For the Man Who Has Everything – Esquire’s Handbook for Hosts (1949)

I recently celebrated a birthday and received several brilliant gifts that are older than I am. From my most organized friend and decluttering guru Rosemary, came an old and venerable edition of Esquire’s Handbook for Hosts, published in 1949. The handbook’s mantra - “Eat! Drink! Be Merry!” That’s sound advice, no matter what the era.

The dust jacket features a star-studded collection of guest whom I’d love to welcome to Suburban Long Island. Imagine sipping cocktails with Bette Davis, Bob Hope, Cary Grant or Lauren Bacall?

Esquire’s Handbook for Hosts is a classic domestic manual with a shot of testosterone – a manifesto for real guys who aren’t afraid to entertain and do it with style. The opening pages pull no punches:

“The world’s greatest cooks are men. Since the beginning of time, he-men have always prepared the savory dishes that caress the palates of epicures of every nation … You won’t find doily tearoom fare here: no radish roses, no menus designed for their calorie content. Esky has concentrated on food of, for and by MEN.”

Take that, Julie & Julia!

The handbook is chock-full of manly entertaining advice:

• Your kitchen-conquest will go for naught if you fluff the follow-through.
• No furred animal or feathered fowl should ever be fried.
• Ah, steak – plain, unadulterated beef – is paradise enow.
• An orderly conversation has a beginning, a middle and an end.
• The mark of a perfect hose is that he has a good time at his own party – but not too good. For though he seems to be just another guest, he is really very busy staying sober enough to continue his subtle hosting.
• And who is a good conversationalist? His talk is casual, easy, varied. He rarely talks for more than three minutes at a time unless others ask questions to keep him going. He suits his topics to his audiences. He does not drag out his personal affairs or innermost convictions for casual acquaintances. With them, he can keep up a perfect, enjoyable chatter about the weather, the caprices of Rhode Island Reds or yesterday’s front-page murder.
• Canasta is a rummy game of Argentinian (some say Uruguaya) origin. It has been touted as the hottest thing in card games since gin and the best partnership game ever. Its publicists and enthusiasts claim it will decimate the ranks of bridge players, convert pinochlers and bewitch poker hounds. Time will tell.
• You’ve had a few if … There is a fly in your drink, but instead of taking the trouble to remove it, you quaff down your drink, merely taking the precaution to avoid consuming the fly in the process.
• The only thing more horrible than a really first-rate hangover – one with long, matted hair and a guttural voice – is the hangover remedy which well-meaning friends force down your gullet the morning after.

Since undoubtedly, the cocktail still stands as a key component of the male entertaining repertoire, here’s a drink from Esquire’s Handbook for Hosts that you might consider serving at your next gathering:

Brandy Daisy (from Esquire’s Handbook for Hosts ©1949)

2 oz. brandy
½ oz. Grenadine
Juice of 1 lemon

Shake with finely cracked ice; pour unstrained into ample highball glass; decorate with fruits ad lib. Harpoon with straw.

If the Brandy Daisy isn’t enough of a reason to get a party started, here’s one more incentive. Esquire’s Handbook for Host also includes 365 Excuses for a Party (as if we needed more than one?). Today’s excuse? On this day in '42 Ann Shirley sued for her divorce.

Cheers!

©2010 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved