Chicken-Thief Bride, Meet the Egg Penguin.

This morning I was doing some hunting in the 1930s New York Times on microfilm.(If this doesn’t sound like fun to you, there’s a good chance you’re not a librarian.) While microfilm often makes me dizzy, the discomfort is tempered by all the articles I find amusing. Like these!

From March 2, 1937:
Pastor Sues for Divorce; Says Bride ‘Made Faces’

“Evansville, Ind., Mar. 1.—The Rev. James P. Sandefur, 22, filed suit today for a divorce against his wife, June, 19, charging that she made faces while he preached at the Primitive Baptist Church, and that she went to sleep during services.

The minister’s complaint also charged his wife with taking a quantity of his property, including three pairs of pants and nine chickens.”

Do you believe in reincarnation? If so, please start calling me June Sandefur. I feel strongly that she and I are kindred spirits. She had me at “made faces,” but the chickens sent me over the edge.

I had read an article in the November 22 New Yorker about the legendarily horrendous food served in the White House during FDR’s administration -- heavy on the brains and kidneys, friends -- and was interested to read more about a dish they referenced from the NYT called Turkey Supreme. I found it in the December 1, 1935 paper in an article called Variety for the Buffet:

“Turkey, it has been observed, goes well at buffet suppers. Hot, in a steaming pile, as a salad or cold, the romantic and festive import of turkey attracts all Americans. There may be, for the larger parties, both hot and cold servings. Turkey Supreme is considered ‘the ultimate in flavor.’ It is made of one-and-a-half cups of cold diced turkey, half a cup of chopped pecans, half a pint of whipping cream, a three-quarter cup of crushed pineapple and a cup of mayonnaise. Placed in a tray, the whole is then frozen for about three hours.”

There is so much to remark upon here that my head is spinning! Steaming pile! Romantic, attractive turkey! And then, of course, the actual recipe. I am thinking about having a buffet dinner party next spring. I will hide the pizzas from the Pizza Shack in my oven and wait until I see every face in the house recoil with disgust when they scoop up some frozen, mayonnaise- and pineapple-laden turkey onto their plates before I shout APRIL FOOL'S! and serve the pizzas instead.

The article goes on to describe several fanciful ways to serve deviled eggs, such as making them into white whales, or my favorite, the popular Egg Penguin:

“Penguins made of eggs perhaps eclipse the white whales. The upright egg penguins are supplied with ripe olive heads, matching black wings, bits of carrot for yellow bills and feet. They are grouped on a white slope in an unmistakable copy of a scene from Little America. Here is something new and festive for the buffet table at home.”

Now perhaps if June Sandeful had tried some Turkey Supreme and Egg Penguins, her husband would’ve forgiven her for falling asleep!