Get the butter*...

There is a very frequent pattern in which my brain engages. I see/read/hear how beneficial/wonderousness/beautiful/(fill in some very positive life improving/changing aspect) of something is and I am hooked. I just read an article in the NYTimes about butter and baking. It gave very specific instructions on how to cream butter so that you are guaranteed to have perfectly shaped and fabulously rich cookies. I have now fixiated such cookies. Keep reading and you will see why my brain is just being silly!

For Christmas this year, my spouse and I decided to forgo "real" presents and make everyone in my family (extended as well) a really fancy dinner as a gift instead. We like to cook and I like giving gifts that are personally made.

We have been planning this dinner since the beginning of December. With each passing week, the menu gets more and more elaborate. It is now a four course meal for 11 adults (with multiple dietary restrictions) and 2 young children.

We have more or less settled the menu of three of the courses
First course: nutmeg + ginger carrots, a white bean dip + bagel rounds and proscuitto wrapped dates,
Second course: Bouillabaise
Third course: Chinese style beef brisket, lightly sauteed Chinese green vegetable, white rice, mashed potatoes seasoned with smoked paprika, garlic roasted chicken (will actually be done in the crockpot, so technically not a roast), and ratatouille,

So dessert has not been wholly settled and this is where the butter comes into play. I read the article and now think, "Mmm, yummy buttery cookies and pasteries!" Neither J nor I are very good with desserts. We can certainly whip up something yummy in a pinch but it is not just what we gravitate towards and always looks...homely. We had floated the idea of just buying some cheesecakes and fresh fruit. But, as with anything that I do, if I have enough time with it, my imagination runs wild.

I have never, ever, ever in my life made cookies and pastries from scratch. Somehow in my silly brain, I see myself whipping up beautifully elaborate and sublimely scrumptious baked goodies to end the fabulous four course meal. It's like my brain saw a demo video on biking up and down hills and has decided, "Yes, I can race in the Tour de France!"

I need to learn to keep my imagination in check.

(*That is a famous line from a very sordid movie called Last Tango in Paris)