Houston Restaurants & Food

Gravitas Restaurant will participate in Houston Restaurant Week, August 1-21. Chef/partner Scott Tycer shows food radio talk show host Cleverley Stone how to make baked fish wrapped in salt dough. It makes a unique presentation when you create a personal greeting from the dough and place on top of the fish. Chef Tycer will also show a sample three-course meal for $35 per person that will be available during Houston Restaurant Week, which benefits the Houston Food Bank.

For more information about food, wine and dining in Houston, listen to Cleverley’s radio show on Saturdays at Noon on KIKK-Talk 650 AM. (By the way, she gives out free restaurant gift certificates on every radio show!)

Gravitas Salt Dough Fish
Submitted by Chef Scott Tycer
Makes one fish

Ingredients

3 lbs Salt
1/2 cup water
1/4 all Purpose Flour
one bunch of Thyme
2 Shallots, chopped
1 tbsp White pepper
2 Bay leaves
1 cup of Egg wash
One Whole Fish (1-3 lbs)
2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Mix all ingredients (except the fish) together in a bowl. Wrap with plastic and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
2. Remove from fridge and roll dough out to a quarter inch thick.
3. Stuff cavity of whole fish with thyme and shallots.
4. Coat fish with extra virgin olive oil. Wrap fish in the dough. Brush outside with egg wash.
5. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Many people are in the dark when it comes to eating oysters. Chef Scott Tycer has opened an oyster bar at his restaurant, Gravitas, and he shows the diva of dish and radio talk show host, Cleverley Stone, how to select, store, open, clean, and eat an oyster along with other oyster etiquette.

For more information about food, wine and dining in Houston, catch Cleverley’s radio show on Saturdays at Noon on KIKK-CNN 650 AM. (By the way, she gives out free restaurant gift certificates on every radio show!)

Chef Scott Tycer, chef/proprietor of Gravitas and Textile restaurants in Houston

The small town of Fanny Bay, Baynes Sound, British Columbia, has produced some of the world’s best oysters since the 1950s. This region is known for its sustainable aquaculture.

Many chefs say you never get a bad Fanny Bay oyster. Their plump, firm flesh is salty and sweet because the waters are very cold, yielding substantial saltiness, copper undertones and a refreshing aftertaste similar to cucumber.

For more info about oysters, visit http://www.seafoods.com/.

Chef Tycer’s Sauce for Oysters

Source: Chef Scott Tycer, Gravitas and Textile restaurants

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Good Quality Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 Whole Shallot, Minced
• 1 Tsp Ground Black Peppercorn
• 1 Tsp Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley, Minced

Directions

1. Mince shallot and parsley.
2. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix.
3. Set mixture aside at room temperature until oysters are prepared.
4. Use as a dip for oysters.

Boring breakfasts be gone! It’s Tycer time! Chef Scott Tycer is one of the most acclaimed chefs in the Houston area and his restaurant Textile was just named by Travel & Leisure magazine as one of the ‘Best 50 New U.S. Restaurants.’

Chef Scott Tycer shows Houston restaurant journalist Cleverley Stone his twist on toast & eggs.

Scott’s Eggs Ingredients

• 2 free-range, grade A large eggs
• 1 cup Crème Fraîche
• ¼ lb Smoked Salmon
• Small Chives
• Vine-ripened Tomatoes
• Kosher Salt
• Black Pepper

Directions

1. Place crème fraîche, smoked salmon, chives and tomatoes with pinch of salt and dash of black pepper in food processor and puree. Then transfer to a bowl.
2. Poach eggs and place salmon and crème fraîche mixture atop the eggs.

Tycer Toast Ingredients

• 1 loaf Brioche Bread
• 1 ½ cups Golden Raisins
• ¼ cup Brandy
• ½ cup Water
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• ½ cup Chopped Pecans
• 1 Nutmeg

Directions

1. Slice brioche loaf lengthwise.
2. Blend the raisins, brandy, water, cinnamon, pecans and nutmeg in food processor to a pulp.
3. Spread fruit/nut mixture on brioche slices.
4. Start from one end of brioche slice and roll into the other.
5. Wrap brioche rolled with fruit/nut mixture in plastic wrap and place in refrigerate for 2 hours.

Royale Ingredients

• ¾ cup Heavy Cream
• 6 Egg Yolks
• Nutmeg
• Kosher Salt

Directions

1. Blend cream, egg yolks, nutmeg and dash of salt in food processor.
2. Coat brioche rolls in egg mixture and cook in non-stick sauté pan.