Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Shaved Asparagus Salad! Thinly sliced asparagus cooked in BACON FAT over a bed of fresh, peppery arugula. You will never look at a spear of asparagus the same again. Ingredients: 12-15 spears of asparagus Shallot 3-4 pieces of BACON 3 cups of arugula Orange supremes/segments The juice of 1 orange 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar 1/2 C shredded Parmesan cheese (optional) Prep/Cook Time: 30 minutes Necessary Equipment: Medium sauté pan Cutting board Chef's knife Vegetable Peeler/Mandoline Procedure: 1. Wash the asparagus and pat dry with paper towels. If the ends of the spears are white in color, now is the time to discard them. Simply grasp the white, woody end in one hand and grab a few inches up on the stem with the other hand. The stalk will flex and the end will snap off. 2. Place the asparagus on the cutting board and use the vegetable peeler to thinly shave across the length of the asparagus. You should have long strips of asparagus. If the ends of the spears are difficult to shave, you may cut them off and chop them up. If using a mandoline, make sure the slices are very thin. Set aside. 3. Remove outer skin from shallot and roughly chop. Set aside. 4. Over medium-low gear, cook bacon to desired level of crispness in medium sauté pan. I prefer to use thick cut bacon. I also like to make the bacon super crunchy. [: Once cooked, set aside on paper towels to drain. Reserve bacon drippings. 5. Increase heat to medium and add the asparagus shavings and shallot to the pan with the bacon drippings. Cook until asparagus is wilted and soft, but not mushy (about 3-4 minutes). 6. Peel one orange and carefully divide into segments. Make sure to remove all pith (the white, fibrous gunk). The pith is very bitter and unpleasant to eat. Discard peel. Cut another orange in half and squeeze juice into a small bowl. Remove any seeds from the juice and stir in the red wine vinegar. 7. Place arugula in salad bowl. Pour orange juice/vinegar mixture over arugula and toss to coat. Top with cooked asparagus and shallot. Crumble up bacon and sprinkle on top. Add orange supremes. 8. Enjoy!! If you have any questions about the ingredients or procedure, please feel free to ask!