Chew the Scenery; Derby Pie; Cream Pie/Cake

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CHEW THE SCENERY

   A NEW YORK TIMES story I spotted on the web (took forever to download, so I don't know the date) is "Anthony Hopkins Won't Chew the Scenery."  (Hannibal the Cannibal can't be considered with "American food," oh please, dear no!)
   The best discussion of "chew the scenery" is on the web site Mavens' Word of the Day, by those Random House people, whever they are.  Dorothy Parker's 1930 quip is mentioned.
   J. Brooks Atkinson, the TIMES drama critic, was a part of Dorothy Parker's circle.  However, full text of the NEW YORK TIMES doesn't show any early quote!
   FWIW, the earliest in the database looks like 26 June 1947, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. 19:

   And while Miss Fontaine gives a worthwhile performance, there are times when she literally chews the scenery.

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DERBY PIE

   There's no secret to this Louisville dish.  It's trademarked.
   DARE doesn't include it.  Perhaps it needs more workers from Louisville?
   A check of the online NEW YORK TIMES doesn't show hits before the 1980s.
   The trademark records are interesting.  It's trademarked by Walter S. Kern and Leandra C. Kern of Kern's Kitchen in Louisville, Kentucky.  However, the first use is 1954-12-31 and the first use in commerce is 1964-07-31.
   The Kerns sat on the "Derby pie" recipe for ten years before they sold it?

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CREAM PIE/CAKE

   John Mariani uses an 1855 date for Boston "cream pie," which is really a "cream cake."  OED, as usual, is in the dark.  A check of the databases turns up some interesting stuff.

   8 November 1852, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. 2:
   And now comes the dessert--not of Charlotte Russe or Tapioca Pudding; but of cream pies, which you have probably not seen upon city tables; and fritters, which last you are with maple molasses; followed by that most delicious Fall pippins and cracked butternuts.

   December 1832, THE NEW-ENGLAND MAGAZINE (MOA database), pg. 490:
   ...cream-cake...

   MISS BEECHER'S DOMESTIC RECEIPT-BOOK (1850; MOA-Books).  Eight hits for "cream cake."

   December 1857, HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE (MOA database), pg. 68:
   ...no cream-cakes like Boston cream-cakes...

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O.T. BEATING A DEAD HORSE (continued):
SUNDAY NEW YORK TIMES'S "NEW YORK" ISSUE

   If that Sunday New York Times Magazine special "New York" issue doesn't make me feel sad, today's City section sure turns the trick.  James Saunders (who collaborated with Ric Burns on the New York documentary, which they're continuing still) interviews celebrities like Molly Ringwald about what New York means to her.
   And I thought the Nigella Lawson columns were bad.
   If I see a New York Times profile of Posh Spice, asking her about her feelings about New York, and if she replies that firemen are her real heroes, I'm outta here.
   Just asking, but I don't I live here?  Can't anyone know what I've done?