I’m Fixing to Mix Up a Green Jacket Salad

I’m fixing to mix up a Green Jacket Salad.

I’ve been hoarding this salad recipe since about 1978 after I clandestinely absconded with it from the Green Jacket Restaurant in Augusta. I believe the statute of limitations has expired, so here goes.

Back then I had the privilege and pleasure of traveling to Augusta several times a year as a part of my job. Some of my friends used to frown when I told them I was going over to Augusta for a couple of days. A trip to Augusta evidently didn’t seem too exciting to them, but to me it was like throwing the rabbit into the briar patch.

One of the benefits and pleasures I derived from traveling to that fair city was dining at the Green Jacket and feasting on a slab of their prime rib accompanied with a house salad.

Now I’m not one to belittle the culinary excellence of a slice of prime rib, but in this case the house salad was the star of the show. It was served on a cold plate and consisted of nothing but crisp lettuce with some hard and flat croutons topped with that wonderful and secret concoction that served as the dressing.

Every time I dined there I would always pester the servers by asking how the dressing was made, but they always replied that it was a house secret.

I have never known whether it was the position of the moon, the mood of the server, the size of the last tip I had left, or merely my persistence, when one night it was revealed to me.

That lovely server glanced over each shoulder as if she was verifying that no one else was in earshot before she whispered rapidly, “It’s two parts olive oil, one part vinegar with some Accent some Seasoned Salt and some oregano.”

As she dashed away I snatched out a pen and quickly wrote the recipe down on a wet napkin.

Now I had the ingredients and the portions of the wet ones, but not the dry ones, but later on after some experimenting I figured out the perfect salad dressing that will keep you thin and make you forget about the prime rib.

Here’s the secret recipe for the house salad from the famous Green Jacket Restaurant. It’s for a single salad. If you want to make it for two or more you’ll have to multiply it out.

Use two tablespoons of olive oil with one tablespoon of vinegar, add one-eighth teaspoon of Accent, one-eighth teaspoon of Seasoned Salt and a dash of dried ground oregano. Better yet, if you have some fresh oregano use a pinch of it chopped fine.

Mix the ingredients well and stir it into a serving of chopped lettuce and crack some flat and hard croutons over it and serve it or eat it at once because otherwise the lettuce will wilt.

Make a double mixture and you won’t even need the prime rib. And if you don’t like it I’ll come over and clean your kitchen up for you.

I’m fixing to go stir myself up one right now.