Carlo looked through the Craftsteak cookbook and found the recipe for Bordelaise sauce that Tom normally pairs with hanger steak, which was also on our tasting menu–amazing! He improvised and came up with this recipe for Brussels sprouts using the recipe from last week’s Braised and Glazed Brussels Sprouts as the basis for the dish. The Bordelaise Sauce is a bit of a pain to make, but we made the full amount and froze the rest so we can use it on some grilled steaks after the holidays.

Bordelaise Sauce, from Tom Colicchio’s Craft of Cooking
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
3 cups chopped mushrooms
1 cup chopped shallots
1 bottle dry red wine
3 quarts beef stock
1 bunch fresh thyme, leaves picked
salt and freshly ground pepper

Plus:
Braised and Glazed Brussels Sprouts
3 slices bacon, thinly sliced

Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, mushrooms, and shallots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies soften and begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Add the wine and simmer everything until the pan is almost dry, about 25 minutes, then add the beef stock.

Reduce the heat to medium and let the sauce simmer, skimming frequently, until the sauce has reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon, at least an hour. Strain the sauce, add the thyme leaves, and season with salt and pepper.

To make this dish, follow the recipe for the Braised and Glazed Brussels Sprouts. Once the sprouts are almost cooked, take them out of the pan and add the bacon. Fry up the bacon until it is crispy, and then return the sprouts to the pan. Pour over a bit of the Bordelaise Sauce and saute the sprouts and bacon with the sauce for a couple of minutes and then serve.

This one takes a little while, and calls for some preparation. The best thing to do is get all of your ingredients ready before you start cooking (what fancy chef-type people call Mise en place, but I refer to as “my meeeeeez”). That will make the whole process smoother, and give you time to enjoy the nice bottle of Rioja (or 3) you bought to go along with the paella. When in Spain, right?

Here’s the recipe:

1 large head garlic, with excess outer skin rubbed off
1 2/3 cups canned chickpeas (reserve the liquid)
about 5 1/2 cups broth, preferably a mixture of chicken and beef broths
1/4 teaspoon crumbled thread saffron
1/2 pound Spanish chorizo (We had a couple of different kinds, courtesy of further La Tienda birthday presents)
8 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium potato, peeled and cut in 1/4-inch slices
2 medium tomatoes, cut in 1/2-inch slices
sea salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium green pepper, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium to large tomato, skinned, seeded, and finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika, preferably Spanish smoked
3 cups of Arborio short-grain rice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the whole head of garlic in a baking dish and bake while preparing the rice.

Mash 2/3 cup of the chickpeas through a strainer into a saucepan. Combine the broth and about 1/2 cup of chickpea liquid to make 6 cups. Pour into a saucepan, stir in the saffron, and keep hot over the lowest heat.

Heat a paella pan or 15-inch greased, shallow fireproof casserole dish. Add the chorizo and brown lightly on both sides. Drain on paper towels, remove to a warm platter, and drain off any fat in the pan. Heat the oil and slowly fry the potatoes, turning once, until brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes on paper towels and transfer to warm plate.

Raise the heat, add the tomato slices, and saute 1-2 minutes, turning once. Remove to the platter. Sprinkle the tomatoes and potatoes with salt to taste.

Add the onion, green pepper, and minced garlic to the pan and cook slowly until softened. Stir in the chopped tomato and parsley, and cook slowly for 5 minutes. Add the paprika, then stir in the rice, coating well with the pan mixture.

Pour in the hot broth and the remaining 1 cup chickpeas. Bring to a boil, taste for salt, and boil about 3 minutes to reduce the liquid–just enough so that the garnishes will sit on top. Remove the whole head of garlic from the oven and place in the center of the paella pan. Arrange the potatoes, tomatoes, and sausages attractively over the rice.

Bake about 15 minutes until the rice is almost al dente. Remove to a warm spot, cover with foil, and let sit for 5 minutes.

This recipe feeds 6 people at $2.32 per serving. And for $2.32, you get a whole lot of awesome per serving. I really love this dish — it’s great when it’s straight out of the oven, and it is excellent for leftovers. One sticking point might be finding the chorizo. It’s important to get Spanish chorizo, not Mexican chorizo. If you can’t get your hands on that, the spiciest Italian salami or pepperoni you can find will work, or in a pinch, Italian sausage.

Here’s your Rioja: if you’ve got a Fresh & Easy in the vicinity, get some of their Reflexion Rioja Reserva. It’s $9.99, and it’s got 90 Parker points. Can’t beat that, at least not until we can find some O. Fournier Urban Uco in Vegas… if you don’t have Fresh & Easy, I’d recommend Las Rocas Garnacha. Or, hell, Sangre de Toro. Get in the spirit!