It's my turn and I'll Thai if I want to...

It's official:  It takes us just as long to make a salad as it does a full-blown entree!  Mathematically this actually makes sense... it would take us half the time making it on our own, but when you throw Shannon and Stephanie together it takes us twice as long.  1+1 = 2.  Even I know that and math has never been my friend.  If it were a race or competition it would be no problem - you'd be eating your dinner before you even realized you were hungry.  But we like to linger over these cooking sessions, catching up on everything that has happened over the past week... so you'll get your dinner when we're good and ready to serve it to ya!  (Can you tell I've had to explain this equation once or twice to my husband?)

This week's starring dish:  Fiery Thai Beef Salad  
This salad is a winner!  All you have to do is mix together your salad dressing in the bottom of a big bowl, grill your flank steak then let it sit while you assemble the rest of your salad.  Then thinly slice your steak, toss it all together, and you'll find yourself eating a really flavorful, impressive salad!  Warning: this salad has a real kick so if you don't care for spice then cut back on the serrano chiles, garlic and don't add in crushed red pepper flakes like Steph and I did.  Also, you should get your grill very hot and *only* sear your flank steak for 2-3 minutes per side.  Just trust us on this one.

The hardest part of this meal was figuring out what side dish to make!  So I decided to go with dessert instead:
Mandarin Oranges with Grand Marnier and Marscarpone
OMG was this good!  So simple to make but very fancy and was a really nice way to cool off the mouth after the fiery salad.

Steph made a side of kale and served it up beautifully!

Until next week... cheers!
Chef Shannon