For me the best sauce for asparagus has to be just some soft butter which melts into an oozing mess around the spears and then a little turn of finely ground black pepper.

English asapragus is wonderful.  It only has a short season, but whne it's fresh and new - it just can't be beaten.

Good Day

My husband and I were wondering about the stems ,it seems to be a waste to throw out and we were wondering if I cut just the bottom of them off can we eat the rest of the stem and of course the  vegetable it self.

Although it involves the same prep work, a very easy, quick, but amazingly delicious way I've found to prepare asparagus is roasting.
Just drizzle some olive oil over the asparagus and distribute evenly. Then place in the oven (set to broil) on a non-stick pan. Allow the asparagus to get 'crispy', remove, and while still hot, squeeze a lemon over the top and season with Kosher salt.

hello! thank you for your very informative step by step guide. i'd never cooked asparagus before and so this was extremely helpful.

I didn't know how to cook asparagus correctly, in the past I cooked it in salted water,...which really wasn't successful, but after reading I can microwave them for 2 1/2 minutes I thought I would try. this method. I made a Bearnaise sauce and added a small chopped onion (fried) and then a small tomato (fried),mixed them with the sauce , heated for a couple of minutes and then served over red salmon fillets and the asparagus. It was a delicious combination.

thanks for this! helped me with a last minute request for fresh asparagus for thansgiving

LB and Natalie-I'm delighted to be of help!  Years ago, my old friend Roger taught me the peeling trick with asparagus.  The whole stem gets cooked evenly and there is very little waste!

I cook it with a little bit of butter, lemon juice, and seasoned salt. It's absolutely wonderful!

Place the cooked asparagus in a pan with butter, top with grated parmesan; add and egg to the side an fry it sunny side up.  

This is an italian way of serving asparagus.

Alessandra, and j.p, these are perfect suggestions for startcooking - Thanks!

j.p - What do you set the oven temperature at?

I grill asparagus all the time. Toss it with olive oil and a finely-ground seasoned salt (I use Adobo with lemon). Put on a hot grill, turn after 2-3 minutes. That's it! 

Sounds good! I though cooking fresh asparagus was going to be more difficult.

Green Asparagus I love baked with lemon and pepper. White Asparagus I love boiled with Hollander sauces. Absolutely wonderful! enjoy

Yurop, Thank-you for sharing your method of cooking asparagus.  Standing the asparagus up, tied or in a special pot, is just one of the many different ways you can cook asparagus.  Peeling the asparagus, so that the stalk is the same thickness as the tip, ensures even cooking.  If the stalks are all really thin to begin with, then it is not necessary to peel the asparagus.

Hillary you are so right!  In fact we just did a post on How to Use Balsamic Vinegar.  (Everyone should keep in mind that it has a really strong flavor so you only need a few drops!)

Hi Kirtsy, 

Everyone has a favorite way to serve asparagus!  
Hollandaise Sauce is classic but there are so many more choices as you can see by the comments above. 

 Will started us off with a snazzy mayo

Jon - butter and black pepper

I like salt and pepper and lemon juice

Ken included his Bearnaise Sauce

Allessandra adds shaves parmesan cheese and a fried egg

Hillary likes asparagus with balsamic vinegar

JP like Italian dressing

C6 uses sea salt and grills the asparagus

Mia broils it with oil and lemon juice

Alain like asparagus with oyster sauce

Maile bakes it with lemon and pepper

Hi Amy, no it is not necessary to blanch asparagus before grilling it.  It will cook up in no time!  I have discovered you can also fry it in a pan with just a bit of oil and it come out beautifully!

Jenny that sounds wonderful!  Cooking the garlic is the key for me.   I find raw garlic has too much of a "bite" and the garlic breath afterwards is a killer!