VintageGriffin.com

In November, at some point many of us start seriously thinking about cooking. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and we think about the bountiful feasts that we'd love to attend or give. Perhaps we imagine ourselves as the gracious host who spins pomegranate comfits, apple-spiced stuffing, and fig-walnut-cranberry sauce from the odds and ends on one's larder, effortlessly. Helped by merciful, culinary elves who seek to ease our burden, much the same way Rumplestilskin spun straw into gold for the fair-but-unskilled maid. Perhaps we fantasize about bringing the dish to the family table over at Aunt Berenice's that will be talked about and flattered over all others.

Well, I think about those things too. And I think about just how much harder our tasks would be if we were cooking in the 18th century.