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Vladimir MihailovCook
Country:
 Russia |
Vladimir Mikhailov: Biography of a Popular Culinary Expert
Vladimir Mikhailov is a renowned culinary expert who has gained immense popularity and fame in recent times. His vibrant and spectacular culinary shows have been highly successful and have been held in prestigious clubs not only in his home country but also across Europe. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely for us, dear readers, to have the opportunity to attend these shows as they are quite expensive.
In the latest Olympic Games held in Athens, Mikhailov worked as a chef at the medical center for the Russian national team. Just a few days after the start of the Olympics, complaints started pouring in from our athletes. It turned out that the Olympic Village, where chefs from all over the world were working, did not serve soups. Europe does not know what soups are. The best chefs prepare broths using "Gallina Blanca" bouillon cubes. It has become fashionable to visit Mikhailov for his borscht. And I made a real borscht, according to an old Russian recipe, with pampushkas. I didn't just cook it, I worked magic on it. I slept only six hours a day, but when our boys and girls devoured my borscht and then asked for seconds, it was an incomparable joy for me. What shocked me in Greece was the fact that they don't cook at home. Even dogs are fed dry food. But can you compare homemade food to restaurant food? All these "McDonald's," all this fast food, like a cancerous tumor, has already affected many countries, including Russia. And yet they laugh at us: they say that Russians have few vegetables, so they dilute them with water and call it borscht. Do you know why? Because we don't have scandals in our family. I have a third wife who has given birth to three children for me, and I am 23 years older than her. Many years ago, I said to my wife, "Luba, no matter how angry you are with me, I am the father of your children. And we must set an example for them. Therefore, no scandals. When I come home, smile. Even if you don't feel like it, smile. And say something nice to me. On my part, I guarantee that I will always be in a good mood, I will try to earn as much as our family needs for a decent living, although at the age of 65, it is not so easy," in short, I will do everything in my power to make us happy." And that's how we teach our children. For example, when my daughter wakes up in a bad mood, I tell her, "Lena, smile..." Even my mother-in-law got involved in this game. At first, our relationship was very difficult. I am two years older than my mother-in-law, and she couldn't forgive me for it for a long time. She kept saying, "What did she find in you? I understand if you were a billionaire, but you don't even have a car..." I am convinced that to have a strong family, to have peace in the family, the house should smell like pies. However, I am not advocating for women to be oppressed or burdened with kitchen duties. On the contrary, let men and children help them. Children, by the way, love to help in the kitchen, love to decorate food, but their mothers drive them away. They think that there should only be one mistress in the kitchen, and everyone else should obey. But this is fundamentally wrong. What unites us, regardless of whether we are rich or poor, is food. Banquet.
Unfortunately, nowadays banquets are reminiscent of disgusting gluttony. I am often invited to be a toastmaster at various events, and, honestly, it becomes sad when, just half an hour after the start of the celebration, most people are already drunk, or rather, I should say, wasted. Women are separate, men are separate, no common interests... No one knows the rules of table manners. I'm not even talking about etiquette norms: fork in the left hand, knife in the right. No, I mean something else. Do you know that it is not allowed to propose toasts wishing good health at the table? And yet, almost everyone says, "Peter, we wish you good health!" And there sits this Peter, thinking, "Damn, how did they know I have hemorrhoids?" Nowadays, even among young people, it is hard to find someone who is completely healthy, let alone older people. So it's better not to touch on this topic at all. Replace it with the topic of home and family, love, in the end. Why not wish, "Peter, I hope you become a sexual giant!" Of course, it's a joke, Peter will never become a sexual giant, but at least everyone will smile.
Next, it is important not to clink glasses. This tradition has long gone out of fashion and is simply inappropriate, not to mention the number of dresses, white shirts, and suits that have been ruined because of this silly habit.
Furthermore, you don't need to serve all the dishes at once. There is a saying, "eating with your eyes." Food should be savored slowly and with a sense of mystery. Remember historical movies: how Ivan the Terrible's banquets were held? On the table, there were only salt shakers and wine, and dishes were served one after another: first one, after some time - another, the third, and so on. The presentation of dishes can be turned into a kind of theatrical performance. It is foolish to come to someone's house and watch TV.
I introduced the term "food compatibility." What does it mean? Let me explain with an example. When my wife, Luba, is in a bad mood, and our whole family sits down to eat, her negativity immediately affects everyone. Moreover, when a person pours out their negative energy at the table, they contaminate the food. What is the point of sitting down to eat in a bad mood? Skip the meal. This is the time when it is possible and even necessary to go to a restaurant or café. Get rid of the negativity somewhere else, not at home. Unfortunately, not many people understand this. I am often told, "Mikhailov, this is mysticism. We live in the 21st century. What kind of mysticism is this?" Bad mood affects the food. Look into ancient sources. Many centuries ago, people already knew that during menstruation, and therefore, in a bad mood, women should not engage in canning. Science still cannot explain this, but the fact remains - jars explode. The word "elderly" does not appeal to me; in my opinion, "wise" or "knowledgeable" is much better. Let's take an average pensioner with a very modest income. I myself receive a pension of two and a half thousand rubles, so I know very well what it is. So, the menu of a wise person should always include five types of cereals. 1. Pearl barley. By the way, only Russians eat pearl barley. When I was in France, I bought it at a pet store. 2. Buckwheat. 3. Millet. 4. Rice. 5. Some legume product: beans or peas. All these cereals are relatively inexpensive, so they are affordable for any pensioner.
Every day, there should be some raw vegetables on the menu: beets, carrots, cabbage. I want to emphasize - not colored cabbage, but regular white cabbage. And definitely - vegetable oil.
Now let's talk about meat. For the past 15 years, I have been advocating for the benefits and advantages of the so-called antract method, for which many restaurateurs call me a culinary dissident. Seneca the Younger, Nero's teacher, said, "Oh, Romans, you complain about your health? Get rid of good chefs." Throughout history, restaurant food has always been about prestige rather than health. Let's face it, no restaurant chef sets out to make healthy food. The main goal is to make it delicious and visually appealing.
What do I propose? For example, you take fatty chicken drumsticks, also known as "Bush's legs." Many housewives remove the skin to get rid of excess fat. But that's not rational. Firstly, you paid for the chicken, and secondly, chicken fat is light and belongs to dietary fats, so why throw it away? Here's what I advise. Thoroughly wash the chicken drumstick, chop it up, and without removing the skin, bring it to a boil. Now I will say something completely opposite to what mothers tell their daughters when teaching them to cook. Never remove the foam after boiling. The foam is made up of protein with droplets of fat. Do not remove it. Boil the broth for five to six minutes, turn off the heat, cover the pot with a lid, and forget about it for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, you will see that the foam has settled at the bottom of the pot, absorbing all the impurities. And your broth will be perfectly clear. This is what we call the antract method. After this, bring the broth to a boil again and boil it for another five to six minutes. And that's it, it's ready.
When I enter a house and "smell" the overpowering scent of borscht or broth, I immediately understand that the hostess is not cooking correctly. The kitchen should smell like herbs and spices, not the food being cooked. Therefore, my next advice is not to skimp on spices and seasonings. Today, there is an enormous variety of them: yarrow, St. John's wort, thyme, mint, dandelion... These are the ones that grow around us. But there are also classic and relatively expensive spices: cloves, nutmeg, vanilla... Your expenses will quickly pay off. Use spices in micro-doses, and they will return to you with wonderful taste, aroma, and, as a result, good mood.
Lastly, let's talk about greens, which should also be on the table at all times. Many people throw away the stems of parsley, celery, dill, leaving only the leaves. But this should never be done. The stems are great for making broths. I recommend everyone to cook porridge with broth. Throw a parsley or celery stem, which you usually throw away, into boiling water, cook it for five to six minutes, let it steep, strain it, add the grain to the broth, and you will have an amazing aromatic porridge. If you replace the grain with carrots and cabbage, you will have an amazing vegetable porridge.
DUBINUSHKA PORRIDGE
To prepare this porridge, you will need five types of cereals, as mentioned earlier. However, you can also make it with just three: buckwheat, millet, and rice. So, take half a cup of each of the cereals - I don't like specifying measurements in recipes since our kitchens are not equipped with scales like in the West, but measuring with cups is easy. Thoroughly sort and rinse the millet. You will also need a cup of cabbage, a cup of carrots, one onion, and 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Shred the carrots and onion into thin slices and sauté them in vegetable oil for 2-3 minutes. In boiling salted water (salt to taste), add the stems of parsley, celery, and dill. Remove them after five to six minutes and add the cabbage and sautéed vegetables into the boiling water. Then it's time for the grains. Start with the millet. For one and a half cups of millet, you'll need at least three cups of water. Cook the millet for 5-6 minutes, then let the porridge steep for 10-15 minutes. This is the first antract. Then put the pot back on the heat, bring it to a boil, and add the buckwheat and rice. Bring it to a boil, cook for 5-6 minutes, and let it steep for another 10-15 minutes. After the second antract, bring the porridge to a boil again, let it steep (third antract), and it's ready.
