Demi-Glace Sauce

We've tried Bearnaise Sauce in the past, so when Wayne mentioned we should serve a sauce with our roast beef, I decided it was a good time to try Demi-Glace Sauce. I learned that while this is similar to gravy, it's really reduced beef stock. However, since it's so time consuming (even for this "shortcut" method I found) and the taste isn't much different from our regular beef gravy, I doubt we'll make it again. However, it was fun to do once, and our Christmas feast was delicious.

Bonus points for using this week's "Aisle 1" ingredient - mirepoix!

To make the sauce, in a saucepan, sauté the mirepoix (combination of diced celery, onions and carrots) in some butter. Stir in a couple tablespoons of flour, then whisk in three cups of beef stock and bring to a boil. Combine a bay leaf, 10 peppercorns, several springs of thyme and parsley in a square of cheesecloth, tie it closed, and drop in the pot. Lower heat and simmer for about an hour.

Remove the sachet d'épices (herb bundle) and strain the stock through cheesecloth, pressing the vegetables to get out all the liquid. Return the stock and the sachet d'épices.to the pan, along with two more cups of beef stock. Simmer for another hour or two, until reduced by half. Strain one more time and serve warm.