Cooking For Engineers - Recipe File: Roasted Asparagus Spears

Cooking For Engineers - Recipe File: Roasted Asparagus Spears

I've been meaning to do some more posts about food and recipes, but it always seems to slip my mind. I don't know why, the internet is my favorite cookbook, as it allows me to compare several recipes quickly, apply some pattern-recognition, and come up with something halfway original, that has an increased likelihood of success. One of my favorite sites for recipes is Cooking for Engineers, which has an attitude towards cooking that is in step with Alton Brown. Cooking is part science, part art. But if you've done your research and know the science bit, well you're halfway there, right?

Snap off the bottoms of the asparagus stalks. The bottom of the stalk is fibrous and not very pleasant to eat, so just grab the bottom and bend until it snaps. Let the stalk snap at a natural breaking point as close to the cut end as possible. This position will be different for each stalk, but will very nearly guarantee that all your asparagus stalks will be tender. (Cutting off the bottoms doesn't work too well since you have to guess where the stalk stops being tender.)