there I was, happily peppering a steak
when all of a sudden, whole and half peppercorns showered down onto the meat, the bench, even rolling onto the floor. the little grinder mechanism had broken! I unscrewed the top, set it aside and looked into the bottle. (jar?) there's that little doo-dad, right down in amongst the peppercorns. I got my little pickle grabber... and fished it out. It can't be fixed of course, so I tossed it away. Then I brushed the excess pepper off my steak, put the steak into the now hot pan, where it sizzled deliciously, and swept up the peppercorns from the bench and floor. By now the steak was ready to turn, so I did that, mashed the carrot, potato, garlic mixture, (which I had started cooking before the steak), and served both steak and mash. Mmm, perfect. Except I now have to buy another pepper grinder.