Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing and Toasted Sesame Seeds

As you can see, I haven't been cooking much and that was due to the "sick" I had. But now I'm over it and my appetite is back on...now more than ever specially since I'm almost 7 months pregnant. I'm still having issues with red meat, but I know I need to get protein in my system so I combined the peanut dressing from one recipe with some roasted chicken I had and came up with this salad. The peanut dressing is actually for hot pasta (like spaghetti or fettuccine) and it makes about 2 cups of dressing. Since I only needed a few tablespoons for one salad, I'm saving the leftover so that I can make this Crunch Noodle Salad tomorrow.

INGREDIENTS

• Mixed greens
• Cooked chicken, cut into bite sized chunks
• Peanut dressing (recipe below)
• 1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds or chopped peanuts

Peanut Dressing

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons dark sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon honey (I added a little more than a tablespoon)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds, divided
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

DIRECTIONS

Make the dressing: Whisk together the vegetable oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and peanut butter in a medium bowl.

To make salad (for one): place enough mixed greens on plate and top with chopped chicken. Drizzle some of the peanut dressing over the salad then top with toasted sesame seeds or toasted chopped peanuts.

Peanut-Bacon Brittle

This is all Kerry's fault! My friend Kerry Sainato from Boston is the ultimate foodie and she's about to finish her culinary degree from Johnson and Wales University. This past Christmas she sent us a goodie box filled with her homemade morsels, and one of them was bacon-pecan brittle. It was so divine, that Matt and I ate it up immediately. So, ever since then Matt has had a craving for more things bacon. We searched for recipes for brittle, and the first batch he made did not come out because he did not use a candy thermometer. The second (and subsequently third) batch all have been quite successful. A candy thermometer is a "must" if you want your brittle to come out delish, and it's always good to have one in the house anyway. So here is Matt's version of peanut-bacon brittle--I supervised the entire process!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup water
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups roasted peanuts, lightly crushed
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 stick butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• parchment paper
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 slices of crispy bacon, crumbled (reserve 2 tablespoons)
• A candy thermometer

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves in the water, about five minutes.
2. Next, add the corn syrup and salt, and keep heating until it starts to boil. At this point, you'll want to add your candy thermometer, and while continuously stirring, monitor the temperature of the mixture. Don't let the tip of the thermometer touch the bottom of the pan, since that's hotter than the mixture.
3. When the sauce gets to between 225 and 230 degrees Fahrenheit, add the peanuts and keep on stirring.
4. Keep heating, and when the temperature gets to 290 degrees, remove it from the heat.
5. Add your remaining ingredients: butter, baking soda, and crumbled bacon, and stir until the butter is melted.
6. Pour the mixture onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and spread it around with a spatula.
7. Sprinkle the reserved bacon bits over the brittle.
8. Let it cool completely, up to 1 hour, and drop the sheet pan on kitchen counter to break the brittle or break with a knife.