Internet Explorer lists desktop folder urls that were deleted longago

On my Vista desktop, if I choose File->Open from within IE 7 and
browse to my Desktop folder, the file open dialog box will display
shortcuts to Web sites that I sent to my desktop and subsequently
deleted a long time ago. They could be shortcuts I deleted yesterday
or several weeks ago. In addition to the old/deleted shortcuts, it
does also correctly show shortcuts that actually are on my desktop. If
I right-click on the Desktop folder (c:\users\[myname]\desktop) in the
left pane of the file open dialog box and click Explore (and over-ride
the protected mode dialog box), the new window that opens (and only
that new window) will display the appropriate contents of my Desktop
folder. I've looked all over for a solution or indication that there
is a cached version of my Desktop somewhere that IE reads and I
searched the registry for a reference to one of the old shortcuts with
no luck. My machine is pretty well protected from viruses and spyware
so I really don't think that is the problem. The problem seems to be
isolated to the Desktop folder and only when I try to open it from
within IE. Thanks for any ideas on what might be causing this or if
there is a way to somehow refresh what Internet Explorer sees as the
latest version of the Desktop Folder.