Guilty pleasures

Happy New Year! Whether you partied into the wee smallies, or were in bed by 9 and spent your first day of 2016 up early, and out there soaking up the sun (maybe you managed both!), I hope you enjoyed the holiday break.

Sir G and I were planning a quiet one - famous last words! A couple of mates popping in turned into an all nighter and a house full of people the next day. We are both highly sociable and enjoy having people round. Whatever the occasion, Spotify is our app of choice for music, and we pass the iPad around so everyone can add their fave tunes to the mix. On New Years, we ran a theme of "Guilty Pleasure", mainly featuring dance songs from the 90's which progressed through to tunes from the Biebz current album. 

http://youtu.be/UCI4ZHrJSVo

http://youtu.be/nntGTK2Fhb0

The theme seemed to progress all the way through the weekend, including hot bacon butties with lashing of butter and cracked pepper, and all day cheese binges (what happens when you're on your fourth bottle of wine, and no one has much enthusiasm to leave the house).

I love holidays because it's one of the few times you can make the most out of breakfast. You can still get up early and toss together a beautiful fresh fruit salad with a dollop of yoghurt, if you please, do a full cook up, followed by a snooze - 'cause let's face it, how else are you going to prices all that protein! Or have a leisurely brunch with crepes, iced tea, corn fritters and smoked salmon.

Yesterday morning I was up before The Goose, which is a rarity in itself, and I thought I'd rustle up something for breaky. It's not overly healthy, nor did I make it all from scratch, (which you could if you so wished) but it was warming and tasty on what turned out to be a dreary Sunday morning.

Cheesy Beans & Hash Stacks

Serves 2

Ingredients:

4 x hash browns

1 x 400g tin of baked beans

1 x chorizo, finely diced

Couple of pinches of Cayenne pepper (or to your desired spicing)

Pinch of ground coriander

Pinch of ground cumin

Lots of freshly cracked black pepper

1/4-1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Basil leaves to garnish

Method:

1. Cook hash browns in the oven to packet instructions.

2. Meanwhile, add chorizo to a pan over high heat, and cook, stirring, until golden.

3. Add beans, spices and cheese, and cook, stirring, until heated through and combined.

4. Remove hash browns from oven and place one down on each plate. Top each hash brown, with a large spoonful or two of the bean mixture, followed by another has brown, and the remaining beans. 5. Serve immediately with some more freshly cracked pepper, parmesan and basil.