The dinner that almost never was.

I stopped at Meijer's on the way home to pick up some more mushrooms and two deep dish pie crusts. I had a plan, you see. I grabbed a box of cremini mushrooms and headed for the freezer aisle. But, when I got there, the shelves were bare and a repairman was working on the refrigeration unit! Aaauuuggghhh!

I asked him if he knew where they might have moved the pie crusts and he said, "I think they threw them all out!" The look on my crestfallen face moved him to say, "I don't work here, but let me check." So, he went away and about 10 minutes later, he returned with a store employee who had a package of two deep dish pie crusts. I thanked them both profusely for saving dinner tonight for me.

I also stopped and got more gas for the mower (I forgot how much of a pain in the *ss that is. Stinks up the whole car!). I got home, changed clothes and went outside to water the front garden (the weather's been great, but now my flowers are drooping!)

I finished up around 6:30 PM and, when I went inside, I found I had missed another call from Melissa. This time I called her back. Got her voicemail, but she immediately called me back. We talked for a while and I got the lowdown on her losing her civil suit (Lawyers and judges - I hate 'em!)

Then, on to dinner! Remember that Carla gave me the three remaining leftover lamb shanks (braised for hours with herbs and wine?) I thought it might be good to turn them into a sort of Irish pot pie. So, I put some olive oil and butter in a pot, threw in three crushed garlic cloves (to infuse the oil), took them out after a bit and put in sliced onions. I added some white mushrooms and some of the cremini mushrooms that I sliced after a bit. While they were saut�ing, I cut four redskin potatoes into inch-size chunks (skins and all). I threw then in the pot, covered them with beef broth and added a handful of frozen peas.

While that cooked, I de-boned the lamb shanks and cut the meat into one-inch cubes. When the potatoes were done, I put in the lamb and let it warm, then I stirred in some cornstarch mixed in cold water to thicken the broth. I put the mixture in the one pie shell and covered it with the other (I made a mess of that, BTW, or I would have taken a picture).

I baked it until it was golden brown, and then ate two big pieces watching TV. Probably not authentic, but it tasted Irish enough to me. The only thing missing was a pint of Guinness!