The Kitchen Table: Brennan's of Houston

By JULIETTE ROSSANT The Kitchen Table (Bright Sky Press 2006) is about the food served to guests who pay for the privilege of eating in the kitchen at Brennan's of Houston. The book is about author is Executive Chef Randy Evans cuisine, but it is also very much a book about the restaurant and even the Brennan family. The Kitchen Table starts with a revealing essay, "The Kitchen Table Story" by Alex Brennan-Martin, President of Brennan's of Houston. (Are there any other presidents of restaurants?) He is the son of Ella Brennan, doyen of the family's the New Orleans restaurants, where chefs like Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse had their start. He recalls the kitchen table in French restaurants used for both staff meals and food preparation. Many fine dining restaurants today have a table in the kitchen where guest pay for the privilege of watching cooks prepare their meals. What once was a closed domain is now revealed to anyone willing to pay for a back-stage pass. (see Super Chef's discussion of Tom Colicchio's kitchen table on pp. 194-7). Brennan's essay is revealing because, despite Brennan's pedigree, it is Randy, the young Texas chef who is at the heart of this book. His interest in artisanal purveyors, charcuterie and rethinking classic dishes is why the book is interesting. He has the makings of a celebrity chef, who, one assumes, could be lured away from this restaurant to one named after himself – like Prudhomme and Lagasse. That tension between continuing a restaurant's particular cuisine and making it more personal and chef-driven is at the root of a very interesting, sophisticated cookbook of restaurant food. The chapter on "Lagniappe" ("a little something extra") comes first with complex recipes that could serve as hors d'oeuvre or amuse bouche in another setting. There is Shrimp Beignets (p. 26-7) that includes a recipe for Shrimp Boudin, a stuffing for the shrimp beignets that are wrapped in puff pastry, and a Mirliton Relish made from chayote. It is a tasty-looking dish in the photo by Jay Stephens, who rises to the tough job of photographing a lot of brown meat and seafood in the book. The recipe for Crawfish Maque Choux with Jalepeno Corn Pound Cake (pp. 33-6) combines the Creole love of okra with Indian corn. It also comes with instructions for plating. Randy's love of charcuterie fills another chapter. It is a hot topic among chefs like Mario Batali. Randy's recipes includes Tasso Ham (p. 73), which calls for 10-15 pounds of boneless pork sirloin and Zatararain's Crab Boil. A recipe for Wild Boar Terrine (p. 74) follows, which can also be made with venison or pork. These are time-consuming recipes, clearly part of a restaurant repertoire, though they are well written and if you happen to have a venison at home, worth making. The Brennan's Creole and Texas background is clear in the seafood recipes like Crawfish Sauce Piquant (p. 105) and Wild Texas Shrimp with "Biscuits and Gravy" (p. 109) that calls for Honey-Cured Bacon (p. 71) and Shrimp Stock (p. 202). The recipe won Randy the title of "King of Seafood" at the 2005 Great American Seafood Cook-Off. Previous articles: Halloween: Emeril's Delmonico Cookbook Cookbook Reviews Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef