What was I thinking! I had made this dessert before, a cherry cream cheese braid. But this time I forgot to think ahead. I had unwound and flattened the two cans of refrigerated crescent rolls on my heavy wooden cutting board without an underlying sheet of tin foil. I didn't realize this until I had smothered it with cream cheese and cherry pie filling. The pastry was getting warm and wet, making any transfer to a cookie sheet quite impossible. Now what was I going to do? My husband had asked me to make a dessert for his office luncheon and now I was fresh out of extra ingredients and time. But being no stranger to self-inflicted catastrophes, I engaged my problem-solving mode and came up with a solution. After rearranging the contents of my freezer, I stuffed in the entire cutting board with wilting pastry. It took an hour, but the frosty air gave the 14" long braid strength enough to hold its integrity. Like nurses who move frail patients from bed to bed with synchronized motions, so I transferred the braid to the cookie sheet with my trusty spatulas. My problem-solving skills had saved me from my failure to think ahead.
Some people are good at thinking ahead. Look at the folks who equip Bond...James Bond. They have gadgets for every contingency. There is no jam this man cannot get out of because of the foresight of those guys in the white lab coats. He just has to remember which pen is the one that blows up.
But then we have known real people who did not think ahead with disastrous results. Gary Hart comes to mind. He didn't think ahead when he dared his opponent to check out his supposedly immaculate past. Ooops! Now there was a problem that couldn't be solved. And maybe that was for the better. America needs presidents with foresight.
Bringing up Clinton here would not speak to "presidents with foresight", but what happens when we don't think ahead. Consequences for our thoughtless actions can be a real bear.
And what in the world was Osama thinking? I'm sure he's in a heavy-duty, problem-solving mode as I write.
Taking a job in an office where your instincts warn of inevitable personality and values clashes is not thinking ahead. You have to be happy at your workplace to be an effective member of the staff. Undercurrents and ill feelings are relational problems that often end in someone leaving, voluntarily or not. Getting to know the entire staff before you take the plunge is always preferable. This way, irreconcilable differences and incompatibility are recognized early. This personality and values scan includes the doctor. If the warning light comes on, thinking ahead and not taking a position in that office will solve the problem.
My cherry cream cheese braid came out of the oven looking so pretty and smelling soooo good! I let it cool a bit and then grabbed my handy spatulas to transfer it to the serving tray. Unfortunately, the pastry was securely stuck to the pan! It wasn't burned, just glued from the sugar I had sprinkled on top. Another fine mess ... wait, I'm a hygienist, I can solve this problem. I know! FLOSS!
And so I flossed the braid from top to bottom, sliding it under the length of the pastry. Dental acuity, gotta love it!
Joanne Iannone Sheehan, RDH
