Pear and Blue Cheese Salad

Salad greens of your choice (I used Romaine because that's what I had)

2 pears, diced

4 ounces blue cheese

Walnuts, chopped coarsely (I also like to toast them in the oven)

Sherry vinegar (about 1 Tablespoon per salad)

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Cracked pepper

Arrange the greens on a plate, top with the pears, cheese, and nuts. Drizzle equal parts vinegar, olive oil, and honey over each salad, and season with salt and pepper. Makes 2 servings.

Easy Hash Browns

Yukon gold potatoes (they really do make the best hash)

Yellow onions

Butter and olive oil

Salt and pepper

Dice the potatoes and onions really small. Heat the butter and oil in a skillet over medium; add the potatoes and onions. Cook in a single layer for a good 5 minutes or so to allow the bits of potato and onion to begin to brown; stir and repeat. These make a terrible mess in the skillet, but they taste so good. There are no magic proportions; if you like lots of onion, chop lots of onion. If you prefer a more potato-ey flavor, chop less onion. I usually dice as many potatoes and onions as I have on hand and save the raw leftovers for hash browns on another occasion (like with my hamburgers on Friday). The key is not to get your skillet too full; otherwise the vegetables will steam instead of sauté, which will not give you the crisp brown texture you want in hash browns.