The "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" Web video series is part of the USDA's program to try to help consumers get in better touch with where the meals on their dinner tables actually come from.

On Wednesday, White House chef Sam Kass made the latest in a number of recent high-profile media appearances in the latest installment of "Know Your Farmer," where he and a group of volunteers set up a series of miniature greenhouses to extend the growing season for the crops on the South Lawn of the executive mansion. (The hoop houses, by the way, are something the USDA announced it will help farmers build to remain productive during the cold season.)

On the menu this winter: spinach, lettuce, carrots, mustard greens, chard and cabbage. Kass calls winter spinach so sweet that it "tastes almost like candy."

So what's the reaction from the public so far?

Well, let's just say muted. Only one person has commented on the video, and it went goes like this: "for this, we are taxed at every turn."

My suggestion: Get a voiceover person who doesn't sound like the guy from movies like "Death on the Highway."

Gourmet Geometry: Do you cut your sandwiches into triangles or rectangles? NPR makes a surprisingly detailed argument for triangles.

Who Has Better Chefs: the East Coast or the West? The debate continues (rather nastily) in the New York Times.

Worst Drive-Thru Robbery Ever: A Michigan man goes to a Wendy's drive-thru with a sawed-off shotgun and demands the cash in the till. Guess who learns that you should never rob your own mother's restaurant?

More food news after the jump ...

Food fight, anyone?

In a "Nightline" interview to air tonight, Martha Stewart talks less than flatteringly of Rachael Ray's skills in the kitchen, pretty much dismissing her as a "bubbly" "entertainer" who isn't worthy of the title of TV chef.

"Well, to me, she professed that she could not bake. She just did a new cookbook which is just a re-edit of a lot of her old recipes, and that's not good enough for me. I mean, I really want to write a book that is a unique and lasting thing. Something that will really fulfill a need in someone's library," Stewart says.

Jamie Oliver, the naked chef, is collaborating with Match.com to create a place "where food lovers meet," called Dating on Jamie Oliver (at Jamieoliver.com/dating).

Though Oliver's site has been up and running for ten years, it has now incorporated Match.com into the mix in a tab on his site called "dating." This section also features recipes, articles ("Foods to Make you Fall in Love") and dinner date tips from “waiters and (daters).” Basically it is match.com with a food element tied to it.

He gives a pretty convincing pep-rally speech on the site too. Personally, I believe this is a genius idea. I know what you are thinking: "Well why don't you sign up and check it out for yourself, Carolina?" Fine then! I guess I will.

But first we want to know: Do you think adding a food niche to Match.com will help food-focused singles meet the chefs/gourmands of their dreams? Or should food lovers stick to meeting romantic prospects off line? Like in restaurants and bars.

1. The FDA has pushed through a ban on raw oysters during warm months, effective in 2011, sparking restaurateurs' and consumers' complaints about a "nanny state." How many deaths does the FDA say bacteria from raw oysters causes each year?
a. 15
b. 50
c. 100
d. 150

2. Which of the following wasn't on the menu when Rachael Ray made a visit to a Cincinnati soup kitchen last weekend?
a. cheesy potato casserole
b. roast beef
c. ham
d. chicken soup

French-born, Pennsylvania-based pastry chef Antoine Amrani, who trained at Paris's Ritz Escoffier and was the executive pastry chef at Philadelphia's Le Bec Fin, now has his own eponymous line of chocolates. Amrani's collection is made with natural, often organic and locally-sourced ingredients and includes six signature bon bons (Duo Cafe, Coffee Sour Cherry, Orange Grand Marnier, Banana Rum, Hazelnut Praline, and Pistachio) and six signature palats (Pure Dark, Earl Grey, Coconut Kaffir Lime, Almond Crisp, Cinnamon Honey, and Raspberry).

For us, the standout quality of Amrani's chocolates is their purity. The flavors are intense and simple, and best of all, not too sweet. We also love the way these chocolates are constructed: The bon bons and palats have generous ganache centers and thin, delicate chocolate shells. (Palets, by the way, refer to flat, square or rectangular chocolates rather than molded bon bons.) Last but not least, we're enamored with Amrani's elegant and eco-friendly chocolate brown and lime green packaging: The paperboard is made of 100% recycled and 90% post-consumer content, the decorative papers are made using sustainable wind energy, and everything is 100% recyclable. For more info and to place an order, go to antoineamrani.com.

For our tasting notes, take the jump.

Last month, Epicurious hosted its first Epicurious Entertains NYC event. The 5-day food extravaganza included dinners prepared by Mario Batali, Daniel Boulud, Paul Liebrandt, and Marco Canora, plus the Ultimate NYC Lunch Break, a day of football and barbecue (from Chef Zak Pelaccio's Fatty 'Cue), and cooking demonstrations from some of our favorite chefs and experts. At each and every demo, we kept hearing the same thing: "Where can we get the recipes?" Lucky for you, many of our great chefs and experts agreed to share their recipes with Epicurious. See below for recipes from Chef Michael Psilakis of Kefi, Anthos, and Gus & Gabriel, Cooking Teacher Lourdes Castro, Magnolia Bakery, BR Guest Mixologist Eben Klemm, Chef Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit, Jean Georges Pastry Chef Johnny Iuzzini, and more.

Lourdes Castro's recipes from Simply Mexican:

Crab Tostadas

Chicken Tamales

Homemade Mexican Crema

Chipotle Chile Sauce

Creamy Salsa Verde

Michael Psilakis's recipes from How to Roast a Lamb:

Chickpea Spread

Tzatsiki

Tanya Steel's recipes from Real Food for Healthy Kids:

Peachy Keen Chicken

Edamame Succotash Salad

Chocolate Chip Flying Saucers

James Cury demonstrated Camper English's cocktail, The Cure

Marcus Samuelsson's recipe from New American Table:

Maple-Glazed Tuna with Pear-Potato Salad

Magnolia Bakery's Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Icing

Eve Felder's Roasted Fall Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter and Crispy Sage

Johnny Iuzzini's Chocolate Noodles with Peppermint Broth and White Chocolate Sorbet

Eben Klemm's cocktail recipes:

Pine Needle Daiquiri

3-Second Ramos Gin Fizz

Kellogg's Yanks Health Claims: The cereal company's getting rid of the immunity claims on its boxes of Rice Crispies and Cocoa Krispies because of the heightened concern people have about swine flu.

Meet the White House Food Guru: Sam Kass isn't just another University of Chicago history major-turned-food dude, he's also hugely influential on the Obamas' take on food and health.

Do You Know How to Eat Sushi? No? Then consider taking sushi lessons from this guy. (Or just save yourself $105 and remember to dip the fish, not the rice, and not put wasabi in your soy sauce.)

So the Yankees Won the World Series: No. 27 for the Bombers. What did you eat or drink to celebrate? Or what did you throw at the TV in your fury? Just curious.

Twilight: The Restaurant (No, Seriously): Last year, a female friend who was gaga over Robert Pattinson dragged me kicking and screaming to the first Twilight movie. But I am not flying to Forks, Wash., to eat at the new Twilight-themed restaurant Volterra. (Steak and seafood.) Do you hear me, Marina?

Know Your Bread: Ever wonder how wheat in the field became the bread in your sandwich? Find out with this demo from the Wheat Foods Council.

Was It "Empire State of Mind"? Teens at a McDonald's drive-thru in Utah get in trouble with the cops after rapping their order.

Wrapped Candy This Halloween, Please: Swine flu, and all. (At the very bottom.)

More Food News after the jump.

The Backyard of Milk and Honey: Hey, city folks, don't you hate how you have to trudge all the way to the grocery to get your honey? Why don't you invest in an urban beekeeping kit, which will probably annoy your neighbors no end until you give them free honey for the first time. (Wonder what the honey from those flowers on traffic islands tastes like.)

luv d new twitter wine, lol! Yes, Twitter has officially taken over the world, and is starting its own Twitter wine label, with the proceeds going to an educational charity.

Five Books Every Cook Should Have: The Atlantic Monthly lists its cooks' canon (well, the categories, with personal examples): a good reference book, a pastry book, a Junior League book, an Italian technique book, and "a book to nourish loved ones." A Junior League book?