Drizzle some chimichurri on anything good to grill

In typical chefly style, Andrew DiCataldo's menu at New York's Patria restaurant is composed of dishes that involve recipes within the recipes. These base recipes — the building blocks for elaborate restaurant meals — are the ones that home cooks can adopt for simpler, more doable meals.

A favorite of DiCataldo's is chimichurri. "This is Argentinian barbecue sauce, but nothing like the sticky, sweet, tomato-based sauce we know. This condiment is drizzled on beef, pork, chicken, fish, vegetables, or just about anything that comes off of your grill," he said.

Chimichurri

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon oregano, dried
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin, ground
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup parsley, chopped fine
• 4 cup olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Make chimichurri base by pureeing in a blender the garlic, bay leaf, oregano, jalapeno, cumin and vinegar until a smooth paste is formed. Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in the parsley and oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.