Salad Season

Emily Webster called her brother Merrick Egan in Dallas. “You’re not gonna believe it,” the interior designer told her brother in her thick New Orleans accent. “They wanna do a story on Gangee Salad!”

Named after their New Orleanian grandmother Elaine Gelpi (“I’m not even sure what last name to give you, because she was a widow four times,” Emily says), the Gangee Salad is simply shredded iceberg lettuce dressed with olive oil and vinegar, salt and pepper. “We called her Gangee,” Emily says, “because I guess my oldest cousin Ellie couldn’t say Granny, and Gangee came out. It’s kind of terrible, but that’s what we called her. We’d have to tell people, ‘Not gangrene, Gangee. But she was Gangee to everybody who knew her.”

Gangee died about 20 years ago, but her legend lives on. “She was precious, just a dream,” Emily says. “I asked her why she kept getting married, and she said, ‘Well I was just never gonna be anybody’s girlfriend!’”

She was adored by her eight grandchildren. “I would get on that streetcar every afternoon after school and go to her house,” Emily remembers. “Right off St. Charles, near Tulane.” Gangee was Emily’s mother’s mother; Emily’s mom still makes Gangee Salad, too: “It’s all my brother wants every time he comes over,” Emily says.

“We’d go to Commander’s [Palace], Galatoire’s, and all the grandchildren would say to the waiters Can you make me a Gangee Salad? And the waiters would say I have no idea what that is. And Gangee would just smile. She had so much pride in introducing herself as Gangee with that little Shirley MacLaine twinkle in her eyes.”

Gangee always used Regina White Wine Vinegar, but Emily says it’s hard to find these days. “It was kind of sweet, so sometimes I’ll even use balsamic vinegar,” Emily says. “The salad was so good because it’s a little bit tangy, a little bit sweet, you get a little bit of every taste.”

Emily has played with the formula over the years, switching to romaine lettuce – “I wanted to make it a little more sophisticated” – and adding cherry tomatoes, hearts of palm, avocado, blue cheese, and “almost a full bag of bacon bits.” But the simple dressing remains, as does the family’s love for Gangee Salad. 

“My Ellie loves a Gangee Salad,” Emily says of her college freshman. Of her sixth grader, she says, “Claiborne’s not quite into it yet, but maybe eventually.”

Gangee Salad

1 head iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced
Regina White Wine Vinegar (or another brand)
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Toss the lettuce with vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper to taste. 

Emily Webster’s beloved Gangee Salad. (Photo: lawellphoto.com)

Emily’s Chopped Salad

3 heads romaine lettuce, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 avocado, cut into small pieces
10-ounce carton cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
14-ounce jar hearts of palm, cut into small pieces
5 ounces blue cheese crumbles
2.5-ounce bag bacon bits
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Toss well and serve, dressing with vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper to taste.

A customizable orzo salad is one that Lacy Price makes for big groups, changing the recipe to fit the season and her mood. (Photo: lawellphoto.com)

Mah jongg instructor Lacy Price also grew up learning how to cook from her grandmother, Sally Reeder, who lived in Midland. Sally moved to Houston a few years ago and will celebrate her 100th birthday next month; she’s not cooking as much these days. But Lacy says, “A big part of our experience visiting her was in the kitchen. She was a fabulous cook.”

Lacy is a cookbook collector: “In the age of Pinterest and the internet, it’s kind of an old-school thing,” she says. Her most-prized book is an unpublished one that contains her grandmother’s handwritten recipes, many of them missing some secret ingredient in order to keep the recipe’s magic to herself. “It’s been fun to pass down to my 16- and 18-year-old girls, watching them enjoy cooking and wanting to make the recipes for their friends.”

A favorite salad that is solidly a part of Lacy’s repertoire is Giada de Laurentiis’ Tri-Colore Orzo. “I kind of made it once probably 10 years ago and now make it all the time by memory,” Lacy says of the recipe she thinks she found on the Cooking Channel (although it’s been so long she doesn’t remember for certain). 

“It’s an easy go-to for feeding a large group of people,” Lacy says about the pasta salad. “It’s filling, it uses fresh ingredients, it’s fairly inexpensive, and you can multiply it. It’s easy to double or triple. You can make it ahead and serve it cold.

“And everybody likes it.”

Lacy makes different variations of the same recipe, depending on her mood and the season. “You could do more Mediterranean and use cucumbers, tomatoes, and red onion, or I like to use roasted vegetables like butternut squash in the winter.” A simple vinaigrette pulls it all together, which is exactly why Lacy loves to cook: “It brings everybody together,” she says.

Ingredients for Lacy’s orzo salad, based on the Tri-Colore Orzo recipe from Giada de Laurentiis. (Photo: lawellphoto.com)

Giada de Laurentiis’ Tri-Colore Orzo

1 pound orzo pasta
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus ¼ cup
2 cups fresh arugula (about 3 ounces)
¾ cup crumbled ricotta salata cheese (Lacy like to sub in feta)
½ cup dried cherries
12 fresh basil leaves, torn
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and put it on a large cookie sheet. Drizzle the pasta with the 3 tablespoons olive oil, toss, spread out, and set aside to cool.

Once the orzo is cool, transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently to combine.