Things rattling around in my brain….

1. I want to make macarons, and prove that I can get the meringe dry enough to not spread out all over the cookie sheet. (Thrice bitten, fourth shy.)
2. How much can the meringue for macarons be toyed with? I imagine a basil meringue cookie – chiffonade of basil leaf, not basil oil – with a black pepper lemon curd in the middle.
3. This requires egg whites at least a day old, that will have dried out somewhat. Can I dry them uncovered in the fridge, or will they pick up the scents of whatever else is there?
(4. Aside – can’t wait for the pork belly to finish curing into bacon. Tomorrow, maybe.)
(5. On the same tangent – never smoked a bacon, maybe roast half and smoke the other half over lapsong souchong, a smoked black tea? —Focus.)
6. Where am I going to come up with that many egg whites? What can I do with the yolks?
6a. Pastry cream – vanilla custard thickened with cornstarch.
6a-1. Ooh, cream puffs and eclairs….
6b. Lemon curd uses yolks, doesn’t it? Maybe that’s my answer.
6c. Wonder what effect egg yolks would have on chocolate ganache.
6d. Hey, I’ve got pancetta from Greatful Bread in the fridge. Maybe I can make a nearly-authentic spaghetti carbonara.
6d-1. Yeah, and I biked a bunch today – maybe that offsets the carbonara.
7. Oops, almond flour. Need to get more from the store.
8. Why am I baking all of this, mainly just to prove to myself that I can (and to have it ready to go when I decide I need it down the line)? I may just have to eat this all myself. Hm, not the best idea.
9. Why didn’t I stop to get the awesome local flat iron steaks I saw earlier today at Revival Market? 45 minutes until they close, but we may be going out to eat for dinner tonight instead.
10. I wish I knew how to make buttercream. I mean, I can read and follow recipes, but that’s different from *understanding* buttercream.
11. Why do I care about buttercream? What am I going to do, eat a bowl of chocolate buttercream?
11a. Yes.
12. Flat iron steak, green beans and shallots, and … and … and what? Noodles? Rice? some kind of starch?

This is the constant noise in my brain. This is why I obsess about food.