Haricots Verts with Bacon and Blue Cheese

...Always looking for new ways to dress up our veggies.  And it's nice that so many things are in season now.  These fresh green beans are a great side dish when you want to balance out a main dish that may be on the rich and creamy side. 

Ingredients

1 lb Haricots verts, trimmed
4 slices Thick-cut bacon
4 oz Mild blue cheese, crumbled into small chunks
1 ½ cups Toasted whole pecans, coarsely chopped
¼ tsp Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt

Directions

Wash and trim the green beans.  Trim the side with the stem... the other little curly end is fine to eat.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the haricots verts and cook for about 4 minutes. Remove the beans from the water and immediately place in a bowl of ice water. Remove the haricots verts from the ice water and set aside in a medium bowl.

In a large saute pan, over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spatula and place on paper towels. Add the beans to the bacon drippings and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the blue cheese and toss just until it starts to melt. Break the cooked bacon into bite-size pieces and add to pan. Finish by stirring in the toasted chopped pecans. Season with the freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt. Serve immediately.