How you doin’? Let me introduce you Emily. Sweet Emily is my current basil plant—she replaced dear Vera who had gotten a bit seedy. You can usually find small fresh basil pots in many supermarket produce sections. 
 
I keep fresh basil on hand because I love the taste of fresh, sweet basil for sandwiches, salads and pesto. Now to some people pesto is an acquired taste and they prefer a good old-fashioned tomato or Alfredo sauce on their pasta instead. We found that blending a combination of pesto and marinara or Alfredo cheese sauce may be the perfect solution for those who are a bit timid with pesto alone.
 
Most Italian chefs make their pesto with pine nuts—I make mine with roasted almonds. You can save a bundle using windowsill-grown basil and almonds in place of pricier nuts. What you’ll love is how easy this no-cook recipe is easy to make—perfect to keep your kitchen cool during the summer months. For me, the perfect summer meal is stuffed pasta sautéed in brown butter sauce and topped with a little pesto, a small salad and some nice sourdough bread for sopping up the pesto or just spread the pesto directly on some freshly grilled garlic bread.
 
Pesto is easy to store in the refrigerator, just drizzle a little olive oil over the top to prevent it from oxidizing. I keep my pesto in a vacuum-pump container (very handy in the kitchen).
 
Prep time:  5 minutes—that’s it!
Yield:  6 to 8 servings
 
Ingredients
2 cups fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese shreds
3/4 cup whole roasted almonds (skin on)
1/2 cup light olive oil, or more as needed
3 cloves garlic, peeled
 
Directions

1. Pulse the basil, Parmesan cheese, almonds, olive oil and garlic in a food processor to combine until blended.
2. Pour in more olive oil, with the processor running, until pesto is thick and smooth.

ChefSecret:  You can make pesto with a variety of other ingredients—walnut, cashews, macadamia nuts and spinach instead of sweet basil.
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Do you have a question or comment?  Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers?  Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com.  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe, be kind and always give thanks to our many first responders on the line who risk their lives for us. If you have a little extra in your pocket to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. 
Thanks for reading.

#Sauce #Pesto #Basil #Almonds #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica

                                          ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, Inc. 2020

                   (An Homage to Peter Luger Steak House Style Sauce-Brooklyn)

How you doin’? As I write this blog my mouth is watering for a slice of Peter Luger’s Porterhouse Steak. You may have heard of it or if you travel to NYC often you might have gone there at least once. I had a friend who made Luger’s a once-a-week visit to satisfy his inner carnivore (definitely not a place for vegetarians).  Due to the pandemic, the restaurant is currently closed for dine-in service, but they are making some items available for pick-up or delivery.
 
Peter Luger is still the one and only “monument to meat” in Brooklyn. Since 1887 they have been serving buttery 26-day house-aged, USDA Prime Porterhouse Steaks. And then there is the service—all I can say is, “it’s Brooklyn” and the servers are “Noo Yawkers” who speak “Brooklynese.”  Zagat defines the service, “… cantankerous career waiters in a “busy” “old-time” German beer hall setting.” This rough-and-tumble style only adds to the charm.

The prices are steep even by New York standards. Bring a bundle of cash ‘cause they don’t take credit (debit cards are accepted, and credit cards are accepted for online ordering). The best deal, if you just want to kick the tires a bit, is the Peter Luger lunch burger. They grind the USDA steak trimmings from their prized dry aged porterhouse to make a no-fills, lunch-only burger for under 15 bucks.
 
But as delicious as their beef is, I didn’t come here to talk about steaks—I want to talk about their sauce. Peter Luger Steak House Old Fashioned Sauce is an all-purpose condiment that is not only great on steak, but also as a salad dressing, on slabs of red ripe tomatoes and avocados, burgers, chicken and even a great base sauce for pizza. Like most things Luger, it is the best!
 
They began bottling and selling their sauce after customers begged for it. The taste is somewhere between cocktail sauce (spicy with a touch of horseradish) and traditional steak sauce. I started hacking it nearly 20-years ago. Another plus… the sauce is fat-free.
 
So, with great humility, I would like to share with you my hack on Peter Luger Steak House Old Fashioned Sauce.
 
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  10 minutes
Cool time:  30 minutes
Yield:  24 ounces
 
Ingredients
12 ounces ketchup (I prefer Heinz)
4-3/4 ounces apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3.75 ounces Worcestershire Sauce (I prefer Lea & Perrins)
2 tablespoons freshly minced white onion
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh, finely-grated horseradish
 
Directions

1. Measure all ingredients first, then combine them in a medium saucepan.
2. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Cool, cover and refrigerate.

 
ChefSecret:  If you are running out of time, some supermarkets carry Peter Luger Sauce in the meat department—it is a bit pricey.

#Sauce #Steak #PeterLuger #Dressing #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19