And we're off. Welcome back. We made it through another year.

And we're positively dashing into 2015, though I must confess it seems hard to get more than minimally motivated at this time of year, what with half the country continuing to holiday, the weather being coma-inducingly hot, and all radio and television news bulletins remaining truncated to confirm that the entire world does indeed stop for the New Zealand summer.

But already the emails and communications are again flooding in, crammed with upcoming events that need mentioning, new albums on the cusp of release, and the sort of irrelevant entertainment-related stories.

Doomsday plays

'What's the last song you'd play if it really was doomsday?” – that currently fill the pages of print and internet media (to confirm that the entire world does indeed stop for the New Zealand summer, etc).

But before getting onto that potentially useful information, let me share a little something.

Since my last column, last year in fact, I have discovered a new culinary experience. Okay. Not exactly mind-blowing.

It may not even be new to you (in which case this build-up is going to be somewhat of an anti-climax but you'll be able to feel happily superior, so it might be worth it anyway...).

I discovered hot-buttered gin.

Yes, it does sound a bit odd, I know, but it conforms to one of those age-old rules of food and drink, which is that almost anything tastes better if you add the words 'hot-buttered” before it. Toast, sweetcorn, new potatoes, boiled eggs, muffins, popcorn, fish fingers: just add butter and its better...

Sceptical

Despite that I must admit that even I was initially sceptical about hot-buttered gin, and, yes, I do have a friend who butters his fish fingers.

Buttering gin isn't quite as easy as just mixing yer regular G&T, but it genuinely tastes as the person who introduced me to it said: 'Like someone has liquidised a Cadbury's caramel bar in a bottle of gin”. The wonderful thing is that because the gin retains its clean ginny taste, it isn't sickly.

Buttered gin

Making buttered gin, which is good for everything from the aforementioned G&T to just being slurped neat over ice, is actually a bit of a mission, involving butter, sugar, a vanilla pod, freezing and a couple of other tricks, but it's well worth the effort. If anyone wants the recipe drop an email to watusi@thesun.co.nz

Because it's time to move on to this weekend, and a little jazz seems to be breaking out.

On Saturday, January 10 local singer Dee DeLuca is playing a jazz and soul show in the new performance venue at Mauao PAC, the Mauao Performing Arts Centre. She's lined up a crack band of Auckland musicians to back her and is promising 'couches, candles, open bar and soothing, captivating and uplifting music”.


Top-flight musos

The three top-flight musos coming to town are guitarist Dixon Nacey, a veteran of the Auckland scene who currently teaches guitar and takes ensembles at Auckland University. He's released three albums under his own name and backed the prestigious likes of Nathan Haines, King Kapisi, Tama Waipara, Annie Crummer, Whirimako Black, Caitlin Smith, and Tim Hopkins.

Rounding out the band are the equally acclaimed Karika Jr Turua (bass) and Kim Paterson (horns and drums). Both of whom are kinda legendary in their fields.
Things start at 8pm; tickets are $15 from Eventfinder or $17.50 on the door.

Actually there are all sorts of interesting little events coming up this month which I'll delve into at greater length soon.

But I know many of us need to plan ahead. So here's a couple of things you might like to check in case you need to arrange babysitters/sober drivers/excuses in advance.
Legal Tender are bringing their alternative country/folk sounds to the Te Puna Memorial Hall on January 21 (contact redruth@vodafone.co.nz); the Summertime Blues Festival hits the Papamoa Tavern on January 24 (check TaurangaMusic.com), with the B-Side Band from that event playing a warm-up at Brew Bar on January 16 (see bsidebandnz.com); and country music comes to the Art Gallery in the form of Into The East on January 29 (try artgallery.org.nz).

More on all of those in the next fortnight.

Till then...