The Joy of "The Joy of Cooking"

From my 1943 edition of The Joy of Cooking:

Cooking in the United States is on the up and coming side, but it seemed to me that a peak was reached in a small Kentucky town where I was served chicken with dumplings. The latter were like thistledown. "Oh yes!" said the hotel proprietress wearily when I exclaimed over them. "They are always like that when our colored cook is drunk."