As the stem and branches to the leaves, flowers, and fruit of a tree, so is design to painting. In decoration one cannot exist without the other, as the beauty of a figure depends upon the well-built and well-proportioned skeleton and its mechanism. You cannot separate a house from its plan and foundations. So it is in decoration; often thought of lightly as something trivial and superficial, a merely aimless combination of curves and colours, or a mere réchauffé of the dead languages of art, but really demanding the best thought and capacity of a man; and in the range of its application it is not less comprehensive.

The origins of the contemporary mince pie can be traced back to the return of European crusaders from the Holy Land. During that time, Middle Eastern cooking methods, which often involved a combination of meats, fruits, and spices, gained popularity. In Tudor England, pies known as shrid pies emerged, consisting of shredded meat, suet, and dried fruit. The incorporation of spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg was seen by the English antiquary John Timbs as a nod to the offerings of the Eastern Magi.

The legend behind the origin of chaussons aux pommes, or French apple turnovers, begins in the 16th century in the town of Saint-Calais in France. At the time the area was ravaged by a plague epidemic in which many people died, and the town was in despair.

There are some writers the facts about whom can never be entirely told, because they are inexhaustible, and speaking of whom we do not fear to be blamed for repetition, because, though well known, they furnish topics which never weary. La Fontaine is one of this class. No poet has been praised oftener, or by more able critics, and of no poet has the biography been so frequently written, and with such affectionate minuteness.

Orecchiette, the star of this dish, are small, round pasta shapes that resemble little ears with origins dating back centuries in Puglia. Local women, known as "sfogline," would meticulously handcraft each orecchiette, pressing their thumbs into small pieces of dough to create the characteristic ear-like shape. This artisanal pasta became a symbol of Puglia's culinary identity and has remained an essential part of the region's gastronomic heritage.

Chicken Tikka Masala represents the adaptability of Indian cuisine and its influence beyond borders. It gained popularity through Indian restaurants in the UK in the mid-20th century and became a staple of British curry houses, ultimately achieving a status as a national dish. It symbolizes the multicultural nature of British cuisine, transcending cultural boundaries. Diverse regional variations exist, with different regions adding their unique touch, making it a dynamic and ever-evolving culinary creation.

In an era when most culinary works leaned heavily on European traditions and techniques, "American Cookery" was a breath of fresh air, emphasizing the unique bounty of the New World. This cookbook served as a testament to the culinary diversity of the United States, incorporating ingredients like corn, cranberries, and, of course, the humble pumpkin, showcasing their versatility in a myriad of delectable recipes.

The noble and majestic statues of the sculptured gods of ancient Greece were overthrown and buried in the ground, their glowing and pictured figures were swept from the walls of temples and dwellings, and in their stead only a crouching, timid race of bloodless saints were seen, not glad to be men, and fearful of God. Humanity dared no longer to stand erect, but groveled in superstitious fear, and lashed its flesh in penance, and was ashamed and afraid of all its natural instincts. How then was it possible for Art to live?

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, in there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore. Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he. But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door. Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door. Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Apicius, or De re coquinaria, is a collection of Roman recipes thought to have been compiled in the fifth century AD. The text contains ten books, each dedicated to a different culinary subject such as The Sea, The Fisherman, The Meat Mincer, and The Gardener.

The Queen-Like Closet, or Rich Cabinet, is a 17th-century English cookbook first published in 1670. It is one of the first English cookbooks to include recipes from other cultures, such as Italian and French cuisine. Author Hannah Woolley also includes recipes for "exotic" ingredients such as pineapple and chocolate, which were just starting to become available in England at the time.

Morris says: “This splendid Roman scrollwork, though not very beautiful in itself, is the parent of very beautiful things. It is perhaps in the noble craft of mosaic that the foreshadowings of the new art are best seen. There is a sign in them of the coming wave of the great change which was to turn late Roman art, the last of the old, into Byzantine art, the first of the new.”

The Frenchman may keep on his hat during the entr'actes of a play and be forever wrangling with his mode of government, but he has taught the world how to dine. "Let me have books!" cries Horace; "Let us have cooks!" exclaims the Gaul. And with the cooks come the cook-books—the meditations, codes, almanacs, physiologies, manuals, and guides.

One of the most significant influences on Irish cuisine was the introduction of the potato in the late 16th century. It quickly became a staple food of the Irish diet, providing a cheap and reliable source of sustenance for the rural population. However, this reliance on the potato ultimately led to the devastating Irish Potato Famine of the mid-19th century, which had a profound impact on Irish society and cuisine.

White and golden Lizzie stood like a lily in a flood. Like a rock of blue-veined stone lashed by tides obstreperously. Like a beacon left alone in a hoary roaring sea, sending up a golden fire. Like a fruit-crowned orange-tree, white with blossoms honey-sweet, sore beset by wasp and bee. Like a royal virgin town topped with gilded dome and spire, close beleaguered by a fleet, mad to tug her standard down.

A strange and beautiful life—with its cloistered maidenhood, its pathetic wavering between Death and Love, to fall at last into Love’s most gracious hands, its sequel of perfect wifehood. “She was like the insect that weaves itself a shroud, yet by some inward force, after a season, is impelled to break through its covering, and come out a winged tiger-moth, emblem of spirituality in its birth, and of passion in the splendor of its tawny dyes.”

Concerning the art itself, it may be remarked that the French have been to cookery what the Dutch and Flemish schools have been to painting—cookery with the one and painting with the other having attained their highest excellence. Rubens, Rembrandt, Teniers, Jordaens, Ruysdael, Snyders, Berghem, and Cuyp may be paralleled in another branch of art by Carême, Vatel, Beauvilliers, Robert, Laguipière, Véry, Francatelli, and Ude.

Accident has frequently occasioned the most eminent geniuses to display their powers. "It was at Rome," says Gibbon, "on the 15th of October, 1764, as I sat musing amidst the ruins of the Capitol, while the bare-footed friars were singing vespers in the Temple of Jupiter, that the idea of writing the Decline and Fall of the City first started to my mind."

These first showed themselves in the love of dress and the selection of ornaments. From the early ages of the world, too, spinning and weaving were feminine employments, in which undying germs of art were hidden; for it belongs to human nature never to be satisfied with what merely ministers to necessity.

Translated to "surprise spiced wine," Conditum Paradoxum was one of ancient Rome's most popular wine drinks, transformed with the aromas and flavors of mastic, honey, saffron, pepper, and dates. In the Levant of the 4th-century CE, a simplified version was made with just wine, honey and peppercorns.