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<\/a>The finished product! Delish Asparagus Stix! Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the one at the top of this page.<\/p><\/div>\n
But we tried them, anyway, and…they were soooo delicious! Crispy and perfectly salty. The next time I made asparagus, I did it the correct way\u2014plump and tender. But Mr. X asked where the ones we had the first<\/em> time were!<\/p>\n That\u2019s when I realized I had to cook them my own way. And now, after many other perfect<\/em> batches of Asparagus Stix, (a title I coined,) I knew I had to share my uber-simple \u201crecipe\u201d with you! (And just in time for Thanksgiving next week, to boot!)<\/p>\n I put \u201crecipe\u201d in quotes because it involves so few steps. But, in case, like I<\/em> do, you need people to talk to you like you\u2019re a blonde, I\u2019m giving you every second of my process. (If you don\u2019t need all that, here\u2019s my big secret in one simple phrase\u2014burn, baby, burn!)<\/p>\n ASPARAGUS STIX \u201cRECIPE\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n What a pack of\u00a0skinny asparagus\u00a0looks like. Those light-colored bottoms are what you either snap or cut off. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n ~ I buy four \u201cpacks\u201d of skinny* asparagus at a time, for just one meal for the two of us. They can last in the fridge for a week or so before I cook them, if need be. (But it\u2019s always better to use them within a few days.) *[Skinny asparagus: This is not the thick kind you find in most supermarkets.\u00a0\u00a0You can usually find it in thrift food stores, or sometimes in ethnic ones. Or Farmer\u2019s Markets. You can still make the Stix with that thicker, probably higher quality, kind of asparagus, but we like it better with the thin spears. They get really crispy when done the right way.]<\/p>\n ~ If you\u2019ve never cooked asparagus before, you\u2019ll need to know this part, which I just learned myself: snap off the bottoms! You\u2019ll feel the natural break in each spear. But watch-out\u2014it\u2019s addicting! Even Mr. X likes to do that part! (But do not despair if they don\u2019t snap at first. This happened to us just once, possibly because they were so fresh that time. If need be, just lop off those rough bottoms with a sharp knife, and continue from there. After you do that, they may actually still snap a bit more as you go along in the process.) For this recipe, it doesn\u2019t matter if the spears get really short, so don\u2019t panic.)<\/p>\n The first layer, with the foil “lip” at the top edge. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n ~ Rinse them off. I wash one pack at a time, really well. I use tepid water, since I\u2019m a germaphobe and am cooking them right away, but cold is probably fine, as well.<\/p>\n ~ Cover a big cookie sheet with tin foil, and fashion a little \u201clip\u201d on all sides.<\/p>\n ~ Arrange the spears in rows on the sheet. Try to not overcrowd them, but, if you use a quartet of\u00a0bunches, as I do, they will<\/em> overlap a bit. Just do your best. (They shrink as they cook.)<\/p>\n ~ Do a bit more than a sprinkle of olive oil over the lot of them; the better quality oil, the better the taste. But you do not<\/em> want to drench<\/em> the spears, or you will be smelling burning oil for a long time to come. (This is also the reason for the tin foil \u201clip,\u201d so that the oil doesn’t spill down all over the oven.)<\/p>\n All four bunches of asparagus, cut, rinsed, and ready to go in the over. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n ~ Then sprinkle Kosher salt all over the spears. I suggest you do it from your hand, rather than the salt container, to control it better. The amount depends on how much you like salt.\u00a0\u00a0Start with less than you think, just in case.<\/p>\n ~ Here\u2019s the one tricky part: Most asparagus recipes suggest you use a 400 degree oven for about a half hour. But, they\u2019ll be fine if you have to cook them with another dish that requires a higher or lower temp. You just have to adjust the\u00a0time<\/em>\u00a0and keep an eye on them. (But remember\u2014you are<\/em> trying to crisp them up.) I usually wind-up cooking them for about an hour, whether I use 350 degrees or 425!<\/p>\n ~ No matter which<\/em> temperature you use, take the tray out in the middle of your timing, and gently turn the spears, or just move them around a bit, so they each get enough oil and salt. They will be much, much<\/em> smaller than when you put them in, so don\u2019t freak.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>