This weeks Gutsy Cook Menu is a tribute to the upcoming Saint Patrick celebration. Chosen by Shandy of Pastry Heaven, it was the perfect Saturday night dinner.  The Florida weather even cooperated, since we were enjoying a nice sunny, COLD day.  Perfect for a stew, with a crusty homemade bread.  There was a third option of dessert – French Apple Tart, which I skipped.

I’m not a huge meat eater, in fact I really try not to eat meat at all, but lamb is just too good to pass up and this weeks stew called for lamb as the main protein ingredient. While it is a bit pricy, the fact that this was feeding only 3 of us, and one of those was a child, I got away with spending about $14 bucks for 1 pound.  And it was just the right amount and we still have some leftover for Tom to take to work on Monday.

As like any savory dish I try out of a cookbook, I tend to use it as a springboard for me to put my own twist on it.  And this one was no exception.  The instructions tells you to pretty much layer all of the ingredients in a heavy casserole, season and bake for one and half hours.

Raw.

I just could not bring myself to follow this.