The first step in cooking beans is buying the right ones. Most dried beans you’d find at the grocery store or in the bulk section of high-dollar organic markets aren’t very good since they don’t see enough turnover to be remotely fresh. Rancho Gordo has excellent beans; so does Zursun, a company out of Idaho.

A cheaper alternative would be to buy beans from busy international markets that cater to bean-loving populations, where there’s a better chance that the store is turning over its inventory.

A word on the pot: I like to cook beans in clay. Glazed or unglazed, terra cotta is the perfect vessel for cooking beans. Put them in the chosen pot and cover them with fresh water. You don’t need as much as you might think: enough to cover the beans by an inch or so will suffice. Too much water and the flavor of the beans will be diluted. Place a lid on the pot and place on a burner over low heat. For a clay pot, use a heat diffuser — or use one regardless. The idea is that you want very even, slow cooking for the beans. As they come up to a simmer, skim any foam or froth that might come to the surface and replace the lid. Cook. Slowly. Nice and easy.

The crispy exterior, however, is achieved by preheating the sheet pan itself in a 450° oven. You’re essentially treating the baking sheet like a sauté pan, searing an entire side of the brussels sprouts. Without preheating the pan, they’d overcook before they got to the ideal crispy state.

That’s pretty much it, honestly. You cut the sprouts in half, toss in olive oil, salt and pepper, and then arrange them cut-side-down on the hot-hot sheet. Use tongs! Move fast. Then they’ll roast for 20-25 minutes, until deeply browned.

How to minimize old maids without burning your popcorn... Step 4 is the difference from previous posts...Saw this on simplyrecipes.com...
1) heat 3 T oil/grease in pot over medium-high
2) add 3-4 kernels, cover
3) when they pop, add 1/3 C kernels in an even layer
4) cover, remove from heat & count to 30 seconds (this brings all kernels to near-popping temp so that when returned to heat they will all pop at about same time)
5) return to heat & when popping starts in earnest, shake pan with tilted lid until popping slows to a few seconds between pops
6) dump popcorn immediately into wide bowl, season to taste