This week, I thought I’d do something a little different. I decided to put together a “bucket list” of dishes that I want to make at some point. The reason that these things are on a list (as opposed to my just making them) is because they require some time, some organization, and some patience.

Now, I have the organizational skills to carry these out, but the time and patience…not so much. I have so many projects going on that I often find myself overwhelmed. I actually find myself sometimes just sitting on my couch and staring into space because I have so much to do that I simply don’t know what to do next.

These dishes are things that I’ve either tasted somewhere and want to replicate or that I’ve seen—in a book or magazine, on TV, or online—that struck me as so beautiful or creative or intriguing in some way that I just have to try my hand at them. And once I make them, I will consider them real accomplishments, partly for the skills and techniques involved, but also for my being able to discipline myself enough to spend the time on them and focus long enough to achieve those results. (Whether or not they turn out good is another issue.) And, looking over my list, I realize there’s a lot of baking involved—I guess winter will be a busier season than summer.

So, you might call this my “one day” list—things that I will set my mind and hands to one day, when I can set aside the time and muster up the patience. I’m sure that so many of you have similar lists. Maybe they contain only one or two things, or maybe it’s a long list that grows with each passing year. I’d love to know what yours are.

So, without further ado, here’s my 12-piece bucket list of food accomplishments, in no particular order.

1. Mondrian cake

2. Opera cake

3. Marzipan fruit

4. Napoleon cake

5. Something Wellington (not beef)

6. A dessert with a spun-sugar cage

7. Croquembouche

8. A true mole sauce

9. Baked Alaska

10. Croissants

11. Zebra Cake

12. Chocolate Espresso Dacquoise (evidently, I have a thing for layers)

Bonus: A gluten-free, multilayered cake that I had to help with at culinary school. It had an avocado cream, raspberry cream, was and topped with chocolate ganache. It was a complicated affair, and I suspect that it was the chef’s gluten-free, dairy-free version of an opera cake.