Green Beans with Cranberries, Walnuts and Blue Cheese

This side dish is a great accompaniment to a Thanksgiving turkey or an Easter ham. It can also be prepared in advance and served as a chilled salad. The recipe was developed by Bobby Dean for the Food Network.

• 1 3/4 pounds green beans, trimmed
• 3 tablespoons roasted walnut oil
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1 small shallot, thinly sliced into half-moons
• 2 ounces crumbly blue cheese

Blanch the green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender-crisp, 3 minutes. Remove the green beans from the boiling water, run under cold water for a few minutes to stop the cooking, and then drain and dry well.

Whisk together the walnut oil, vinegar and Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Stir in the salt and pepper.

Add the cool green beans to a large bowl and toss in the walnuts, cranberries and shallots and drizzle in the vinaigrette. Place on a platter or serving dish and sprinkle with the blue cheese.