Standing Rib Roast with Yorkshire Pudding

In the Middle West when I was growing up in the fifties, young—and sometimes even older—brides often succumbed to a malady known as hostess heat. This was a fever brought on by panic over the prospect of preparing dinner for guests. What if the rumaki were cold? What if the hollandaise curdled? What, worst of all, if the Yorkshire pudding came out greasy and flat, instead of as nicely browned and puffy pastries baked at the last minute in the drippings of that most canonical of roasts, the