Hot Dish Review

L-tryptophan coma, round 2:

If you’re like me, you’ve got some leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. Who doesn’t? I bagged up individual servings and stashed them in the freezer to use on salads (instead of chicken) and for this yummy turkey salad, adapted from a recipe for curried egg salad that I found in one of my Mom’s Health magazines.

I’ve been buying the curried chicken salad at Whole Foods for years, so this is my homemade interpretation. It’s one of those recipes that you can add ingredients to taste, depending on what you have on hand:

4 oz. cooked turkey, shredded
3 tblsp. Greek yogurt
1 tblsp. finely chopped green pepper
1 tblsp. chopped celery
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
dash of salt
1 tsp. dried cranberries (optional)

Mix it up! You could experiment with herbs too, like parsley or cilantro. Pinenuts or almonds would also add textural interest (and calories).

The first time I served it simply on a bed of field greens. But it was even better with a spinach salad dressed with red wine vinegar, olive oil, and black pepper. I’m sure it would make a fine sandwich on toasted wheat or ciabatta too!

Looks like I’m making up for lost time! Seems like I haven’t made it to more than one game per season the last few years. This season I’ve been to three…..so far.

LC invited me to go to the game and since he does business with The Braves organization, our seats were in their suite. I was expecting it to be a deluxe suite but it wasn’t any different than the others I’ve been in.

The suites are catered. Standard fare is pizza kept warm under a heat lamp, hot dogs and chips and salsa. In addition, there was barbecue last night, served on a slice of cornbread with crunchy fries all around it. LC tried the Q. He really liked it so it was probably better I can vouch for as I’m not a fan of the Q. I found myself grabbing a few of the crispy fries every time I walked by them.

Turner Field’s salsa is very good and spicy. In fact, better than most I had in Mexico last week….go figure!

A cooler of beer and softdrinks are there for the taking. They serve Budweiser products, unfortunately, so I had several of the Bud Limes. They also had sliced turkey breast which was actually quite tasty. I had a slice with a small salad topped with crumbled chewy bacon, blue cheese, cubed ham, and diced tomatoes. Yeah, it was iceberg, but I would eat anything with bacon on it.

I also had a small slice of the cheese pizza. Just OK. I really like toppings on pizza. But the crust was sufficiently thin and the edges almost crusty. Hey, can’t complain about free food and beer, right!

The best part is The Braves beat the Brewers 2 to 1.

Driving home from Rosemary Beach on Sunday, ST and I were determined to eat at Phil’s. Our lovely hostess JS had recommended it after making a killer breakfast spread for the second day in a row for her husband’s college buddies and their girlfriends.

Their house is amazing, located just off the trendy 30A near Destin. Fully equipped for a rowdy bunch of frat brothers. Difference between then and now? Twenty plus years and lots of money. Kegs have been replaced with micro-brewery beers and bottles of wine, the rowdiness reduced to civil gatherings reminiscing about the rowdiness.

Back to the Q. Growing up in the South you would think I’ve had lots of BBQ. Not so much. I’m far more familiar with Thai food than BBQ. SS and I used to go to Daddy D’z on Memorial quite often back in the day but I’ve never even stepped foot in Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

But JS said to get the Q at Phil’s. And Phil’s is in Eufaula, the only point of interest during the entire 5 1/2 hour drive between Atlanta and Rosemary Beach. Once past the divided lanes with Spanish moss and antebellum architecture, ST and I had our eyes peeled for Phil’s.

I spotted the sign and we pulled in, anticipating some pretty darn good Q, appropriately served in a dive complete with rolls of paper towels on the tables. Guests order at the counter. With an unfamiliar menu, this always puts me in a mini-panic….I like to study a menu before making a decision.

There was a meat plate with two sides that I thought we could share, after all, we were there for the meat. But ST ordered the smokehouse special sandwich, a double fister that included cheese, ham, turkey, and pork….a very meaty sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and their own special sauce (not BBQ sauce, I’m pretty sure it was mayo).

Griddled and greasy (not a complaint), we downed the scrumptious meat sandwiches, trying a variety of BBQ sauces on the table. Their sauces were mustard based and didn’t have a hint of heat, unfortunately. A bottle of Texas Pete’s provided the only kick, but I would have preferred a homemade spicy BBQ sauce.

If I was hungover, this would have been the perfect cure! Great recommendation, thanks JS.