The reduction sauce

This is a really easy to make and very tasty sauce for steaks, brisket, and lamb. Ingredients:

3 cups of good quality beef stock
1 cup of red wine
1 shallot, minced
A few sprigs of fresh thyme

Saute the shallots in a medium saucepan in 1 Tbs of olive oil, until lightly golden. Add the stock, wine, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then cook on medium low uncovered until the sauce reduces by half. Strain and return to the saucepan. Reduce for another 10 minutes or so. Mix 1 tsp of cornstarch with a little water, and stir into the sauce. Stir (or whisk) constantly until the sauce starts to thicken. Take it off the heat, add little (or more :) butter, salt and pepper to taste.