The first time I ate raw asparagus was during the '80s at an Italian restaurant in New York. Someone else must have pushed me to order it because until then the only asparagus I'd ever encountered was steamed and buttered, and I really liked it just that way. Raw asparagus? Must be bland and boring.

What I wanted? A simple recipe — any recipe, any trick, any technique — that would entice my 8-year-old son to embrace broccoli.

The Husband is Jewish and I am his shiksa bride. As young marrieds, we ignored both traditions equally. But when we had children, we began celebrating Jewish and Christian holidays alike, so that as the kids matured they could naturally gravitate to the rituals that moved them the most.

Lady and the Tramp had the right idea.

Julia Child loved to socialize almost as much as she loved to cook. So nobody would have enjoyed the big celebration fans are cooking up in honor of her centennial more than the Grand Dame of American Cookery herself.

Gilbert resident Wyndi Austin was one of four national winners invited to have lunch with President Barack Obama at Lincoln Restaurant in Washington, D.C. Austin, seated next to the president, ordered asparagus-wrapped salmon, and Obama went after the Lincoln Burger. 

The signature house burger at the Lincoln Restaurant — just a stone’s throw from the White House — runs about $16, before tax and tip.