25 Things Chefs Never Tell You

One of the most visited recipes here is for Hot and Sour Soup. It is in a post I titled “Don’t Ask What’s In The Soup“. Like the soup, there are many times when it is best to just not know.

Have college age kids? May be best not to know what they are up to at 2AM. Do you REALLY want to know what is in that hot dog you are going to eat at the ballpark? I didn’t think so.

The Food Network has surveyed a number of chefs and has come up with 25 things that chefs never tell you. To be honest, I think I really didn’t want to know some of them. Here are a few:

• When eating out in other restaurants, chefs say they avoid pasta and chicken. Why? These dishes are often the most overpriced (and least interesting) on the menu.
• Roaches are more common than you think. Yes, 75% of chefs said they’ve seen roaches in the kitchen.
• Only 13% of chefs have seen a cook do unsavory things to a customer’s food.
• Your bread basket might be recycled. Three chefs admitted that uneaten bread from one basket goes right into another one.
• Menu “specials” are often experimental dishes. Contrary to popular belief — that specials are just a chef’s way of using up old ingredients — most chefs said they use specials to try out new ideas or serve seasonal ingredients. Only five chefs admitted that they try to empty out the fridge with their nightly specials.
• That rule about not ordering fish on Sunday might be worth following. Several chefs warned, “We don’t get fresh deliveries on Sunday.”
• The five-second rule actually applies. A quarter of the chefs surveyed said they’d pick up food that dropped on the floor and cook it.

Check out the whole list here.

Tilapia with Green Beans

Doesn’t matter if this was Sunday night, as the flash frozen filets worked perfectly here.

Don’t you just love those multi-colored grape tomatoes?

Steaming the beans.

Season the fish.

A little fry in butter can’t ever be wrong.

All in the pot.

And on my plate!

Tilapia with Green Beans

Cook Time: 9 min | Servings: 4 servings | Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

2  tablespoons all-purpose flour
2  teaspoons chopped fresh oregano, plus more for garnish
2  tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4  6-ounce tilapia fillets
4  tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 pound thin green beans or haricots verts
1  clove garlic, chopped
1  cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

Combine the flour, oregano and parsley in a shallow dish. Season with salt and pepper.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge the fish in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in the skillet, then add 2 fillets and cook until golden brown on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook through, 1 to 2 more minutes. Transfer to a plate and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining 2 fillets.

Add the green beans and garlic to the skillet and cook about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add the tomatoes and cook until just softened, about 1 more minute. Stir in the lemon juice and 1/4 cup water, then cover and cook until the beans are tender, about 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter until just melted.

Divide the fish and vegetables among plates. Garnish with oregano.

Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/tilapia-with-green-beans-recipe/index.html