Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

"Sure, nearly anything tastes better with butter and parm, but I assure you it isn't the dairy products that shine forth in this preparation—it's the deepened, intense flavor of the asparagus themselves that steals the show."

When I read this, I was incredulous, but I tried the recipe anyway, and found that my incredulity was justified -- it tasted great, but by no means did the "deepened, intense flavor of the asparagus" steal the show. The awesome taste of butter and cheese stole the show, with the asparagus in a supporting role. I prefer simple high heat roasting (without the boiling or the butter/parm) if you really want to taste the asparagus.

My mom use to make it like this when we lived in Bensonhurst. It's the best.