How to prepare a simple, tasty Christmas brunch

Christmas is a time when it’s okay to go off piste with routine. Breakfast runs into brunch, killing two birds with one stone (for the cook), especially when you have house guests for a few days.

Having guests around for brunch is an easy-going affair, very little preparation is required. You just need to have a well-stocked fridge and store cupboard.

It’s all about relaxed cooking with wonderful sounds and smells of coffee percolating, eggs and bacon spluttering, whilst chatting and listening to music, as the food gradually emerges.

A big pot of coffee, bowls of thick creamy yoghurt, granola and stewed fruit are the first to appear. These are followed by eggs in one form or another.

My boys love fluffy French toast. The secret to making French toast is to make sure to whisk the milk, eggs, a little sugar and spice (I use cinnamon) until they are well combined. You don’t want pieces of egg white showing up on your perfectly golden slices. What bread you use is important too. Thickly sliced staleish bread is perfect. If you have some panettone, that’s even better.

Make sure the pan is hot but not too hot. You don’t want to scorch the bread, but want a lovely caramelised effect. I always add a little butter to the olive oil. When this starts to froth, add the soaked bread.

The bacon you use is really important, proper bacon that crisps up without disappearing. We have a wonderful pork and bacon butcher in Dungarvan, John David Power, his own cured bacon never disappoints.

I often whisk up a batch of muffins. The beauty of muffins is that once you have a basic recipe you can add anything you like in the line of berries, chocolate or dried fruit. Cranberry and orange are a delicious seasonal variation. For a savoury twist, you can leave out the sugar and add some left-over Christmas ham and use up the ends of cheese left hanging around the fridge.

If you want to push the boat out, then I highly recommend a big jug of Red Snapper – a gin Bloody Mary that usually arrives somewhere in the middle of brunch to lift our spirits, not to mention the sound level. There is generally lots of murmuring about an afternoon walk, which rarely happens.

More often than not a snooze in front of the fire or a relaxed read with a novel or cookery book is the reality.