The other day I invited 12 girl friends over for an impromptu dinner and everyone brought something. This is a perfect company dish; prep it early and about forty minutes to an hour before your guests arrive you can throw it together and let it sit at room temperature. It was delicious and this recipe could serve a much larger crowd.

Roasted Red Potatoes and Baby Green Beans Recipe
4 pounds new red potatoes
2 large sprigs rosemary, taken off the stem and minced
2 lbs. baby green beans (haricot vert -thin French style green beans)
¼ cup olive oil
1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 shallot, finely chopped.
Salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon finely chopped parsley

Sauté the chopped shallot in a tablespoon of olive oil and cook until translucent. Set aside. Wash and trim your green beans and cut any long ones in half. Wash potatoes, cut in quarters and put in water.

Make a good dressing, put the mustard into a bowl with a sprinkle of salt and pepper whisk in the sherry vinegar and them slowly whisk in the olive oil, making sure the mixture emulsifies.

The countdown is on – an hour or so before your guests arrive
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Dry your potatoes and toss with a Tablespoon of olive oil and the minced rosemary, season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper (I prefer coarsely ground.) Place on parchment covered cookie sheets with sides.

Bake approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Insert a knife into the center of one to test for doneness. Place in a bowl, toss in some of the cooked shallots and some of the vinaigrette. You want the potatoes to absorb the flavors while they are piping hot.

Boil water add enough salt for it to taste like ocean water. Blanch your green beans for four minutes and drain. Run cold water over them to stop the cooking process and to have them retain their color. Drain well, and then toss with the remaining shallots and enough vinaigrette to dress them. I kept mine in separate bowls while we had appetizers. Right before dinner I mixed the two together and transferred it to a serving bowl so that any extra liquid that accumulated would not be transferred.