Sunday, March 25, 2012

Bobby Flay's Chicken Salad w/ Chile-Peanut Dressing

It's no big secret that Chris and I love Asian flavors. So when Chris stumbled upon this salad recipe with 5 stars and over 150 reviews, we knew we had to give it a shot!

The salad is definitely hearty and an entree-style salad. It makes a pretty impressive meal and is super easy! Below is the full recipe from Food Network, but I also added some notes where we strayed a bit.

Chinese Chicken Salad with Chile-Peanut Dressing
adapted from foodnetwork.com

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
2 teaspoons chipotle pepper puree (we used chipotle powder)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup canola oil (we used peanut oil since this is a peanut dressing)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 head Napa cabbage, shredded
1/2 head romaine lettuce, shredded
2 carrots, shredded (we also added yellow bell pepper)
1/4 pound snow peas, julienned
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts
Chili oil, optional (in our book, this is absolutely not optional!)
Fried wonton strips (store-bought or homemade)

Whisk together the vinegar, peanut butter, ginger, chipotle pepper puree, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, chili oil, and canola/peanut oil in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Combine cabbage, lettuce, carrots, snow peas, cilantro, and green onion in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss to combine.

Transfer to a serving platter and top with the shredded chicken, chopped peanuts, and fried wonton strips. Sprinkle with black and white sesame seeds.

bobby flays chinese chicken salad

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Condo Makeover

Well, apparently I took the entire month of February off from blogging. Life has just gotten in the way, but I do have something to show for it!

Chris and I bought our condo!

The condo that we've lived in for the past year or so was available to purchase, so we took the leap and became homeowners. But with that, came the immediate desire to change absolutely everything about it.

We were so thankful then that my wonderful parents offered to fly out and help us for a long weekend!

The condo used to be very dark, with dark walls and mediocre lighting. Oh, and we can't possibly ignore the bamboo blinds.

001 Kitchen Before rs


We tackled the whole thing, ceiling to floorboards, with a brighter coat of paint. We then also installed all new lighting and blinds, and the result is incredible! It's like a whole new home!

002 Kitchen After 1rs


003 Kitchen After 2rs


004 Kitchen After 3rs