Hey, @hlezama.

I'm not a huge fan of jalapeños either. I think there are other chili peppers with better flavor with varying degrees of heat. As it is, the peanut sauce called for red chili pepper flakes, which are pretty spicy in and of themselves, so adding the jalapeños to the salad itself, along with the flakes in the sauce seemed like a little overkill.

It is okay to open the palate a little bit, but you still want to be able to taste the rest of the food. :)

We've probably done more of a separate deal ourselves than the Shepherd's pie. Not sure if there was any real flavor gained by putting the mashed potatoes on top. We did save a serving bowl, however, which is a plus in my estimation. The fewer dishes, the better.