This family-friendly side dish is a delicious new take on potatoes au gratin. Yes, its still cheesy comfort food, but the fresh asparagus means it wont leave you in a food coma. If youve ever made homemade macaroni and cheese, this technique will be familiar: youll make a bechamel sauce and top it with buttery breadcrumbs. In fact, you could double the sauce, toss it with pasta, stick it in the freezer and have mac and cheese ready to go whenever you need a quick dinner. For this dish, look for thick asparagus spears (not the pencil-thin ones) which will hold up better when served.