Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce

from Dinner: A Love Story

&

Barefoot Contessa

via Karen Lonergan
serves 8

1 small garlic clove
1 (1-inch) piece fresh peeled ginger
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (not all-natural)
2/3 cup warmwater
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
1 tablespoon red wine or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red chile flakes (to taste)
peanuts, chopped (optional)
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)
3/4 cup good olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, halved and skin removed

For the peanut butter sauce, with motor running, drop garlic and ginger in the bowl of a food processor until finely chopped. Add peanut butter, water, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar, and chile flakes and process until smooth. Set the peanut sauce aside.
Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme. Pour over the chicken breasts in a nonreactive bowl. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 6hours or overnight.

Grill the chicken breasts for 10 minutes on each side, until justcooked through. Cool slightly and cutdiagonally in 1/2 inch-thick slices. Skewer with wooden sticks and serve with the peanut sauce.

This came from a family cooking blog that concluded kids would eat anything with peanut butter. In addition to the chicken skewers, they used the sauce with spinach, sesame noodles, Vietnamese veggie rolls, etc.