Martha Stewart once said, “Life has few disappointments greater than a room temperature nut.”

Of course, that was before she went to jail. Oh, Martha.

While I personally find a room temperature nut perfectly tolerable, I’ll tell you what IS a pretty big disappointment: overcooked asparagus. When overcooked, asparagus gets mushy and stringy, a far cry from the gratifying al dente snap it ought always to have, if you ask me.

I blanch my asparagus for only about 2 minutes or less, then plunge it into an ice bath to keep it from overcooking. This keeps it al dente! And my grandmother gave me the idea for the fabulous-but-super-easy orange dressing to serve with it. Thanks, Mimi. 🙂

From start to finish, the whole thing only takes about 10 minutes. You can make it several hours in advance or even a day ahead, and keep it in the fridge. Serve it cold or at room temperature. Unlike Martha’s nuts.

Hey look! It’s Eleanora!

FRESH ASPARAGUS WITH ORANGE DRESSING (pdf)
1 bunch asparagus, with the ends snapped off
Water (enough to cover the asparagus)
1/4 tsp salt
1 large bowl of ice water

Place asparagus spears in a shallow, heavy pan that gives the spears enough room to lay flat. If your pan isn’t large enough to hold all the asparagus, you can work in batches. Add just enough water to cover. Add salt. Cover the pan and bring water to a boil over high heat. Cook just until the asparagus turns bright green and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately submerge asparagus in the bowl of ice water for about 2 minutes to arrest the cooking process. Set on paper towels and allow excess water to drain off. Serve with orange dressing.

ORANGE DRESSING
1/2 C mayonnaise
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp sugar
2 T orange juice
Zest of one orange (about 1 tsp)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and drizzle over asparagus spears or serve alongside for dipping.

xoxo,