Harter House World Flavors: 2013

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Egg Salad 101

Egg Salad
By The Covered Dish
Debbie Dance Uhrig

Brought to you by your neighborhood market
Harter House Supermarkets
and
Harter House World Flavors

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The Ultimate egg! In this cooks opinion it doesn't get much better than eggs. Homemade egg salad, deviled eggs, poached eggs, hard boiled, over easy any way you name it eggs provide us with some wonderful protein. Experienced cooks will probably look at the column this week and say: 'What-who doesn't know how to make egg salad?' Well gang there's a great deal of folks who have never made this scrumptious down-home delicacy.

How do you eat egg salad? Well, I've been digging around and asking folks, here are some suggestions on how to enjoy this dish:

1. Between two pieces of white bread, lettuce added, maybe a thin slice of tomato.

2. With Crackers or inside celery.
3. In a canapé.
4. Stuffed inside a large tomato as a full meal.
5. Piped into small cherry tomatoes.

Is there anything specific that goes in egg salad? Well, boiled eggs are a must, ha!

I always use a pickle of some sort. Usually I don't use dill; I'll pull out sweet or bread and butter most frequently. Pimento is a nice choice for color. For added zip consider horseradish and different mustards, small green onions, celery, olives, and sweet peppers. In the spice department I sometimes like to take egg salad down the curry road for a different twist. Paprika, peppers, garlic powder and different salts can also add their own zing.

How you approach your dressing is all based upon personal choice. If I'm in a hurry I just chop the eggs and pickles and throw in mayonnaise and pickle juice and that's it! If I want a more glamorous approach I will reserve 3 or 4 egg yolks and blend them into the dressing. This gives a nice color and taste to the entire salad. You will note that I did not use any sugar in the dressing. Sometimes you'll find cooks added just a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to the dressing. I was going to use a 'bit' of mustard in this recipe, but I enjoyed the taste without, so it was omitted.

Today when I chopped the eggs I chopped them using my egg slicer turning the eggs both ways. This gave my salad a more uniform look versus a free hand chop.

Isn't it funny how we can remember when and where we ate our best dishes. I can remember driving to Colorado one summer and eating egg salad sandwiches all the way through the states of Kansas and Colorado! I was convinced I was not going to spend money on fast food as I made my 13-14 hour journey to Steamboat Springs. If you're on a budget egg salad is definitely a good choice for a family meal every other week or so. Summer carry-in dinners would be complemented with a large dish of this salad. You'll be surprised how fast it is consumed!

One of my biggest tips is directed towards the boiling of the eggs. Your salad will look and taste better if you don't overcook the eggs. My usual process is as follows: Place eggs in cold water with 1-2 teaspoons of salt bringing eggs to a hard boil for ten minutes. Remove from heat, drain off water and replace with cold water. Shake the eggs around a bit cracking the shells. Allow to cool in the cold water. The water will find its way under the shell easing the removal later. *Overcooked eggs turn green around the outer edges. The longer they're overcooked the greener they will get. Regarding the salt in the boiling water: Many feel the salt added to the water helps the shell comes off easier.

Another method for boiling eggs is to bring the eggs to a hard boil, put a lid over the pot and then turn off the heat. Leave eggs for about 20 minutes, and then cool. I have never preferred this method.

Let's get to the recipe, it's easy, very tasty and oh so comforting. Simply Yours, The Covered Dish.

Egg Salad 101

14 hard boiled eggs
(Reserve 3 yolks for the dressing.)
1/2 cup finely chopped bread and butter pickles
1 tablespoon 'finely' chopped sweet onion

Dressing

3 reserved egg yolks1 cup mayonnaise1/8 cup pickle juice1/2 teaspoon Black Kettle Seasoning, (Substitute with a nice all-purpose seasoning salt.)1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper

Yields: 5 cups of salad

Hard boil the eggs, cooling in cold water. For uniformity chop the eggs using an egg slicer.

Reserve 3 yolks for the dressing. Chop the eggs, pickles and onion and combine in a bowl. Using a fork crumble the 3 egg yolks then add the remaining dressing ingredients. Make the mixture extremely smooth. Consider using a submersible hand blender to make it very creamy. Gently stir the dressing into the eggs, pickles and onions. Place in a container with a tight fitting lid. Yum...

*If you don't want an abundance of egg salad certainly cut the recipe in half.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

A Visit to Rao's Restaurant in NYC

I want to tell you a story about relationships. The most wonderful things can happen when you build relationships! And gifts can come to you in the most unexpected ways. A chance meeting and I have a new, really wonderful, friend!

It was quite a few years ago. as I walked the aisles of the Kehe Specialty Food Show in Chicago, that I was introduced to Rao's Specialty Food Products. As I talked with the Rao's rep, I was certain this was a product I wanted at Harter House World Flavors. At the end of the show, the Rao's representative gave me a Rao's Cookbook. It has been one of my favorites. I especially loved reading the history about the Restaurant, dating back to 1896, when Charles Rao bought a small saloon at the corner of 114 Street and Pleasant Avenue in upper Manhattan.

RAO'S BAR & GRILL- New York Located at the corner of 114th. Street & Pleasant Avenue Harlem N.Y. Open Monday through Friday...Dinner Only. If you do not have a reservation, you can always have a drink at the bar. Rao's is renowned for its jukebox, its quirky decor, its unmatched hospitality and most of all, the spectacular Neapolitan cuisine. It's also notorious for being one of the most difficult restaurants in New York in which to get a reservation.

Year-long waits for one of its ten tables are not uncommon. But what is it about this tiny, charming restaurant that makes it the most in-demand spot in the city night after night, year after year? For decades Rao's Bar & Grill existed as a neighborhood restaurant. Its local customers would fill the tables with such regularity that eventually they were given standing reservations - bookings that persevere to this day. The Rao's phenomenon exploded in 1977, when New York Times food critic Mimi Sheraton gave Rao's a gushing, half-page, three-star review, splashing the city's best-kept secret in front of millions of readers. Since Rao's NYC location only has ten tables, and only one seating per evening, the resulting demand would have been overwhelming even if the tables weren't already spoken for. That the tables were "owned" like a condominium translated to almost no empty seats in the house, night after night. Fast forward to today. After announcing my plans to go to New York this December, a friend called today to tell me that I had 2 reservations for dining at Rao's during my stay. I don't know if I can explain my excitement. The more I learned about the restaurant history, the more I wanted to experience the atmosphere. And I can't wait to share it with you! My reservations are for Friday night, Dec. 6, 2013. Until then, I will have to suffice with Rao's products from the shelves of Harter House

Saturday, July 20, 2013

World Flavors - The Inception

Did you ever wonder how our specialty section World Flavors, at Harter House on Republic Road, came about? I think it's a fun story.

Photographed here is my favorite Liquor Rep., Tim.

Harter House World Flavors is located at 1500 E. Republic Road,
Springfield, MO.

Barbara said, “Dale, can we get “something” to sell in the store?

Dale replied, “Of course we can Barbara. What do you want me to take out of the store to make room for your “something”?

I’d heard that conversation many times before, because our approximately 13,000 SF store never afforded us the luxury of adding many new items. But this time was the defining moment that started the conversation about expanding into the 2,500 SF unit vacated by Ashby’s Clothing, just to the west of our existing store.

For the past several years, the managers of Harter House have had the opportunity to travel with Associated Wholesale Grocers to cities across the U.S. and even Canada for the purpose of visiting upscale grocery stores and specialty markets. We are viewing new display ideas, décor, retail items etc. to bring back ideas to implement in our stores. And we have utilized that knowledge in many ways. Everything from handi-wipes that sanitize the shopping cart handles to “How to successfully implement a dry aged meat program.” We have taken many pictures and notes along the way. And when we seriously started talking about expanding the store, we wanted to create an atmosphere that brought together our favorite elements from the stores we had visited.

We wanted the atmosphere to be inviting and comfortable, but also, we wanted to bring to Springfield something that was not already available to shoppers. World Flavors offers some of the staple items used in ethnic recipes. The Wine & Spirits Center allows us to offer greater variety.

And the Sampling Station creates an area where customers can learn how to create simple meals with our ingredients and have questions answered about any ethnic and specialty ingredients they're not used to using in the kitchen.

So be sure to check out Harter House World Flavors for Specialty Cheeses, Coffees, Teas, Chocolates, Gift Baskets, Wine & Spirits and much more. You're sure to find something special and unique.

This Mural, painted by local artist Sherrie Davis, includes the portrait of our good friend James, who assisted in the World Flavors area remodel.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Kehe Chicago Food Show June 10-11, 2013

We flew to Chicago, June 10, to attend the Annual Kehe Specialty Holiday Food Show. We attended the food show Monday afternoon and a long day Tuesday. We saw lots of new items and also a lot of products we already have on our shelves at both Springfield locations. Scroll down and let me know if anything interests you!

It wasn't all work. We were treated, by Kehe, to an evening at the Museum of Science and Industry. We also saw a ballgame at Wrigley Field (Cincinnati beat the Cubs, sweeping the series) and a Broadway performance of West Side Story at the Oriental Theatre.

~Shelly Kauffman, Harter House and World Flavors, 1500.E. Republic Road
with Kathy Richards and Barbara Bettlach, Harter House, 1625 S. Eastgate