Green Beans with Goat Cheese & Bacon Vinaigrette

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 lbs. green beans, trimmed
• 1 tsp. salt
• 6 slices bacon
• 1/2 c. shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 T. red wine vinegar
• 2 T. Dijon mustard
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1/2 c. crumbled goat cheese
• 1/2 c. dried cherries or cranberries
• 1/2 c. pine nuts, toasted

Boil green beans in salted water until crisp-tender. Drain. Set aside. In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and crumble. Set aside. In the same skillet, sauté the shallots and garlic. Add vinegar and mustard. Whisk in the olive oil. Return beans to skillet and toss with goat cheese, cherries and pine nuts. Serve warm. Serves 6.

Vicki Barrett is the innkeeper and owner of the Inn on the Ocean in Ocean City, MD. She published a cookbook a few years ago. It is titled Everything New Under the Sun and is available for purchase at the Inn, 1001 Atlantic Avenue, on the boardwalk.