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: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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Photo: The Pioneer Woman

Tired of food… cooking… eating? We are definitely still recovering from Thanksgiving—I’m guessing you are, too—and so tonight is all about simple, quick sustenance. In fact, I’m going to get straight to it because, honestly, I’m even tired of thinking and writing about food. I still need a few days!
This is a staple recipe in my house. Another amazing dish from The Pioneer Woman (we also love her Simple, Perfect Chili). I am not exaggerating when I say that this takes 20 minutes. And not the television version of 20 minutes, where everything is already perfectly measured and prepped before cooking time begins. In fact, this is quick enough to qualify as a weekday, weekend or packed lunch.
Sometimes, when I’m super tired, we just eat the noodles plain or tossed with some frozen peas (my lame attempt to eat some green). Other times I quick stir fry chicken tenders (in canola oil with a dash of sesame oil, salt, pepper, soy sauce and rice vinegar) and broccoli florets. I’ve also added peanut butter before, to boost the sesame noodle flavor and add protein.
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Photo: Freakgirl

I usually make these delicious, wholesome muffins with pumpkin puree, but gave sweet potato a try when I couldn’t get my hands on pumpkin (may seem irrelevant now, but you’ll be glad for this variation come the end of the holiday season!). This version is also healthy and equally addictive. So much so that, topped with your favorite icing, they can easily fill in for cupcakes.
These are a sweet, healthy treat for all. This recipe is for mini-muffins which make a great finger food for the littlest ChowBabies, a just-right toddler sized dessert, a yummy lunchbox snack, and a perfect on-the-go breakfast for ChowMama and ChowPapa.  Make a bunch and pop em in the freezer—you’ll be happy to have a stash on hand at all times. (Plus, reheating them makes the cream cheese filling gooey and delicious all over again, as though they’ve come straight out of the oven.)
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