Cold Green Bean Salad

Cold Green Bean Salad For the Dressing: 1 cup light olive oil or salad oil (canola, vegetable, sunflower, safflower) 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 4 teaspoons Creole mustard 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes For the Salad: 1 pound green beans 1 cup minced red onion 1/4 cup minced celery 1/4 cup chopped red pepper or pimentos 1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, optional 1 cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes Whisk together the dressing ingredients; heat to dissolve sugar, set aside to cool. Trim and blanch green beans by boiling for 2 minutes, then plunge into a bowl of ice water. Mix together the green beans with all of the remaining ingredients, except for the tomatoes. Toss with dressing, cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Before serving, bring to room temperature, add tomatoes and stir to coat before serving, or may also serve without the tomatoes. Cold Green Bean and Potato Salad: Toss in one pound of cooked tiny new potatoes or small red potatoes cut into bite-sized chunks.