of mine, so I was instantly smitten. And white lentils—I’d never cooked them before! I was inspired. But, when I got to my local speciality food shop, all they had were red lentils. The. Dreaded. Red. Lentils. Oh well, we’d have to get over it. I grabbed a bag and never looked back.
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10-Minute Lemon Thyme Scallops

This week is all about the Best Of ChowMama 2009! To help ensure that you begin 2010 with a recipe box loaded with quick and healthy recipes that your whole family will love, I’ve hand selected my favorites (recipes that I return to over and over again) and the most popular recipes as measured by traffic and comments (ones that worked out well for me and you).
Today is all about main dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tomorrow I’ll hit ya with veggie sides. Wednesday has snacks and apps covered. I’ll serve up healthy sweets and desserts on Thursday. And, on Friday, I’ll list the best parenting posts of 2009—because how we feed our families is most definitely a parenting issue.
Enjoy. Try a new recipe. Chime in with your favorite 2009 ChowMama posts or what you’d like to see more of in 2010.
And, of course, THANKS for a great year. Cheers!
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Photo: LDHNY

We’re definitely coming out of the woods as far as the infancy craziness. Not only is our new ChowBaby dreamy and laid back, but he’s also already 2-months-old! He’s sleeping for longer chunks of time and even allowing me to get a decent night’s sleep most evenings. While I’m excited to be able to make dinner every night again (at least for now), I always like to make one dish a week that will last a few meals and/or freeze well. It’s a trick that every family cook should add to their repertoire. It takes hardly any extra time or effort and affords you a night off from cooking, not to mention great packed lunches. The best is when your freezer start to fill up with such meals. It takes the pressure off, especially useful during busy times like the holidays.
This Spinach Lasagna is made with my Deliciously Simple, Rich (Turkey) Meat Sauce. The combo of vegetable, lean meat, pasta and cheese makes this a healthy, complete meal. Once you make the sauce, which takes 2 1/2 to 3 hours largely unattended (and can be made a day or two ahead of making lasagna), putting the lasagna together is a snap. It requires no more than 15 minutes prep time.
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Photo:Gourmet

By now you know that I love making polenta. It’s hearty, quick and easy to make—a perfect alternative to pasta. I usually make polenta with chicken broth and mix in parmesan (and that’s honestly all there is to the cooking: boil liquid, mix in polenta, stir in cheese). This time, inspired by Rachel Ray (I told you—being home with an infant has turned me into a Rachel Ray and Days of our Lives watchin’ lady), I cooked the polenta with a combination of milk and chicken in hopes of a super creamy consistency. (It sort of worked, but not so much that I’m a convert to the method.) I also used grated smoked gouda instead of parm. Now that was a good move. The slight smokey flavor was delicious and still works with my favorite polenta toppers:

• chili
• roasted broccolini
• roasted cherry tomatoes

This polenta is fast enough to make at lunchtime or can be spread out (in a 1″ or so layer), cooled, and cut into squares to make a packed lunch or finger food.
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