
Is it silly for a regular patron to volunteer to make "family meal" at a local hang? Probably. But I guess I'm inordinately friendly. And, I loved the idea of actually putting my home-based cooking skills to test in a real restaurant kitchen. (There - a bit of selfishness in the mix!)
So, after several weeks of trying to schedule, I finally arrived mid-afternoon at Cobble Hill's Watty & Meg to make family meal for the kitchen and waitstaff. My menu was very simple - Arugula Salad with a Shallot Vinaigrette and an old standby pasta, Penne with Cauliflower, Mint & Pecorino. Even with simplicity on my side though, I found navigating through a professional kitchen to be a challenge.
The stove alone was a fiery monster. I ended up relenting to let a cook slay the beast when it came to lifting a massive boiling pot of pasta to drain it in one fell swoop. (I had visions of losing grip and scalding myself. Guess I'm a delicate flower after all!)
All in all, dinner was a hit. The big winner? Dessert.
Little did I know that restaurant family meals don't usually include a sweet at the end. Still, I'm glad that I baked up two Pecan Pies (pictured above) for the occasion. The staff was ecstatic, as they lapped up every last crumb. Bringing a tear of baker's joy to my eyes, the owner's daughter insisted on having two slices, exclaiming that my pie was "packed with goodness."
I don't think reviews get much better than that.
Regardless, from now on I think I'll leave my cooking and baking endeavors to my own kitchen. Safer that way.
But if the staff at Watty & Meg are really nice to me, maybe I can be convinced to bake up a couple more Pecan Pie beauties in the future...
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