Melissa d'Arabian

Almost everyone in our family watches the Food Network and most of us try out the recipes on a regular basis. Last year Meslissa d'Arabian was selected as the Next Food Network star and during one of the contest episodes she made Skirt Steak Tostadas, which was selected as the winning recipe.

Susan and I try to make one new recipe a week and this week we decided to make the tostadas.

It started last night when we made the marinade for the skirt steak. The marinade recipe called for soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, onion, and a habanero chili. We had to substitute the chili for a different kind as our store did not carry habaneros. Melissa said to marinate the steak for several hours so we just left it overnight.

When it came time for dinner we fried the tortillas just until crispy.

The mango salsa consisted of a red onion, fresh mango, cilantro, poblano chili, honey and lime juice. This is the first time we have cooked with a fresh mango.

The recipe called for black beans simmered in red wine, a jalapeno pepper and olive oil.

Next, we barbecued the steak and let it rest to redistribute the juices.

Here is the finished product. We thought this was just a wonderful dish. Not only did it taste great, but it was pretty too!