Mussaka (1885)

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MUSSAKA

    I hadn't been aware that the OED has "moussaka" from only 1941.  Is it
the same date online?
    This is in my papers from THE COOK, 24 August 1885, pg. 7, col. 1:

     _A TEMPTING TURKISH DISH._
     The Turkish dish known as _Mussaka_, _Imam-Baildi_, the recipe for which
seems to suggest something good, is according to the London _Caterer_, made
thus: "Cut up an egg-plant (_aubergine_) into slices, salt them, strain them
for a few minutes, dry them well in a cloth, then fry them in butter till
they are of a rich brown colour.  Now chop up some beef very fine, and mince
it carefully with some parsley, a suggestion of onion, pepper and salt,
butter, and a few fresh tomatoes thinly sliced, and stew these things
together until the meat is browned.  Next, arrange in a pie-dish or mould,
layers of egg-plant and layers of the stew.  Pour a little broth or gravy
into the mould, and bake in the oven for about thirty-five minutes.  Turn the
whole carefully out on to the dish, or, better still, serve in the pie-dish.
If there is any difficulty in procuring the egg-plants or _aubergines_, the
ordinary vegetable-marrow is an excellent substitute."

     I'll check the London CATERER.

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MORE "MOUSSE"

     One Delmonico's entry I gave was really for "mousseline."  John Ayto's A
GOURMET'S GUIDE: FOOD & DRINK FROM A TO Z, pg. 224, "mousseline," has: "The
resemblance of the word to _mousse_, however, is purely fortuitous, for the
primary sense of French _mousseline_ is 'muslin,' and its application to this
dish is merely an allusion to the lightness and delicacy of the fabric.  A
_mousseline sauce_ is a hollandaise sauce with whipped cream mixed into it."
    "Mossy" is better than "mousseline" for "mousse"?