Greetings! E komo mai! Huan ying! Irasshaimase! 

 I would personally like to extend you a very warm and toasty welcome to the CM Food Diaries. 

   I've been wanting to do this electronic food thing for a while, since it makes sense for me to pour my endless obsession with all things edible into a form more convenient for others to munch on. I've even sucked one of my fellow foodies, c/m, to co-author this thing with me to keep things interesting.

   Here at the CMDs you will find a smorgasbord of everything from high-res super-macro food documentation with coordinating feasting commentaries to personally test-run recipes and cooking experiment results. I may try my wisk in meddling to create healthier versions of some most-beloved items (trying not to sacrificing taste), but don't judge if the majority are full cal and fat (obviously, the best way to eat). Stories will be based out of our heads and our kitchens, and will hop geographically from the middle of the Pacific to the east coast and beyond. Don't be surprised to find fusions of languages, ingredients, and techniques, because we're all about putting the best things together. 

   If you're a seasoned chef or can't even boil water, we hope that you will find something to your taste no matter your skill or experience level. If you love food or love to eat, the CM Diaries are for you. And just by reading you might get a good laugh, expand your vocabulary, or even get an insider's tip on where to score FREE FOOD! Comments, suggestions, and requests are highly encouraged - conversations are key here, people!

   Thanks for dropping in, and come back soon. We promise to have something fresh and delicious for you when you do!

  

BITE of the day: Add foodporndaily.com to your bookmarks. It'll be the next stop after your daily checks to Facebook, fmylife, and textsfromlastnight. They have recipes, too, but the pictures are the main attraction. I'm not sure whether to say you're welcome or I'm sorry (the first visit is always an effective procrastination tool). In any case, enjoy!

  

- cmita

This is my first ever post... so a few things

Hey peeps, it's c/m. This is my first ever post, and, as a result, I feel I should start my contribution to this little blog with something new in my culinary life, and then end simply, so let's go.

First off, about two weeks ago, my 8" chef's knife was stolen =[ .... le sigh. I mourned for a week, but decided to see this as an opportunity to finally get a new knife. Now I am a poor college student, so I don't have the money at the moment to buy a completely high quality knife, but I did head over to the Bed Bath & Beyond just a 30 second walk from my apartment and bought a relatively nice $35 knife. The blade and handle are balanced quite well and it is definitely sharp (I've cut myself about 5 times already since I got it a few days ago, and I've only used it about 3 times). My verdict, definitely a good knife for now, but I cannot wait until I have the money for something a bit more professional, and beautiful.

But enough about that, now its time for the something simple, so here it is, pretty much the easiest recipe I have ever learned. This is a cream sauce that I was taught by Chef Crawley in my intro to cooking class. When he taught us this recipe he told us that it is one of the most versatile sauces he could teach us and he is extremely correct on that point. Thus, I pass it on to you as my first little gift. You can do anything with it as there are only two essential ingredients, the rest is up to your imagination.

Cream Reduction Sauce (a.k.a. the point where I lose any readers who are health nuts)
Ingredients:
Heavy Cream
Butter
any herb or spice you want to flavor with

Heat the heavy cream over a medium high heat until it starts to simmer and then lower it to medium heat. Add the herbs/spices/arsenic/whatever and allow the cream to reduce until it thickens to a sauce consistency (thick enough to coat the back of a spoon) and tastes along the way to make sure you have the right amount of flavor. It is because you need to reduce the sauce that ONLY heavy cream can be used because only heavy cream has the right amount of milk fat to reduce the way it needs to; anything "healthier" will not work, sorrrrrry. If it gets too thick because you got distracted by one thing or another as I so often do mix in a little more cream and you should be set. Once you get it to the consistency you want, taste one last time to make sure you have the flavors you want and then add some butter to make it shine. When you add the butter you are done, if you try to add any more cream, you'll be left with a greasy mess, trust me, I've done it. You can put this sauce with pasta, or chicken, at least with what I've tried so far. Oh, and I've done it with shrimp recently, my roommates seemed to enjoy it. Maybe when I have money for some steak I'll see how it goes with that, but who knows when that'll be...

combinations I have tried for this sauce:
Cinnamon nutmeg for a nice winter sauce
Sage/garlic/shallots
Sage/rosemary/shallots
rosemary/thyme
Italian herb mixture with Parmesan
Just today I tried masala chai blend in it, it was pretty good but it needs some work, I'll let you know how it goes, along with other blends I try.

Feel free to let me know how you use it.
c/m