Chinese Chicken Salad

This is one of the salads Kendra made for the night before our family reunion started this year. It was incredible, and I'm so glad she gave me a copy of the recipe. Bart especially loved it, so he made it the first chance he got--for dinner tonight. It's a refreshing spin on a main-dish pasta salad.

1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons salad (vegetable) oil
½ teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground preferred)
2 packages (9-ounces each) cheese tortellini, cooked, drained, and rinsed with cold water
2-3 cups cooked and shredded chicken (from a rotisserie or roasted chicken)
1 cup snow pea pods, sliced lengthwise into thin strips
1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped
¼ cup thinly sliced green onions (slice on a diagonal)
1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

To make the dressing, combine vinegar, sugar and salt. Mix until sugar has dissolved. Stir in sesame oil, vegetable oil and pepper. Whip until thickened.

Combine pasta, chicken, snow peas, water chestnuts, green onions, and dressing in large salad bowl, toss well. Chill. Sprinkle with almonds and sesame seeds before serving. Toss. Makes about 8 cups (or 4 to 6 entrée servings).