re: Cooking Asparagus

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steams them in the microwave

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that's like cooking bacon in a microwave

grilled, sauteed, or roasted are the best ways to cook asparagus.

Well, they make stovetop steamers for them. I have one and love the way they come out. My wife prefers grilled, so I do that most often, but that's not my favorite.

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Zappas Stache

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Give me...your dirty love...

The poodle chews it.

My ole yellow lab would eat a spear bite by bite from my hand. He loved asparagus from the bottom of his heart. He knew he had had arrived at rescue puppy heaven after the first left leftovers he tasted.

Best way ever:

Boil water
Drop asparagus in
Set timer for 2 min
When timer goes off remove from fire and run under cold water and serve
Crisp and clean
YWIA!

we usually bake asparagus

I parboil. Drain. Then sauté with a pat of butter and a little garlic. Salt and pepper.

Parboil
Throw them in a pot of salted, boiling water with a little olive oil.. Boil for 3 mins. Take em out of the boiling water and put them in an ice and water bath for a minute or two.. Then, let em drain on a paper towel.

Pan Sear
On medium high fire, pan sear them in olive oil for 7 minutes. At the last minute, throw in some chopped garlic, red pepper flakes and kosher salt to taste.

Steam
Place in a steamer over a boiling pot of water for 5-6 minutes, until bright green and crisp.

This is a dressing from Emeril that I like that goes great with chopped boiled egg and asparagus.. With salmon, it's a great dinner.

Champagne Vinagrette
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1 tbsp honey
2 teaspoons minced shallots
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper

In a blender, combine the champagne vinegar, honey, shallots, mustard and garlic. Puree until smooth, 10 to 15 seconds. While continuing to blend, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the blender through the opening in the lid until the dressing is smooth and emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer to a clean, non-reactive container with a lid. Set aside until ready to use or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

The point is having the amounts of garlic and shallots in chopped portions.. if you want to throw in what you think will come out to two teaspoons of minced shallots and 1/4 teaspoon of garlic, I'm sure it'll be fine.