Managing a Maidless Dinner in the Rumpus Room

There's something poignant about the drift of the "hints" in The American Woman's Cookbook, written by Ruth Berolzheimer in 1941. Though her tips run the gamut - there's a section on food for invalids, and a glossary of French cooking terms - Berolzheimer's audience is the striving woman of modest means, eager to keep up with the Joneses.

If this looks ludicrous - and so much of it does - consider this: The American Woman's Cookbook sold one million copies in its first year. Kind of makes me sad.....