Gallery: Making an Appetizing Meal Out of Unappetizing Ingredients
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*Photo: Cody Pickens*
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Gather up your oysters, chives, chive flowers, salt, buckwheat sprouts, duck eggs, butter, blood sausage, trotter stock, and crusty bread. *Photo: Cody Pickens*
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Chef Chris Cosentino begins by browning the blood sausage (in this case it's sanguinaccio from northern Italy) in butter. The heat turns the blood cells in the sausage black. *Photo: Cody Pickens*
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The oysters are shucked (watch your fingers!) Cosentino takes special care to reserve all the liquid from the shells—called liquor, it's what gives the oysters the flavor of the ocean. *Photo: Cody Pickens*
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A duck egg is fried in butter while the trotter stock heats and reduces in preparation for the next step. *Photo: Cody Pickens*
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The oysters and their liquor are poached in the trotter stock (with extra butter) until they are just cooked—not too long or they'll lose their creamy texture. *Photo: Cody Pickens*
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Just before the oysters are finished, fresh chives are added. Then they're plated with the sausage and duck egg. *Photo: Cody Pickens*
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Cosentino uses tweezers to place the buckwheat sprouts and chive flowers. Everything has to be perfect: After all, you eat with your eyes first! *Photo: Cody Pickens*
