Word has it that Absinthe chef and Top Chef cheftestant Jamie Lauren has been stung harder by the fame bug more than she has arugula's peppery tang. (Fame is fleeting, Lauren! Your palette and plates, much like your tattoos, are forever!) But in a fusion of attention grabbing and culinary trickery, Lauren and 7x7 Magazine are having a springtime veggie contest. It goes like this: You create a phenomenal original first-course dish using asparagus, one that would fit in with Absinthe’s "American-influenced French brasserie and Northern Italian cuisine" menu, and your creation will be featured on the menu for two weeks. Also, you'll get a complimentary dinner for two at Absinthe, a swank KitchenAid stand mixer, and coverage in 7x7.

7x7’s food editors will choose the top four recipes -- have the Maiden Lane dames finally starting digesting ? Is this why 7x7 coverage has been decent as of late? -- and the winner will be plucked by Lauren; Linda Carucci, chef director at the International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California; and 7x7’s Sara Deseran.

Submit your best pee-stinky recipe 7x7.com from March 26 - April 6.

Note: Contest open to amateur cooks and culinary-school students only. Professional chefs need not apply.