Experienced cooks will know, without reading the submitter's review and clarification, that this recipe has some problems. For inexperienced cooks, it's no wonder they didn't care for this if they prepared it as the recipe is written, with it's excessive amounts of butter and olive oil, and the direction to saute the garlic over such high heat. If made correctly, you will simply drizzle a bit of olive oil in a pan, add a little butter, saute the asparagus until crisp tender, and add the garlic at the very end after lowering the heat. This is a simple,delicious and classic method of preparing many vegetables in addition to asparagus, worthy of five stars if prepared with the necessary modifications.

This is my recipe. They changed the amounts for the ingredients. Use at least a pound of asparagus for the amount of butter and oil in the recipe. Cut down the butter to one to two tablespoons if you're only using 1/2 lb. of asparagus. I also use this recipe with fresh green beans. Yum!

Making this recipe was the first time ever tried asparagus. Now, I can't eat it any way but like this. I serve this with dinner at least twice a week. I don't use fresh garlic, I used jarred cushed or minced garlic (whatever is in the fridge). I use two teaspons (hey - I like garlic). If you do this, add the garlic in at the end of the cooking time as the garlic would burn if you added it in at the beginning as the recipe calls for you to do with fresh garlic cloves.

I have not eaten asparagus in years, but it was on sale today, so I bought a package and tried this recipe for dinner tonight. After reading the reviews, I made some of the changes that were suggested and it turned out so good that I wish I had made double the amount! First I melted just 2 Tbsp of butter, then added sliced mushrooms and cooked them for a few minutes before adding the asparagus so it wouldn't get overcooked because I like it crisp. Then I drizzled just a little olive oil over the vegetables. I substituted garlic salt for the coarse salt and garlic cloves because so many people said this was too salty and/or the garlic burned. I also used lemon pepper instead of regular black pepper and sprinkled a little lemon juice over the vegetables while they were cooking. After I took them out of the pan, I sprinkled fresh parmesan cheese over them. This was the best asparagus I have ever eaten!

The only reason this gets 4 stars is because my boyfriend says this was just "ok". I absolutely loved it. (He doesn't care for asparagus.) A tip you can use with asparagus: don't just cut off the end. "Bend" the asparagus until it breaks naturally. Asparagus will break where it is most tender. That way you don't have to mess with the hard and chewy ends. You can also peel the asparagus but I think that's too much work.

Snaps for Kim! We loved this recipe. Asparagus can be bitter if not prepared properly which could be why so many don't like it. This was so simple and the flavor was terrific. I didn't add the garlic until the last few minutes so it didn't burn and I used 2 Tbls. of butter with 1 Tbls. olive oil for 1 lb. of asparagus. When the color starts to just fade its done. Great recipe.

I've never cooked asparagus before, and only eaten it once before so I was not hopeful about it, but I have to say, this was simply delicious. We had Mahi mahi and brown rice with it, and I added some lemon juice to the leftover garlicky butter from the pan as a dipping sauce. Many happy groans of delight. One thing however, I didn't have fresh garlic, so I used garlic powder that first time. I've made it since with the fresh - but honestly there isn't That much difference between the two. Both great. (Powder is easier actually.)

When I saw the amount of butter/olive oil this dish called for I was really turned off, so I adjusted the recipe by using l tablespoon of olive oil and butter flavored cooking spray. It was really delicious.

Yum....and that's from someone who has never liked asparagus. I had a bit of a problem fitting it in the frying pan and trying to make sure it cooked evenly. Finally, I just took a knife to the spears and cut each one in half so I could stir them around easier. Next time I will have to drag out my HUMONGOUS frying pan so I can keep the spears whole. I'm not sure what size pan you other folks are using, but I had my hands full....but since I've never cooked asparagus before, it's probably just my lack of expertise. I agree with some other reviews about cutting back on the butter and even the salt (this is coming from a salt lover). You can add more salt at the table if you feel it needs it.

This is absolutely delicious. We are a garlic loving family, and so I doubled up on the garlic cloves and didn't use quite as much butter as called for. The asparagus had a garlic infused taste and stayed crunchy well after it was done cooking. I gave it a hefty dose of salt and served it over rice along with the Firecracker Salmon recipe also found on the site. Will definitely be making again. Thanks a bunch Kim!!