• Apollo’s Fire’s arrangement of Vivaldi’s La Folia - Tell me this is not caffeine in music form? I’m so excited to see this live in London in 2026

• Vivaldi’s Concerto for 4 Violins

• Soft horn solo of Tchaikovsky’s 5th and the 澎湃 brass of Dvořák’s 9th. My favourite instrument may be cello, but my favourite family is definitely brass.

• The swell of the symphony in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major. Happy I got to see Daniel Lozakovich live this past year as well. Hilary Hahn with Fra Radio Symphony

• Hans Zimmer’s Elysium / Now We Are Free from Gladiator - I got to see watch this with live orchestra at RAH

• The bells in Anna Lapwood’s organ rendition of Chevaliers De Sangreal. This will not not make me cry.

• Pavarotti singing Nessun Dorma. And, honestly, this absolute masterpeice

Pieces that (still) live rent free in my head from previous years:

• I didn’t think Bach could make me cry and yet

• Beginnings, A Time of Quiet, Only I Will Remain from the Dune II soundtrack

• Dudamel’s Ravel Bolero in 2020. L joked that this was going to be my post-lockdown walk out song. This year, I got to see him in action with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra while they were in town opening for Coldplay at Wembley. Electric.

• Goat Rodeo’s Waltz Whitman - first heard at the Berkeley Greek in 2021

• Hayato Sumino’s New Birth in 2022, a piece inspired by Chopin Etude Op.10 No.1. This is spring and hope and all things green and good in music form.

Looking at this now, what surprises me is how my preference for classical music so clearly skews towards the uplifting and energetic. Up and onwards!

Ingredients

• Minced pork and/or beef, 2 lb

• Pressed Tofu 豆干, 4 square pieces, diced

• Shiitake mushrooms (preferably rehydrated), 14 medium size, diced

• Garlic, minced

• Ginger, minced

• Chicken or beef broth / stock - 3 to 4 cups

• Fragrant spicy paste 香辣酱, grandpa’s preferred brand is 美乐

• Spicy fermented bean paste 豆瓣酱

• Sweetened soy bean paste 甜面酱

• Dark soy sauce

• Cooking oil

Instructions

1. In a non-stick skillet, dry saute the mushrooms to release some of their water over low heat. Keep them in a single flat layer and do multiple batches if needed. Reserve.

2. In a heavy bottom pot or dutch oven with a fitted lid, pan fry the dice pressed tofu.

3. Remove tofu from pot. In the same oil over low heat, stir fry garlic and ginger until fragrant.

4. Add minced meat and using a spatula, break it up into small pieces. Saute until browned. Add the mushrooms.

5. Add 3 tbsp of each paste sauce and 2 tbsp of the dark soy sauce.

6. Add broth. Adjust seasoning to taste.

7. Cover and cook for 30+ minutes until everything comes together with a slick thick sauce.

8. Add in the fried tofu and cook for 5 minutes more.

To serve, scoop on top of cooked noodles or do a one-pot pasta situation. Top with chopped green onions and crushed roasted peanuts.

Numerous batches of chocolate chip cookies later…here we are. Note: these need to rest overnight, so start at least the night before you want to eat them or you will have a very hangry cookie monster on your hand.

Ingredients

• 227g unsalted butter (2 sticks in America, but can use a 250g block if in metric country)

• 6 tbsp whole milk (optional)

• 260g all-purpose flour

• 6g (2 tsp) Diamond Crystal kosher salt

• 6g (1 tsp) baking soda

• 1.5-2 tbsp whole milk

• 160g dark brown sugar

• 80g granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs, cold from the fridge

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract OR 1-2 tbsp espresso powder

• 280g coarsely chopped chocolate or chocolate disks

Instructions

1. Cook butter (and milk, if using) over medium-low to medium heat in a saucepot, stirring frequently with a spatula. Use a relatively generous saucepot so you have room when the butter starts to foam. Use spatula to peek under the foam and keep cooking until the white milk solids turn brown. Turn off heat. If using espresso powder, add that here and mix.

2. With your large heat-resistant mixing bowl (or stand mixer bowl) set over a scale, pour the browned butter (be sure to scrape in all its browned bits) into the bowl. It will weigh ~200g. Add whole milk to this until you reach 227g (aka the amount of butter you started with), about 1.5 to 2 tbsp.

3. Stick this bowl in the fridge or over an ice bath until it’s cooled and solid. You will want this to be solid, but still soft and cream-able, about 60 to 65F.

4. In a separate medium bowl, whisk / sift together the flour, salt and baking soda.

5. In your butter bowl, add the sugars. Using the paddle on a stand mixer or an electric hand held mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and pale, about 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Scrape the bowl down.

6. Add both eggs and the vanilla extract and mix together (on low first, then higher). Scrape the bowl down.

7. Add all of the flour mixture and mix on low until just combined.

8. Remove bowl from stand mixer, add all of the chocolate chips and fold with a spatula to combine.

9. The dough is probably a little loose and sticky right now. Let chill and set in the fridge for ~20 minutes.

10. Using a cookie scoop (mine is 3 tbsp), scoop the dough into mounds onto lined quarter sheets (you will need 2). No need to set them far apart since we’re just chilling them for now.

11. Top each cookie with a generous sprinkling of flakey sea salt (I use Maldon’s)

12. Let the cookies rest in the fridge for at least 12 hours.

13. (Optional) After 12 hours of resting, transfer the trays to the freezer and freeze completely. Then, put the dough balls into a ziplock.

14. To bake, pre-heat an oven or toaster oven to 350F. Space the dough balls at least 2 -3 inches apart on a lined baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes, up to 20 minutes, to your preferred done-ness. Allow cookies to cool a bit on the baking sheets (they will be very very soft) before transferring to a wire rack (or your mouth)

Et voila, the best chocolate chip cookies ever (Cookie Monster R’s words, not mine. I don’t even like cookies) … on demand!

References

I based my recipe by tweaking and learning from:

• Chocolate Chip Cookies (pg 133) from Claire Saffitz Dessert Person

• Lady and Pups Extra-browned butter

• Square Cafe 9 Chocolate Chip Cookies