Chinese Chicken Salad

Ina Garten is our favorite chef. I like to point out that I was a fan of hers before she became a FoodTV star. She was the chef-in-residence at Martha Stewart Living for a year--I believe 1999. While I found each of Martha's recipes to involve one item that I could not obtain, all of Ina's recipes used "normal" ingredients--and every recipe I tried turned into a success. I subsequently have purchased all of her cookbooks, and it is she who I turn to when a guest is coming, or I want to try something new that I know will end up working. She has never let me down.
It was Tim who first flipped to, and wanted to try, her Chinese chicken salad. The first batch that was ever made at our house, for a time when my parents were visiting, was made completely by Tim. We have never made her full recipe (as she claims it serves 12--- probably more), but have found we like to halve all the ingredients except the asparagus, since you can never have too much asparagus!

We put this together one evening before having a house guest for the weekend. Tim roasted the chicken in the morning before he went off to teach lessons, then that evening he shredded the chicken and sliced the peppers while I boiled the asparagus and made the dressing. We added the scallions and sesame seeds when we served it, as nobody likes wilted scallions!
recipe: link

Sorry there is no photo of the end product... we were too occupied eating it to remember to snap its photo!

This is great on its own, served over lettuce, or even in a sandwich.