>I have trouble with the timing, and with selecting dishes that have distinct and complementary flavor. I don't know how do you choose the dishes that go well together and don't compete for the same resources and attention in the preparation process.

America's Test Kitchen has a very good cookbook that addresses this directly called Menu Cookbook. It's about $23 on amazon (link provided)

For the tiny treats themed week, I made mini French silk pies. To make these, I used my favorite pie crust recipe and an America’s Test Kitchen recipe for French silk pie for as a reference for the filling. I think these pies are a great candidate for a tiny treat because the filling is extremely decadent. To make 12 pies, I used a half batch of my pie crust (enough for one 9-inch pie) and a third batch of the filling. Even after making only a ⅓ batch of the full filling amount, I found that I had quite a bit leftover. In the future, I may prepare double the crusts for the amount of filling because I would not want to scale the filling recipe down any further.

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Mini French Silk Pies

Makes 12 mini pies

For the crust:

Recipe modified from The Two Bite Club; text here is halved

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups all purpose flour
  
• ½ teaspoon salt
  
• ½ tablespoon sugar
  
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
  
• 2 tablespoons chilled shortening
  
• 1½ tablespoons white vinegar
  
• ¼ cup very cold water
  
  

  Directions
  

1. In a food processor pulse together the flour, salt and sugar.
   
2. Add the butter and shortening and pulse 8-10 times or until the butter is in pea-size pieces and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine the vinegar and cold water and drizzle into the crumb mixture while pulsing until the mixture just forms a dough.
   
3. Remove the dough from the food processor and wrap in plastic wrap, pressing into disks. (Handle the dough as little as possible during this step.) Chill the dough for at least one hour.
   
4. Preheat the oven to 350°.
   
5. Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and roll out very thinly on a floured surface.
   
6. Cut the dough into circles approximately 2¾ inches (70mm) in diameter and press into a mini muffin tin. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
   
7. Dock the bottom of the crusts and bake for 8-10 minutes. If the costs puff too much, gently press down the sides and bottom with a rounded tool (like a measuring spoon or melon baller) while they are still hot. Allow to cool completely before filling.
   
   

   For the filling:
   

   Recipe from The America’s Test Kitchen Menu Cookbook: Kitchen-Tested Menus for Foolproof Dinner Parties; recipe here is approximately ⅓ of original
   
   

   Ingredients
   

• ⅓ cup heavy cream, chilled
  
• 1 large egg
  
• ¼ cup (1¾ ounces) sugar
  
• 2 teaspoons water
  
• 2⅔ ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and softened
  
  

  Directions
  

1. Using electric hand-held mixer, whip cream on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Cover and refrigerate.
   
2. Combine egg, sugar, and water in large heatproof bowl set over medium saucepan filled with ½ inch barely simmering water (don’t let bowl touch water). Using electric hand-held mixer, beat mixture on medium speed until thickened and registers 160 degrees, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat mixture until fluffy and cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.
   
3. Beat in chocolate and vanilla until incorporated. Beat in butter, a few pieces at a time, until well combined. Using spatula, fold in whipped cream until no streaks remain. Scrape filling into cooled pie crusts and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours. Serve.