Asparagus

[domestic goddess]

Picked up some asparagus today because it just looked too good to pass up. My dd is quite sure that no one here will even try it. Now, I feel a bit daunted, thinking I have to make it really great, so the others will eat it. How do you like to cook asparagus? Do you serve it plain or with some kind of sauce (don't be shy about sharing the recipe!) I grew up in a home where plain, canned asparagus is all we ever had, and I would not inflict that on anyone. So I could use some suggestions.Thanks in advance. I always get such great help here!

[Valley]

I love to toss it in some olive oil, sprinkle salt, onion pwder, and garlic powder and then spread it out in a jelly roll type of pan and bake it at 400 for about 15 minutes.

[Jilly]

I bake it, too, but only olive oil and then salt only after it is done.

My daughter steams it and then butters and salts. I like the slightly roasted flavor of baking, though.

[sweetana3]

We just break off the hard end (it breaks at the right place) and cook covered in the microwave for no more than 4 minutes. But the two of us can eat a pound of it for dinner.

[bae]

I love to toss it in some olive oil, sprinkle salt, onion pwder, and garlick powder and then spread it out in a jelly roll type of pan and bake it at 400 for about 15 minutes.

What we do is similar:

toss with olive oil, salt, pepper
microwave for a teeny amount of time - 30 seconds or so
then grill on BBQ or griddle or hot skillet, or place under broiler on a cookie sheet, to blacken/sear the exterior

[Rosemary]

It's good in stir-fry too.
But most of the time I roast it. I make a large quantity and we eat it for dinner, then I use the leftovers cold on salads.
Oh, I also make a quinoa-asparagus salad that I like a lot. Other ingredients: red bell pepper, dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, diced prunes are all good), nuts or seeds, and fresh parsley. Toss with your favorite vinaigrette or an orange juice/olive oil mixture.

[jennipurrr]

I love fresh asparagus and hate the canned kind - blech! When I met DH he would cook fresh asparagus and smother it in a gross prepackaged hollandaise sauce...I don't think that is really necessary and we both like the flavor without a lot of added stuff.

If we are grilling something I wrap it in tinfoil with a little olive oil, salt and cracked pepper. Yum!

I have cooked it similarly in the oven and it is pretty good also. I tried once with a little Parmesan cheese sprinkled on at the recommendation of a friend, and it was something interesting, but I usually don't do it that way.

[creaker]

Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and then grill directly on the grill. Serve plain or with a bit of lemon juice.

And if you have anyone trying it for the first time you might want to warn them about (I don't a more delicate way to say it) asparagus pee :-)

[SteveinMN]

Olive oil and some minced garlic and then roasting for us. Or just steaming very fresh asparagus until it's warmed through. I love asparagus now, though it was the one vegetable my mom didn't make me eat as a kid.

[Tussiemussies]

You can also make asparagus oreganato. You cut off the woody stems and steam your asparagus until just about cooked. In the mean time make a white sauce by making a roux and add warm milk to it while you quickly incorporate the roux into it. I use a whisk and it works better. Then heat it until hot but don't boil it or simmer it. Put enough Parmesan cheese in what is now your white sauce taste it and add more if it needs it, also add some salt and pepper. Lay out the asparagus on the bottom of a buttered casserole dish,( before starting to cook everything take some Italian breadcrumbs and toast them in a pan with butter. ). Now put all of your white Parmesan sauce down the middle of the casserole dish so that the tops and bottoms of asparagus do not have sauce on them. Top the sauce with all the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle with just a little bit of oregano. Now put it in the broiler until it is lightly browned. Delicious!!!

[Blackdog Lin]

Tussie: that sounds wondermous. We usually just steam it and add butter sauce. Our other favorite ways of eating it is in a frittata/quiche, and as cream of asparagus soup.

[decemberlov]

We eat lots of asparagus and the kiddos love it too :)

I like it steamed with just a little salt & butter.
I've also made it parmesan crusted and it's delicious: http://www.food.com/recipe/asparagus-with-parmesan-crust-188041

[Amaranth]

White sauce with steamed asparagus in it blended makes a great cream of asparagus soup. Parmesan or a mild creamy cheese are good in it too.

[dado potato]

Waiting for the snow to melt, hoping for my opportunity in the asparagus bed.

[Mrs-M]

I'm a firm-believer in not complicating recipes. "Keep it simple" is my adage, and in our house, steamed asparagus topped with fresh-squeezed lemon juice and a hint of flaked oregano, is the winner!

[early morning]

Asparagus is best eaten in the garden, in the early morning light, about 20 seconds after plucking it off. :D We almost never cook home-grown asparagus - but when I buy it, we steam it slightly or roast it with a little oil, again very lightly. We aren't fond of mushy veggies.

[Glo]

DH roasts it on the grill. I lightly steam it and add a little butter and lemon juice. I could eat a bushel!

[domestic goddess]

Great ideas! IT seems roasting is the favored method, which sounded good to me. Stir fry sounds good, as that is something we have fairly regularly.
My mom was not real imaginative with veggies, and we often had canned mush. To this day I have trouble eating even fresh peas, because of my memories of the canned peas we used to have. Ah, the fifties were a time of food travesty, with people who should have known better jumping on the train of all the canned goods Del Monte could provide! My mom's family were all farmers, and I can't believe she gave up the fresh flavor of vegetables for the convenience of canned. Tomatoes were about all that were served fresh.