The Kitchen Table: Brennan's of Houston (Hardcover)

by Randy Evans (Author), Jay Stevens (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

Review
". . . a lesson in good Southern hospitality." -- Texas Home & Living

". . . a star." -- Charleston Post and Courier

". . . deliciously different." -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel

". . . warning: don't start this book on an empty stomach." -- Southern Living, southernliving.com/ilovetexas

"Hip cuisine . . . Evans is famed for an innovative touch with Texas ingredients." -- USA TODAY

Product Description
The Kitchen Table is the experience of enjoying dinner in the private dining room within the kitchen of Brennan’s of Houston—ringside! From that vantage point, in command central of that superlative restaurant, friends of Brennan’s of Houston can observe the line cooks, the dishwashers, the salad and pastry chefs as they move with snappy efficiency and athletic energy around the gleaming kitchen festooned with copper pans. For groups of as many as ten friends or family at The Kitchen Table, the chefs prepare customized tastes from the lavish menu over which Executive Chef Randy Evans presides.

Under Chef Evans’ inventive leadership is unfolding at Brennan’s of Houston an exciting revival of classic dishes with an evolving of Texas Creole cuisine into the now. Customers become friends of Brennan’s, and, says Chef Randy, "We keep our customers thinking, personally educating them and moving their palates forward."

The Kitchen Table: Brennan’s of Houston opens with "Diaries of the Kitchen Table," customers’ telling what they saw, heard, tasted, and learned while dining in the center of the action. Following are chapters corresponding to the seven courses served at The Kitchen Table, from lagniappe through dessert and including "the forgotten course," cheese. The kitchen is open at Brennan’s of Houston!

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Bright Sky Press (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931721858
• ISBN-13: 978-1931721851
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 9.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #718,830 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good recipes, but does not have the restaurant standards, March 12, 2007

By	Stephanie Manley (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

First off if you love Brennan's you are going to love this cookbook. With that being said if you are looking for the recipe for their pralines, or the banana's foster, you need to look at one of their other cookbooks because this book isn't filled with the traditional recipes that we all know and love Brennan's for.

This book was lovingly created, and has many unique recipes. Recipes contained in this book are those that you would expect to find in a finer dining establishment. Satsuma orange jelly, warm spinach salad, Heirloom tomato salad, are just a few of the recipes in this book. The book contains a good selection from all courses of dinner; meats, baked goods, vegetables, and additional items to make a meal complete. There are photos of each and every recipe, the photos make you want to go into the kitchen and start cooking immediately.

While many of these recipes are very good, I had personally expected this to have more items I would see on the menu. One of the appeals of Brennan's is its classic standards that you come to enjoy. This book contains none of these recipe, but it does contain other good recipes that an adventuresome cook would enjoy making.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING!!!!!, October 15, 2008

By	Le Master Devourer (Pasadena, Texas) - See all my reviews

This book won a gold medal in the cookbook category at the 2007 Annual Independent Publisher Book Awards in New York City with good reason. The photographs are beautiful and the special "education" sections about various ingredients and processes are extremely informational- they don't bind you to the recipes in the book (which are outstanding!) and allow you to learn about cooking and food in a fun way. I highly recommend this book for home chefs and food lovers alike. Chef Randy and Kathryne Castellanos did an outstanding job in producing this book- it is a must have for any kitchen!

Brennan's of Houston had a catastrophic fire on September 13th of this year during Hurricane Ike. The restaurant was destroyed and two people ( a father and his four-year-old daughter were severely burned). The photographs in the book which show the restaurant are obsolete. This book will become highly collectible due to the fact that restaurant no longer exists (it was built in the early 1900's) . I am soooo glad I have this great cookbook!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Book, January 30, 2007

By	Emily Denis "RDENIS" (Katy, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My wife and I purchased this book at a local book signing in Houston a few months ago. We have since prepared meals with about 10-12 recipes from this book. They have all been superb. Randy's recipe for chateaubriad is absolutely incredible. The recipe for Lyonaise potatoes is wonderful. The crawfish piquant recipe is outstanding. Overall it is a very attractive cookbook and the photography is superb. I do recommend this fine book.