This is an easy recipe for a really yummy red wine reduction sauce that will wow the people you cook for. Of course it’s delicious on steak, but it’s also great cooked into mushrooms, over tuna steaks, mixed into pasta sauces, and probably  a million other things I haven’t thought of yet. The flavor is intense, so you can use a little and take one recipe’s worth a long way.

A reduction like this can be the difference between a good meal, and a memorably delicious one.

• One 1.5 liter bottle of inexpensive (but drinkable) merlot. (If you hate merlot, any relatively dry red wine will do. Do not use cooking wine… ever… for anything.)
• One quart chicken stock
• One large onions, chopped
• Two ribs of celery, greens included, chopped
• Two large carrots, chopped
• Two tablespoons of olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a large, wide pot. Add the onions, celery, and carrots, stirring while cooking until everything is soft. No need to brown, but don’t sweat it if something does a bit.

Add the stock and the wine, and let the whole thing simmer, stirring occasionally, until it’s reduced by half. (Measure with the handle of a wooden spoon.)

Strain your veggies out and dispose of them. Return the liquid to the pot (you may need to wash the pot in between if there is anything stuck to the bottom. It could scorch and ruin your sauce) and let simmer until reduced by half again.

And you’re done! Keep your reduction in the fridge until needed, just heat up however much you need on the stove as you need it. To make it a little more rich, you can melt a tiny amount of margarine into the sauce on the stove… but you probably won’t need to.