Leftover Turkey Recipe!

Chef Dean Neff in the Five & Ten kitchen.Day After Thanksgiving Turkey Salad

Chef Dean Neff of Five & Ten in Athens, GA shares one of his favorite Thanksgiving recipies: A Day After Thanksgiving Turkey Salad! This turkey salad, with a Mustard Vignette Dressing, is light enough that you can enjoy your mounds of leftover turkey without feeling completely stuffed all over again!

Day After Thanksgiving Turkey Salad: serves 4

Grain Mustard Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons prepared grain mustard
1finely minced shallot
1 tablespoon real lemon juice
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
1/4 cup olive oil

In a mixing bowl, whisk all Ingredients.

For the salad...
2 cups chopped cooked turkey breast
2 hard boiled eggs sliced
2 medium stalks of celery(outer side peeled and discarded) sliced thinly on a bias
1/2 cup leftover stuffing toasted until crouton crisp
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup toasted and crushed pecans
2 quarts of mixed lettuces(leaf, arugula, watercress, frisée, mâché)
Kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste

Toss the turkey, celery, stuffing croutons, pecans, and lettuces with the vinaigrette(re-
whisk here) just to coat. Season with the salt and pepper. Finish the salads with the sliced eggs and pomegranate seeds. Drizzle more vinaigrette as desired.

We also asked Chef Neff about his chef life:

So, how did you get into cooking?

Dean: I’ve always enjoyed it; I attended culinary school in Atlanta. My first job with food was at a Japanese restaurant and it went from there. I came to Athens about 10 years ago and have been working here for almost the same amount of time.

And how do you like it?

Dean: I love working here. From the start I knew it was something special.

What is your favorite thing about 5 & 10?

Dean: Being able to use the nicest products. I love having access to the best in-season local ingredients.

So you guys use local ingredients? 

Dean: Yes. We like to be able to support local farmers and have them support us. We use food ingredients that are grown on farms located ride outside Athens.

Are there any special holiday dishes 5 & 10 loves?

Dean: We love stuffing made with any kind of bread. One of our favorites is stuffing made with sourdough bread with beacon and toasted chestnuts.

What  about you? Any special holiday dishes or traditions?

Dean: Well, pumpkin pie is my absolute favorite at Thanksgiving. And I really like stuffing myself. I also enjoy just having the day off to spend with family and friends.

Do you have any favorite dishes at 5 & 10?

Dean: I love pasta ribbons. It’s simple and delicious so it really focuses on what we do there. I also have recently gotten into braised short ribs.

If you could create a dream menu what would be some items you would put on it?

Dean: In spring time we do these onions ramps which sounds kinda weird. But for the couple of weeks we can get them you can smell them cooking wherever in the restaurant you are. Those are my favorite to cook and could definitely do them year round. Also ravioli—it’s always fun. We make pork ravioli with olives and tomatoes. It’s great!

Does 5 & 10 like to keep the holidays traditional or try new things?

Dean: We like to mostly keep it simple and traditional but we love to use the best ingredients to make them even better.  We have found our customers like to keep it traditional for a holiday like Thanksgiving.

Do you find yourselves speeding up or slowing down during the holidays?

Dean: Well the football games definitely help business. But with people leaving Athens we do slow down a little bit during the holidays.

Do you have any favorite places to eat in Athens? Besides 5 & 10 of course.

Dean: I love Cali n Titos. Also La Estrella over near Alps Road and Oglethorpe. Sr. Sol is great too. I find a lot of the places I like are Mexican or Latin. The National is our sister restaurant and it’s really good as well.

So what do you like to do in Athens in your spare time?

Dean: I love the Botanical Gardens. I teach a class there and will go running in there as well. I like how Athens has so many green spaces. I also enjoy going to Panther Hill to hike and camp.