always getting it right on the second try

With my remaining pesto ingredients from yesterday's attempt at pesto (I've made pesto before, many times, mind you, but yesterday, I was in experimental mode, and I now know avocado oil is a loser when making pesto), I made another, smaller batch of pesto today—and it came out great! Why? Because I didn't stray from the classic recipe. No foreign nuts this time, just pine nuts. No foreign oils this time, just olive oil. And no lemon juice. A good pesto, well made, doesn't need lemon juice, which I tend to think of as an Italian-American affectation. As Vincenzo of Vincenzo's Plate says, don't mess with the classics.

At least now I have a sauce I can use to dress my shrimp, salmon, and chicken.