Avoid cooking them whole. Unless you can
thoroughly tenderize them they can be to hard to
chew, and they become wasted.
Instead, slice them virtically into 3/8" slabs
and pound them out to the point that they almost
fall apart but not quite. The key to having them
so tender that they fall apart in your mouth is
to hot fry them no more that 45 seconds total.
You can deep fry them in tempura or beer batter,
or you can hot fry them in olive oil and make a
garlic, butter and white wine sauce w/ fresh
basil and serve the Ab over linguini with the
sauce poured over the top.
I have also powderized Ritz crackers and dipped
the Ab in beaten egg then flop it around in the
Ritz crumbs and fry it in a little macadamia nut
oil and a small amount of butter.
The key to remember is to cook it hot and fast.
Oh yes, I almost forgot. If you deep fry them try
a beer from one of the local micro breweries up
here,(Sonoma Mountain no longer brews, damn them!)
If you do the italian style I recommend
having a good chardonnay with it, prefferably
from the Alexander Valley in Sonoma County.
Also eating them fresh is the best thing. After
they are frozen they considerably loose their
delicate flavor and texture. If you must freeze,
slice and pound and store in a large zip-lock
with a little milk in the bag. It will prevent
freezer burn and obsorb any odor that may develop.
One more thing...You must have fun!