Muffineer; Mirrors & more

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MUFFINEER

   Not in the RHHDAS.
   Surely, Lucius Beebe wasn't referring to a seller of muffins when he wrote this in the NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE, 7 December 1940, pg. 9, col. 2:

   For them as likes their thrillers literate and probable, this department commends Elizabeth Dean's "Murder Is a Serious Business" (Doubleday Doran, $2)...The scene is north of Boston and the plot revolves about a Coney muffineer...If you don't know what a muffineer is try the book.

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MIRRORS

   I don't know what the OED has now.  The only cite is Agatha Christie's THEY DO IT WITH MIRRORS (1952).
   A story in THIS WEEK magazine, NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE, 27 October 1940, pg. 7, is:

_DONE WITH MIRRORS_

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MISSISSIPPI PECAN PIE (continued)

   Another cite is Lucius Beebe in the NYHT, 18 January 1941, pg. 9, col. 2:

   The Little Old Mansion is a local restaurant beloved of Katharine Brush and other amateurs of hearty Southern states fare, specializing in fried chicken with hot cream gravy, Mississippi pecan pie, chocolate ice-box cake and chicken livers fried in brown butter and other highly caloric delicacies.

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GO FLY A KITE!

   The RHHDAS has 1942.  Someone asked me this a while ago and I told him...well, I forget.
   A story in THIS WEEK magazine, NYHT, 3 November 1940, pg. 3, is:

_"GO FLY A KITE"_

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BLIZZARD HEAD

   Not in the RHHDAS.
   From THIS WEEK magazine, NYHT, 29 September 1940, pg. 2, col. 3:

   As far as television is concerned, blonds, or "blizzard heads" as they call them in the studio, are out.  The bright overhead light beams are refracted around their heads and form a pale-gray halo.  This not only encircles the blond actress but anyone else playing opposite her.  And no fair dyeing your hair, either!  Dyed hair, they say, appears lifeless and muddy on the screen.  This information comes from Philip Kerby, author of "The Victory of Television."

(Thank goodness the technology improved, so we could have BAYWATCH--ed.)

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ESPRESSO (continued)

   From THIS WEEK magazine, NYHT, 9 February 1941, pg. 18:

_RITUALS WITH COFFEE_
_Blend your demitasse with spice and brandy--serve it in a_
_halo of flame--try it in French, Italian or Turkish style_
by Clementine Paddleford

(Col. 1--ed.)  ...Cafe Brulot...
(Col. 2--ed.)  ...Cafe Diable...
(Col. 4--ed.)  ...Be French with the after-dinner coffee--serve the Cafe Royal, also known as Cafe Gloria.
(...)
   The coffee finale in keeping with an Italian dinner is Coffee Espresso.  But the real honest-to-goodness thing is served only in well equipped restaurants, as the steam-pressure apparatus for its production costs a thousand dollars.  But here is a recipe for imitation Coffee Espresso.  Use that practically charred pulverized coffee roasted black as midnight (the 22 per cent roast) preferred by Italians and French.  (The novice better start with one-third black roast blended with two-thirds American roast, or he can't drink the stuff.)  Take one-third cup of the coffee and prepare by the usual drip method.  Beat 1 egg white until foamy.  Beat in 2 tablespoons of sugar.  Whip one-fourth pint of heavy cream lightly but not stiff.  Fold sweetened egg white and cream together and use this as a fluffy nightcap to peak the surface of the brew.  Before pouring the coffee, drop a sugar lump into each cup.  This recipe yields small cups for six.
   For Italian type after-dinner coffee there are so-called Espresso pots on the market.  We sketch one at (5).

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BLOODY MARY (continued)

   From the Lucius Beebe column in the NYHT, 4 January 1941, pg. 16, col. 2:
   The California cliche: "The weather has never been this way before at this time of year."...Eddie Sutherland's bar invention, "T. Squat," an arrangement of vodka and tomato juice closely allied to George Jessel's "Bloody Mary."!

   As I stated before, there was no "Harry's New York Bar" in Paris until 1923.  Harry McElhone's 1920s drink book never mentions anything like this drink in the numerous recipes provided.
   Again, I'll cite from Christopher B. O'Hara's THE BLOODY MARY (1999):
Pg. 3:  What made it possible for the Bloody Mary to achieve popularity was the arrival of tinned tomato juice, which came to Europe right after the turn of the century.  And if it hadn't been for that, the Bloody wouldn't have been invented--nobody wants to crush tomatoes.  But when the first tins of tomato juice arrived, the drink became a novelty.  So, you have the arrival of vodka, tinned tomato juice, and Pete at Harry's.
Pg. 6:  According to DeGroff, "After the war, John Martin (Of Hublein, after WWII--ed.) started to promote the hell out of Smirnoff, with screwdrivers, Moscow mules, and Bloody Marys.  Martin hired Jessel to market the drink, and that's how he became connected with the Bloody Mary."

   This is, of couse, all wrong.  An insult to the great Georgie Jessel.
   I recently gave my stuff (FOR FREE!  ALWAYS FOR FREE!  YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO PAY ME FOR COPIES OR POSTAGE!) to www.bartender.com and www.cocktail.com.
   No one responded.