A Nice Way of Cooking Asparagus
Where asparagus is plenty, there is no better way of cooking it than the following. Take it as nearly of a size as possible, wash it, and cut off the stalks very short, leaving them not more than half an inch in length. Two quarts of water will be sufficient to boil one quart of asparagus tops; allow a tea-spoonful of salt to this quantity of water, and set it over the fire to boil. When the water is boiling hard, put in the asparagus, and boil it fast for at least half an hour. To see if it is done, take up two or three of the largest pieces and taste them. While it is boiling, prepare two slices of bread cut half an inch thick, and (having removed the crust) toast the bread brown on both sides. Have ready a large jill of melted (or drawn) fresh butter. When the asparagus is done, take it up with a perforated skimmer, and lay it on a sieve to drain. Dip the slices of toast (one at a time) first in the hot asparagus liquor, and then in the melted butter. Lay the slices, side by side, in a deep dish, and cover it with the asparagus, laid evenly over and round the toast. Then add the remainder of the drawn butter, and send the asparagus to table hot, in a covered dish.
This is a much nicer way than that of boiling and serving it up with the long stalks left on. And where you have asparagus in abundance, (for instance in a country garden,) it may always be cooked in this manner.
This is from the receipt of Mr. N. Darling, of New Haven.