"Jean B." > wrote in message
...
> jmcquown wrote:
>> Went to lunch in downtown Beaufort, SC with my neighbor today. The
>> restaurant is called Hemingway's (no polydactyl cats to be seen). The
>> special of the day was homemade Shepherd's Pie. I asked the server if it
>> was made with ground beef or... and before I could finish the question
>> she answered, "Not ground beef, lamb." Excellent! So I said I'd give it
>> a try. It was wonderful. It had a nice rich gravy, fresh peas and
>> carrots and pieces of lamb topped with a delightful almost bread-like
>> crust. She had a Reuben sandwich with chips (crisps). What more can you
>> say about a classic sandwich like that?
>>
>> The restaurant is really a dive by all appearances, located in the
>> "basement" (so to speak, they don't have basements down here) of a 260
>> year old building that was originally the customs office for the Port of
>> Beaufort. The docks for the port used to be right behind the building.
>> Ships would come in carrying their imported goods from England, France,
>> etc. They'd have to get their bills of lading stamped with the
>> appropriate customs stamps after the cargo was inspected. The mercantile
>> was on the ground level just above where we were having lunch. Just
>> above where we were sitting were very heavy (very old) cross-beam
>> supports and there was wooden flooring over our heads. [There's some
>> sort of shop above the restaurant, I didn't really look to see what it
>> is.] Back in the day the family that ran the customs office lived on the
>> floor above the mercantile. It's a fascinating old town with a very old
>> (for this country) history.
>>
>> It was an excellent lunch! Hope yours, if you had lunch, was excellent,
>> too.
>>
>> Jill
>
> That is so darned refreshing--Shepherd's Pie made with lamb! So, the
> crust wasn't made from potatoes?
>
No, and I found that surprising given that they went to the trouble to use
lamb. It was like a soft bread topping instead. Quite tasty, though!

> I skipped lunch today, having driven to the western part of the state to
> look at and buy cookbooks. That took many hours. Afterwards, I wasn't in
> any mood to spend more money on lunch!
>
> --
> Jean B.


Are you still hunting down old cookbooks? I had to clear some things out of
the laundry room to make room for some of my things. Mom kept what few
cookbooks she had in there. She had a series of books called 'Recipes on
Parade' printed in the 1960's. They are collections of recipes [submitted]
by military wives. Each book has recipes under a specific topic: Meats;
Salads & Appetizers; Foreign Foods; Dinner in a Dish (heh). That last one
was apparently well-used by my mother as the plastic spiral binding is in
poor shape. It's interesting to see how recipes and ingredients change over
the years (or not).

Jill