Turkey

Growing up on the East Coast, it wasn’t hard to find all sorts of pickled peppers, both sweet and hot. You couldn’t go anywhere near a cheesesteak place in Philly without seeing them. In Los Angeles, they’re less common, but most grocery stores have at least one or two varieties. One of my favorites is sweet cherry pepper rings. They add plenty of flavor without any fat—you can’t go wrong with that.

I’ve found people—even those concerned about sodium—often turn to the good old turkey sandwich as if it’s the perfect healthy lunch. This always amazes me, because 4 ounces of your typical deli turkey (as opposed to homemade) have about 1,330 mg sodium, while its lower-sodium counterpart (which rarely has great flavor) still has 680 mg sodium. Two slices of bread have about 320 mg, a 1-ounce slice of cheese has 140 mg, and light jarred mayonnaise has about 120 mg per tablespoon (mustard has 170 g per tablespoon). Add those together, and this otherwise healthy sandwich has over 2,080 mg sodium. If you’re ordering it out, it could have even more. Though I do believe the turkey sandwich has a place in our diets, this is must-know information.

One of the keys to making great extra-lean turkey burgers is to add moisture. Here, I quickly throw some egg substitute and bread crumbs into the turkey. Another key is the extra kick of flavor from the fresh jalapeños.

Sure, if you pull into the drive-thru, chili burgers can be deadly. But here, using the leanest ground turkey with canned turkey chili, you can have a decadently drippy yet sensible meal that satisfies. For another 60 calories and 2.5 grams of fat, you can even add an ounce of 75% light finely shredded Cheddar cheese.

If you time this so the eggs are cooked just as the toast is done, the cheese should melt, eliminating the need to microwave the whole sandwich. Do note that if you’re watching your sodium, you might want to indulge in this sandwich only on occasion. It is on the higher side, but still has only a fraction of the sodium you’d find in a similar restaurant sandwich.

This sandwich is a convenient, even leaner twist on a more traditional Canadian bacon and egg breakfast sandwich I love. Feel free to swap in Canadian bacon, extra-lean smoked ham, or even light salami—it’s delicious with any of them. If you time it just right, the cheese will melt between the hot muffin and the hot egg. If that’s too precise for you, you can wrap the sandwich in a paper towel and microwave it for 15 to 30 seconds on low power to melt the cheese completely. Just be careful not to overmicro-wave it, or the English muffin will become chewy.

Pat: You know I like my burgers, but who ever thought that a burger could taste this good and be so healthy? My turkey-burger recipe (a favorite with the ladies) is a mixture of ground turkey, fresh marjoram, crushed red-pepper flakes, and garlic. The key to making these burgers taste as good as the old reliable is to use ground turkey that is 85 percent lean. This will yield an incredibly satisfying (and still virtuous) patty. Grilled tomatoes, silky avocado, and a sunny lemon condiment help keep the burger moist.

Pat: Let’s face it, one of the great joys of roasting a big ole turkey or ham is the leftovers. Can you imagine what the day after Thanksgiving would be like without a big turkey sandwich? Anytime we have leftover ham, I dream of ham sandwiches on a soft roll with a little dollop of Miracle Whip. When it comes right down to it, I think I prefer the sandwiches to the actual meal. What follows are two of our favorite ways to dress up leftovers. The Turkey, Brie, and Cranberry Panini are crisp and cheesy and have become a year-round lunch staple.

Pat: The Monte Cristo is a coffee-shop staple, a sandwich made with ham, turkey, and Swiss cheese, dipped in batter, and fried until golden. It appears in different guises across the country, and, depending on where you order one, it can also be served grilled, deep-fried, or open-faced. We’ve given this sandwich a Neely spin, layering ham, smoked turkey, and Muenster cheese on white sandwich bread and adding hot-pepper jelly as a finish. We fry ours, then dust it with confectioners’ sugar, creating a delicious play of salty and sweet flavors and crispy and gooey textures. A spoonful of fresh peach preserves is a delicious condiment for this sandwich.

New Orleans is one of our favorite “kick back” vacation destinations. We go there for the people, the food, the music, and the overall vibe. New Orleans is second only to Memphis in vibeness. We also go there for the sandwiches, and always make a point of digging into one of their most famous, the muffuletta, every time we visit. It’s a killer sandwich, made with spicy Italian meats, cheeses, and a knockout marinated olive salad, the aroma of which is so powerful that when you’re waiting in line it’ll cause you to salivate! Our Memphis Muffuletta has bayou roots for sure. We start with a large round Italian loaf with a sturdy texture, so it can hold up to the delicious mix of ingredients. The meats and cheeses vary, but our favorite is a muffuletta with salami, hot soppressata, mortadella, smoked turkey, Swiss, and aged provolone. Our Memphis kicker is the addition of smoky piquillo peppers from Spain. They infuse the piquant olive salad with an incredible flavor. When it comes to cheese, we go for two flavorful varieties—an imported Swiss and an aged provolone. We call this our backyard sandwich, because it’s actually best if you assemble it in advance and allow it to marinate for about 30 minutes on the cutting board. Then you can cut the big loaf into eight wedges and have dinner on the patio. In New Orleans tradition, serve this sandwich with a cold Abita beer and some spicy Zapp’s potato chips.

Gina: Red grapes, chunks of provolone cheese, and crunchy almonds give this smoked turkey salad more personality than the old school mayo based options. For added color and crunch, toss the salad with a few handfuls of field greens, so they get coated in the creamy dressing. Serve this salad on soft whole grain sandwich bread or ciabatta rolls.

Gina: This recipe came from my fabulous “girlfriend” D’Won (every girl needs a D’Won in her circle). D’Won is a huge turkey-lover, an amateur chef, and the best personal shopper around. When I was visiting him in Atlanta, we cooked up this recipe and it was spot-on. It’s essentially a red dress for the meatloaf (and y’all know everything looks and tastes better in a red dress!). Pat: This is one of those dishes where we splash on barbecue sauce without firing up the grill. During the early days of our post-reunion courtship, Gina would prepare this delicious meatloaf for me. She replaced ketchup, traditionally used in meatloaf recipes, with Neely’s Barbecue Sauce and Seasoning. Looking back on it, I think that just might have sealed the deal. I remember thinking at the time that any woman who can light a fire under a red-meat man with a turkey loaf—well, that woman is special. Gina: This meatloaf is so full of flavor that I promise it will knock the socks off a 300-pound, steak-loving football player. What’s more, you can prepare this after work and have it ready by suppertime. For the best results, don’t use extra-lean ground turkey, or the meatloaf will be dry.

Gina: These days, with both of us being so busy, Pat usually smokes our holiday hams and turkeys at the restaurant (what can I say, it’s a perk of being in the barbecue business), but when we first got married we prepared them at home. Pat and I are holiday people. We love Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the festive traditions associated with each day. It’s a special time of year for our families, and Lord knows we have a lot to be thankful for. When it comes to the holiday table, I want the flavor and presentation of everything to be the best. With this bird you can’t go wrong. We’ve been serving it on the Neely holiday table for decades. We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. The flavor, the juicy texture, and, most important, the love that inspires it are simply unbelievable.

The title of this dish, alla sorrentina, means it comes from Sorrento, across the bay from Naples. You may have had this dish prepared with mozzarella cheese, which is the cheese of the area, but I am showing you an alternative way here, using Fontina. Use whichever you like, and whichever you can get. By the way, alla sorrentina is a good indicator that the dish you order will contain eggplant in some form or another. If you prepare this dish without the eggplant, you’ll have scallopine alla bolognese. You can add a little elegance to the dish by straining the sauce as you spoon it onto plates. That is something I do in my restaurants. But in my home—and most likely in yours—the sauce is just fine the way it comes out of the baking dish.

Cooking is all about making decisions. Sometimes you have to decide if you are going to have great looks or great flavor. Of course, I try to have both, but if it is ever a question of giving up one or the other, I always go for the best flavor. In this dish, for example, lightly cooked peppers would look brighter, but I prefer the flavor of peppers that have simmered until they begin to break down. So I cook them longer, for better flavor. Choosing two different-color peppers helps make up for what little we lose in appearance by cooking the peppers fully. Fresh herb sprigs serve as more than decoration. The heat from the dish releases the aroma and adds to the enjoyment.

Cerignolas are large green olives, each the size of a plump almond, with a very nutty, buttery flavor. They are usually kept in brine. If you cannot find them, other brined green olives will do. But use the ones with pits, which you will remove. They have more flavor.