Serve this sauce over fish or poultry, such as Baked Parmesan-Crusted Buttermilk Chicken.

    • 1 shallot, finely chopped
    • 1 cup white wine
    • juice of half a lemon
    • 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into cubes and refrigerated
    • ½ cup basil leaves, loosely packed, cut chiffonade-style Combine shallot, white wine, and lemon juice over medium-high heat, and reduce to about three tablespoons.

Over low heat, whisk a couple cubes of butter at a time into the reduction. Do not stop whisking! Control the heat of the sauce by moving the pan on and off the heat. The sauce should be thick, smooth, and fully emulsified.

At the last moment, stir in the basil, and serve.

To read about what else Sophie Brickman learned from chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, click here for the story.