Chinese Chicken Salad

It’s Barefoot Bloggers time. Barefoot bloggers are a community of bloggers who twice monthly make and share recipes from Ina Garten’s cookbooks. The recipe was selected by McKenzie of Kenzie’s Kitchen who has chosen Chinese Chicken Salad which can be found in Barefoot Contessa Parties! on page 98. This recipe, in my humble opinion, was not so great. Nor did the large amount of vinegar sit well with me. I made a lot of changes to this recipe and those will be in red. Maybe those of you who like peanut butter and cider vinegar more than me will enjoy this.

Ina’s recipe
Ingredients
4 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on) Boneless and skinless
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 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted Didn’t use

For the dressing:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil Didn’t use
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger Didn’t use
1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted Didn’t use
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pan fried mine.
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. I served this warm over fried rice.