Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

HOLY CRAP, Robyn Lee (THESE BISCUITS WERE SO GODDAMN GOOD. Every bite exploded with crispy-soft-buttery-salty awesomeness) and sshoys (Partway through cooking, I heard an odd sizzling sound coming from the oven. I opened to find the biscuits frying in their own butter and I knew I was in for a treat.) and the rest of y'all! I am going right into my kitchen and baking up a batch of these biscuits RIGHT NOW. Thanks!!!

@mgnnn-While I understand the importance of willpower, I can only be so strong. I ask my fiancee not to bring chips or ice cream home, because they are much easier to ignore when they are not in front of me. Similar forces are at work at a restaurant. Sometimes I just don't want to be tempted, because I have a tendency to give in when faced with delicious morsels!

Wait a minute here! You're a menu low-talker, not a menu-whisperer.

Sheesh, a real menu-whisperer would be an amazing being, able to parse the bestest of the best, never erring in a decision, able to pair dishes, wines, impeccably ....ah...well.....

As for menu low-talkers... sounds a little too sneaky for me.

Not a menu whisperer (though I did think it meant having a 6th sense for picking out the best dish on the menu). But a friend and I did do the smogasboard thing once. It was so much fun, and we both had plenty of leftovers. I felt less full after small tastes of everything than if I'd eaten a lot of one entree.

Yes, it's more expensive. Try to do it at lunch if you can. As long as you eat the leftovers, you haven't wasted any money or food.

@kah9932 AAAHH! Finally some vindication!! I figured I would get a lot of heat about this, b/c most of the time, the fm's here are crowded with die-hards who think they're doing themselves a favor by shopping there weekly, but mainly they're only doing the farmers a favor, which I'm not opposed to, as long as you're aware that you're paying jacked up prices.

I hope you're right that more people will get savvy enough to know better, then the fm's will have no excuse not to put their prices in line with other, smaller ethnic markets and grocery stores.

Good article, but I've got to say, where I live, West LA region, the farmers market in my neighborhood on Sundays is definitely not the place to go for 'bargains". The stands are always popular, and I don't have any specific complaints, but I do not go there often, b/c their prices are higher, than other, more "urban" farmers markets in my region. I believe the farm stands fell that they can get more $ from those of us in this are, since it's considered "wealthy", but surely, those of us in the know, only go there, in a pinch! Even our local grocery stores realized this recently, and often their prices & produce, which generally come from the same farmers and growing regions, have better prices.

Ahhh, the luxury of living out in Loudon County! A ton of reasonably priced farmers markets and stands within a few miles of Leesburg plus more just up the way in and around Frederick, MD. I am so glad I chose to be a commuter over living in the District :D

these are certainly all reasonable rules.... it's not fair when markets allow vendors to sell sub-standard, crappy products..... it's not what it's supposed to be about. i've been to markets in florida where they're offering veggies wrapped in cellophane.... it was a mockery.

@tressa eaton. Thanks, I will check out the ones on U and in Mt. Pleasant. I think DC farmers' markets tend to be about paying for the novelty of getting produce from a farmer, it's a bit bizarre if you're not used to it. I don't know how anyone can afford to make fruit pies ....

Holy crap, these are good. Partway through cooking, I heard an odd sizzling sound coming from the oven. I opened to find the biscuits frying in their own butter and I knew I was in for a treat.

If joining a co-op comes with free viewings of nibbly bunnies, I'm totally in.

Apparently, the course designers base their work on the movies & merchandising: Anyone who's read the books would NOT eat anything Hagrid cooked/baked. LOL

BTW, my kids are not culinary wunderkind, but they have made stew and scones, et c for themselves (with knife work & stove/oven carefully supervised) since they were in single digits. My younger boy (12 yrs old) is a fussy eater & cooks for himself when he doesn't like what the rest of the family is served. (He has to pony up for his groceries & parents have veto power over menu selection.) Saves a lot of tension at the table.

Love these tips, many of them indoctinated in me by my grandmother, who had it figured out from living through two wars in Europe. And she never even heard the term 'carbon footprint'.
Hey, Cooks Illustrated did one of their science experiments to see how to best clean fruits and vegetables. They tried antibacterial soap (yuk), water, and a 1/3 vinegar with 2/3 water mixture. The vinegar/water mixture killed the most bacteria. So I keep it around in a spray bottle under the sink. When I wash grapes in a bowl of water I also add a splash of vinegar to that too. Works great.
I keep a linen towel for drying dishes and a terry cloth towel for hands and counters in my kitchen. The paper towels are stored out of the way and last me about 6 months per roll, just used for things like cat throw-up. I have a collection of linen towels from my travels. A nice keepsake and very practical. Excellent gifts for your friends too if you are a traveler.