Chinese Chicken Salad for the Barefoot Bloggers

Once again it is time for the Barefoot Bloggers to join forces and make some delicious recipes from Ina Garten and her league of cookbooks. She is one of my favourites. It is always a "win win situation" because her recipes are always consistent. I haven't come across a recipe yet that hasn't turned out and been a crowd pleaser. This week McKenzie of Kenzie’s Kitchen has chosen Chinese Chicken Salad
which can be found in Barefoot Contessa Parties!

I was preparing this dish for one this time around so opted to add the chicken mixture to some salad greens to round it out. The "dressing" was amazing, but as always I cut back on the salt a little.

The Barefoot Bloggers have prepared 86,185 Friday dinners for Jeffrey!!!! Lucky man!!!!

**Chinese Chicken Salad**

4 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on)
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound asparagus, ends removed, and cut in thirds diagonally
1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
2 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
1 T white sesame seeds, toasted

For the dressing:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
3 T soy sauce
1 1/2 T dark sesame oil
1/2 T honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp peeled, grated fresh ginger
1/2 T sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

*********************
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub with the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken in large bite-sized pieces.

Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Cut the peppers in strips about the size of the asparagus pieces. Combine the cut chicken, asparagus, and peppers in a large bowl.
Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Add the scallions and sesame seeds and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.