Finally! A Decent Alternative to Cocktail Sauce

Our late December trappings, as photographed by Noam.

In the course of spending the last five days delightfully: eating, drinking, talking, eating and drinking with my mother, father, sister, and brother-in-law, I stumbled across a really great recipe. One of our planned holiday treats was Dolan Brothers Shellfish Company oysters, freshly shucked by my dad. As I was waiting for them at the farmer's market last Saturday, I flipped through a cookbook sitting on the counter. I don't know the name of the book or the author, or even the woman who selected those supremely chewy and flavorful bivalves for me, but she said the book had been given to her by the woman from Trinity Farm Dairy. It is as follows:

1 shallot, finely chopped

juice of 2 lemons
1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Mix it all together. Put a dab on your oyster. Happy new year!