Chicken Thighs with Brazilian Vinaigrette Salsa

Does anyone know what makes food Brazilian? I really don't know. If you were name a classic Brazilian dish, could you? Even if you can't, go ahead and try this recipe. We served it with rice pilaf, which went really well and I can say I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this recipe.

I made some changes to the instructions. Being the smart person I am (or at least the person who learned from past mistakes), I read the recipe all the way through the night before attempting it. I skimmed all the grilling chicken stuff and blah blah blah, until I got to the salsa part. Then I saw the "Allow to sit at room temp for 1 hour..." Well why didn't they mention that first?! If I hadn't read the recipe, I would have taken my time grilling the chicken part and not made the salsa till the end. Therefore, I reversed the directions so people would make the salsa first. Seriously Recipe PTB (powers-that-be), what were you thinking? 

• 1 cup tomato, peeled, seeded, diced
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
• 3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
• salt and fresh ground pepper
• 8 chicken thighs, skin on, no bones
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted
• 2 Tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 tsp bay leaf, ground

For salsa, combine tomato, peppers, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper in medium bowl and stir well. Allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.

Season chicken with salt. In small bowl combine butter, garlic, and bayleaf. Place chicken skin-side down on grill and brush with butter blend. Cook 7 minutes, turn over and repeat. Continue this every 7 minutes until thermometer registers 160 degrees.

NOTES: We used bone-in thighs and it really didn't make any difference. It was just what we found at the store. The salsa definitely needs to sit for an hour or so to really soak in the flavors I think. It still tasted great, but I think it could have been a little better.

Also, can anyone out there teach me how to chop veggies and such smaller? I have a Slap Chop, which works great for harder things like onions, but not so much for softer things peppers and tomatoes. Tyler and I both are really bad at picking out veggies without even trying them and I was majorly guilty of this for this recipe. I did eat some peppers, but I think I would have eaten a whole lot more if I was able to chop them super tiny.

Serves: 4-6
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 1 hour 45 min

Recipe from Food Network