Easter: Potato salad with asparagus shavings -- Mario Batali approves

We asked Kim O'Donnel, USA Today columnist and author of "The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook" how to mash-up two Easter staples: Asparagus and potato salad. Because, really, why make two dishes when you can get away with one?

The secret is in the asparagus prep, says O'Donnel.

"Last year around this time, I learned about a trick from Mario Batali, who sang the praises of shaved asparagus," says O'Donnel. "Basically what you do is take a veggie peeler and run it along raw asparagus stalks, so that they're shaved into thin pieces. Dress the shavings with lemon, olive oil and shaved parmesan cheese. I might even add a wee bit of Dijon mustard, about 1 teaspoon."

Then, while your asparagus spears are soaking up the dressing, prep your potatoes as per usual -- boil your favorite variety (O'Donnel recommends Yukon Gold). Then loosely break up with a masher. Once they've cooled a bit, incorporate your asparagus dressing, add salt and pepper to taste and, voila: time for an extra glass of wine.