Memories of My Mom: Bo Luc Lac

Bo luc lac translates to "shaking beef" because the beef is seared in a wok at high temperatures and you shake the wok to ensure even cooking. It was always a good day to come home from school and see this waiting for us on the counter. Mom would make the vinaigrette to pour over, but salt/pepper/lime is much easier and just as delicious.

The beauty of Vietnamese cooking, for me, is that it is peasant food. I'm always skeptical when I hear about 'high end' Vietnamese restaurants because frou frou would take the soul out of the dishes...it is like listening to a coffee shop singer in a 15,000 seat amphitheater, good concert but not a great one. The best foods are the street vendor foods like the pate chaud or the banh mi (sandwiches), but I am learning that my people are wizards with a grate, some charcoal and chopsticks - everything becomes street vendor food, even pho!

This dish is no exception - marinated cubes of beef quickly seared and served over a bed of mixed greens, cucumbers and tomatoes with steamed rice and a little dish of salt/pepper/lime to dip the meat in. Nothing fancy, but the flavor is so, so good! This is the first dish I ever made for David - it's my "secret weapon", if you will. One bite and he was powerless to resist me. ;) :) ;)

- 1 to 2 lbs of beef tenderloin, cut into cubes slightly larger than bite-sized

- 6 cloves of garlic, crushed (this is where pre-peeled garlic and a minichopper comes in quite handy)

- 2-3 T soy sauce

- 2-3 T fish sauce

- 1 T sugar

- 2 T oil (veg or olive) - optional

- freshly ground black pepper (lots!!!)

- one sweet onion, peeled and cut into wedges

- spring mix or watercress...or both

- 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced on the diagonal

- grape tomatoes

- hard boiled eggs, cut into wedges (optional)

- salt

- pepper

- lime juice

- Mix the garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, pepper and oil together and marinade the meat for at least an hour...but if you can overnight, it will taste better.

- Heat a small amount of oil in a wok over high heat. Saute the onion until soft and translucent. Put onions in a bowl and set aside.

- In the same wok, sear the meat in batches so that they will brown evenly but still be medium-rare to medium in the center. If you overcrowd the pan, the meat will give off too much juice and start to braise. Try to avoid this.

- After the meat is seared, quickly saute the onions a second time in the same wok so that they will take on a golden hue and the flavors from the meat. Mix the onions with the meat and pour over the spring mix salad (with cucumbers, tomatoes and eggs).

- Each person should get a small dipping bowl of equal parts salt/pepper. Squeeze a wedge or 2 of lime juice over the salt/pepper.

- Serve the beef with steamed rice. It is best to dip the beef in the salt/pepper/lime mixture before eating.

Baked Penne with Italian Sausage

Another wonderful, comforting recipe from Kristin!!!!!

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cheese
Ingredients
1 (1-pound) package penne (or ziti)
1 pound Italian sausage (I am using Colosimo's red wine sausage)
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (14.5-ounce) cans petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain the pasta, and set aside.
- Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage, onion, and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add the tomato paste, salt, pepper, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Combine cooked pasta, sausage mixture, and basil. Place half of the pasta mixture in a 4-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Repeat layers. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Memories of My Mom: Bo Nhung Dam

Another specialty of my mothers. This translates to beef dipped in vinegar. Thinly sliced beef cooked at the table in a vinegary stock, then wrapped in rice paper with herbs and cucumbers, dipped in Nuoc Cham and YUM!!! You can't try to imagine the taste of this one as the ingredients probably won't make sense. Just know that the flavors are so perfectly suited in this dish! You'll need a heating unit that you can use at the table. Below is enough for 5 adults...6 if you count my little brother twice...

- 3 lbs of thinly sliced eye of round (if you go to a Vietnamese butcher, ask them to slice it for pho)

- 2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined. If they are large, slice them in half.

- Herb Plate: chinese coriander, cilantro, mint, perilla

- 1 head red leaf lettuce, leaves taken apart and washed

- 4 dua chuot (pickling cucumbers), peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced

- sliced fresh pineapple (optional)

- rice paper

Vinegar Stock (Hot Pot)

- 1 can Coco Rico

- 1/2 to 1 c rice vinegar

- 1-2 shallots, finely sliced

- 2 to 3 T lemongrass, finely minced

- 1 onion, thinly sliced

- juice from 1 can pineapple

- 2 to 3 T sugar

- pinch of salt

Serve with Nuoc Cham dipping sauce

- Saute the shallots and lemongrass in a little bit of oil until they are fragrant. Add the remaining ingredients for the hot pot and bring to a boil, then let simmer for about 20 minutes for the flavors to meld.

- At the table, keep the stock at a simmer, dip the meat in long enough to just cook them - alternate between beef and shrimp.

- Wrap the meat in rice paper, cucumbers, lettuce, herbs...dip in nuoc cham and enjoy!

Memories of My Mom: Chao Ga

Chao Ga is rice porridge or rice congee with shredded chicken. It would take the place of chicken noodle soup in our household. Mom would poach a chicken in a 'master stock' and then strain the stock to cook the rice to make a soup. Then she'd add the shredded chicken and some cilantro, scallions, caramelized shallots and lots of ground pepper. As a variation, she would make this with ground pork/shrimp or plain with salty scrambled eggs (I've made this version before, since it's quick and easy - Dave and Nora like it!)

My better half has been pretty sick so I thought I'd try this to help him feel better (or at least NOT make him feel worse).

For the stock:

1 chicken

1 onion, peeled and cut in half

1 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and lightly smashed

3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly smashed

kosher salt

4 qts (plus) water

- In a large stock pot, heat over HIGH heat just a touch of canola oil and quickly saute the onion halves, garlic and ginger to bring out the flavors. Add the water , chicken and enough kosher salt to season the chicken. Poach until the juices run clear when the chicken is stabbed with a chopstick (and yet another great purpose for the amazing invention of the chopstick) - about 25 to 30 minutes.

- Remove the chicken and let it cool. Strain the stock through a mesh strainer lined with quadruple layer of cheesecloth (or a layer of cloth flour sack).

For the Congee:

- 1 cup (or so) jasmine rice

- 1 clove garlic, crushed

- 1 shallot, finely sliced

- stock from the poached chicken

fish sauce

cilantro

shredded chicken

ground pepper

- In a medium saucepan, saute the rice, garlic, shallots in a tiny bit of oil until fragrant. Add the stock (about 3-4 quarts) and cook the rice until it is very tender (even allowing the rice to break). The consistency should remain soupy. Add fish sauce to taste (about 1-2 tablespoons).

- Ladel the soup into bowls and top with shredded chicken, chopped cilantro and lots of freshly ground pepper for garnish.

Curl up on the couch with a good book and enjoy!

Memories of My Mom: Banh Pate Chaud

My mom was an amazing cook! She would make wonderful meals and invite friends and family over - there's no way anyone would say no. The connotative meaning of "Nỗi Lòng Của Mẹ" is "the rising a mother's heart" - rising the way bread dough rises and fills its enclosure - which is fitting because this is how she expressed the enormity of her love for us. Birthdays were always our favorite foods, weekend meals meant my mother getting up at 4:00AM so that we'd have a big, steaming pot of her homemade pho waiting when we finally woke up. I was a super finicky eater, so my mom would make things one way for everyone else, then a different way just for me. (She'll be happy to know that I'm serving my penance for that when I cook for Nora and Eddie.)

I loved helping my mom cook - all my kitchen habits come from years of watching her work her magic in the kitchen....well, except the habit I have of using every pot in the house. I'm posting all of her recipes essentially to keep them safe. It's a combination of googling and memories - google to find several versions of the basic recipe and adding memories of my mom in. Here is the first of her recipes.

Banh Pate Chaud - a vietnamese puffed pastry stuffed with seasoned, ground pork, shrimp and mushrooms (or any combination). It makes for a delicious and addicting appetizer or snack! Traditionally the recipe calls for adding 2 T of pate (liver), but none of the kids liked the flavor so my mom added shrimp...or just made plain pork.

2 boxes of frozen puff pastry (my mother, of course, made her own puff pastry...but later on, even she admitted the frozen stuff was just as tasty and a million times more convenient)
1 lb lean ground pork
1/2 lb ground shrimp (fresh crab meat is delicious too!)
1/2 c chopped wood ear mushrooms (or shitake)
2-3 T spns of fish sauce (all of these measurements are approximate)
1-2 T spn of soy sauce
2-3 shallots minced
2-3 T spns of sugar
1/2 t spn of salt
fresh ground pepper
1 egg
butter

- In a large bowl, add the ground pork, shrimp and mushrooms and season the meat with all of the ingredients above (except the puff pastry). Once all of the ingredients are added, with your hands you want to mush all of the ingredients together until all of the seasoning is evenly spread throughout. Hands are very important - it's very difficult to get everything evenly seasoned with a utensil.

- After it is well mixed, divide and shape roughly into 12 (or however many pastries you're making) semi-flat balls. (I will come back and post pictures when I make this Thursday morning for TDay). If the size of the meatballs are large, you should first steam them in a bamboo steamer for about 15 minutes to ensure thorough cooking.

- With a cookie/biscuit cutter or a cup, cut the puffed pastry in circles that will fit the meatballs. Place one of the meatballs in the circle and place another circle on top. My mom would put a round collar in between the 2 circles so that they would puff higher (I'm going to try that).

- Press the edges of the puffed pastry together with a fork to seal. Brush the bottoms with melted butter and the top with an egg wash.

- Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown and puffed.

ENJOY!!! (will edit to add pictures)

Kristin's Perfect Pot Roast with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I'm not joking - this is like crack in a crockpot. In Kristin's own words:

Yankee Pot Roast
- 1 roast (whatever cut you like)
- carrots (however many you like, I just used baby carrots- about a half a big bag, I was also thinking parsnips would be good in this too...)
- 1 onion, chopped
3/4 - 1 cup beef broth (depending on the size of the roast)
1 can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 Tbl dried parsley flakes (you can use fresh to but I did not have any on hand)
salt and cracked pepper (not sure how much I put in- maybe about a tsp of each??)

Sear roast in a little bit of olive oil and then just put everything in the crock pot to cook all day. (I added carrots part way through cooking time) I am sure that this would be good in the oven as well- whatever you want to use. I love the crock pot though because you do not have to babysit it and it comes out sooo tender!

Garlic Mashed Potatoes (I liked them so much when you made them that I tried them out myself!) got the recipe from this website: http://www.mashed-potatoes-recipe.com/garlic-mashed-potatoes-recipe/ I just did not add the parsley like the recipe said- probably would be good though
- 3 pounds russet or yukon gold potatoes
- 1 whole bulb garlic
-1/2 cup half and half (half milk half cream) (I did not have cream so I just used whole milk)
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley

Bring potatoes to a boil then reduce the heat and let them simmer for 15-20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and put them back on the stove for a few minutes, don’t burn them. After that, set them aside and not it’s time to move our attention to garlic. While the potatoes are boiling and simmering we will take the garlic bulb and cut the top of the whole garlic head. Oh, the garlic is still un-peeled, you don’t need to peel it. Now put the garlic into a heat resistant pan and cover it with drops of olive oil. Take some aluminum foil and cover the garlic (so it doesn’t burn) and put it into the oven.
How long does it take for garlic to bake? About the same time that it takes the potatoes to cook so you can do this simultaneously. Garlic is baked when is soft and as I said it will take about 20 minutes.

When the garlic is done let it cool down a bit, then squeeze the garlic out of it’s clothes with a fork and add it to the potatoes. (I put the garlic through a garlic press so it would be really fine). Now we are back on the old tracks. Mince the parsley and also add it to the potatoes, also add some pepper for the taste and some salt (if necessary) and mash the potatoes.

Heat cream, milk and butter and mix them into the potatoes. You could also do this before you mash the potatoes and garlic, maybe it tastes better if you do it after, but I don’t think so.

Parsnips, Carrots and Leeks Gratin

My very good friend, Beej, made this for a Thanksgiving dinner we attended. It was soooooooo amazingly good - one of those things I couldn't stop eating despite my intolerance for dairy.

2 tablespoons butter (I add 2 T of olive oil too so the butter won't burn)
2 - 3 shallots, finely sliced (this is my own addition)
2 pounds leeks (white and pale green parts only), halved lenthwise, rinsed, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces (about 5 cups)
1½ pounds large carrots, peeled, cut diagonally into ¼-inch-thick slices
1½ pounds large parsnips, peeled, cut diagonally into ¼-inch slices
2½ cups whipping cream
2 teaspoons of poultry seasoning
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

- Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add shallots and leeks and sauté until soft and beginning to color, about 15 minutes. Transfer to large bowl.
- Cook carrots and parsnips in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 3 minutes. Drain well; place in bowl with leeks.
- Whisk cream, sage, mustard, salt and pepper to blend in medium bowl. Pour cream mixture over vegetables and stir gently to combine.
- Transfer to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle Parmesan over. Cover dish with foil. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead; refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before continuing.)
- Bake gratin 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until vegetables are tender, top is golden brown and cream is thickened, about 30 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve hot.

The Most Homemadest Lasagna I've Ever Made

This is not to say that everything about this lasagna is homemade. The sausage is courtesy of Colosimo's and the noodle are Barilla's homestyle (read: flat) rustic noodles. I am typing this without the luxury of having tasted it, so I'm just guessing how that will turn out...but it smells pretty darn good! It is freaking FANTASTIC!!!

3 cloves garlic
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 lb ground beef (I used 91/9 lean:fat ratio)
1/2 lb Italian sausage (I use Colosimo's red wine sausage, remove casings - mmmmmm)
1/2 t. ground fennel
1/2 t. basil
salt & pepper
1 qt jar + 1 pint jar marinara sauce (Susan's Magic Sauce per previous post)
16 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 lb sliced mushrooms (I use button & cremini mix)
shredded mozzarella
shredded parmesan

- Soak the noodles in hot water while you do the rest (I usually use Barilla's rustic no cook noodles, if you use these, they do not need to be soaked).

- Saute garlic and onion until tender and translucent.  Add ground beef, sausage, fennel and basil (also some salt/pepper to taste) and cook until done.  Remember to constantly break up the chunks of meat...unless you like big chunks of tough meat. Add the marinara, let simmer for 20 minutes.

- While the marinara is simmering, mix ricotta with egg and Italian seasoning, a handful of mozerella and parmesan, set aside.

Assembly:
- meat sauce
- noodles
- ricotta mix ("painted on" is the phrase used from the Peanut Gallery)
- mushrooms
- mozerella/parmesan
-------------------------
- meat sauce
- noodles
- ricotta mix
- mushrooms
- shredded mozzarella/parmesan
-------------------------
- meat sausce
- noodles
- mushrooms
- meat sauce
- mozzarella/parmesan (lots of it - no...really, LOTS of it)

Baked at 350 for 40 minutes (with foil on), then another 15 minutes without to brown the cheese on top. Let's hope it's as good as this post makes it sound!  Really, it is that good!

Susan Sanderson's Marinara Sauce

This is an ALL DAY activity, so bring out a good book and send the kiddies to the neighbor's to play. Time consuming and messy (think Tomato Graffiti), but so very worth it! Padded shoes are in order...really, your feet will hurt!

12 qts. ground tomatoes - for all of you wondering how many fresh off the vine, peeled, pulverized tomatoes that is: LOTS. LOTS and LOTS and LOTS. Think in terms of bushels....and don't pick your own in 90+ degree weather.
- peel the tomatoes and puree them

- pour the pureed tomatoes into a LARGE (10 quarts or so) pot

- cook on medium heat, until the sauce has reduced by 1/4



7-10 onions (I use 7 large onions or 10 medium ones), pureed

10-12 cloves garlic, pressed

- add garlic and pureed onions to tomatoes

- let the sauce reduce again



2 c sugar

4 T salt

12 HEAPING (I mean it) T dried oregano

6 HEAPING T dried basil

3 HEAPING T dried thyme

6 bay leaves

- Add all the spices/herbs to the sauce

- let the sauce reduce again



3 twelve ounce cans of tomato paste

- let the sauce reduce again



To make the sauce smoother and less chunky, use an immersion blender to puree it further. Ladel in the prepared canning jars and seal

Shanghai Noodles

Summer is a great time! June - October, to be exact...FARMER'S MARKET!!! I went on Saturday and found some delicious treasures:

- fresh made shanghai noodles
- snap peas
- shiitake and beech mushrooms

Mmmmmmmm...I'm thinking stirfried shanghai noodles with prawns!!!! My own 'house special', if you will.

1 lb shanghai noodles, blanched

1 lb prawns (I use 15-20 count)

1 lb snap peas, blanched (they should still be crispy)

1 lb mushrooms (use your favorites, but know that some mushrooms - such as portabellas - are too strong in flavor to use in stirfry. I used a combination of shiitake and beech)

1/2 small head of cabbage, sliced (not too thinly)

2 eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 sliced onion
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1-2 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoons sugar
Canola oil
Black pepper to taste

In a bowl, mix shrimp, cornstarch, coriander and sesame oil. Set aside. In a hot wok, coat with canola oil, and quickly scramble the eggs (note: I usually make thin egg crepes and slice them fine rather than scramble, but either method is fine). Remove eggs from heat and set aside. Stir-fry the shrimp for only 2 minutes keeping them rare. Set aside. In the same wok, add a little more oil and caramelize garlic, ginger and onions. Add cabbage, chicken stock and oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar - cook until softened. Add mushrooms. Add noodles, peas, eggs and shrimp. Toss to heat through. Season with black pepper (I like to garnish with cilantro sprigs). Serve!

Chicken Pesto with Penne

This one passes muster - have tried it twice...with success! Penne, linguine, fettucine...a good pasta that will hold the creamy pesto.

2 T butter
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/4 c heavy cream
1/4 c pesto sauce (recipe from November 20, 2008) - you can add more if that's your preference
shredded roasted chicken (I use Costco - it can't be beat!)
1 lb penne (or your pasta of choice...just don't use angel hair, it's too light), cooked
shredded asiago and parmesan cheese, (about 3 T. each)
salt and pepper to taste

- Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet, add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add shredded chicken, pesto and cream and cook until heated through, add salt and pepper. Add pasta and toss to coat with the sauce, let it heat so the sauce thickens and absorbs in the pasta. Turn off heat and add the cheese - toss well to mix.

Turkey Sandwich Extraordinaire

Right....You're thinking "turkey sandwich"???? But this is really quite delicious, believe you me!

Bread - luscious, fluffy bread of choice
lettuce - my preference is butter or Boston lettuce
sliced tomatoes
sliced cucumbers (optional - but I like the crunch it offers)
Deli sliced turkey
lingonberry jam (no, not cranberry - but you can use cranberry or raspberry)
cream cheese spread (the "extraordinaire" part - recipe follows)

Assemble it. Here is my order of preference: cream cheese spread on bottom slice, turkey, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, lingonberry jam on top slice.

Cream Cheese Spread - beat together:
1 8oz brick of cream cheese
1/2 c unsalted butter (1 stick)
kosher salt to taste
pinch of dried thyme
pinch of dried oregano
pinch of dried basil
pinch of ground coriander
1 t. garlic powder

Caramel (Cup)Cake with Mocha Buttercream Frosting

January is a very popular month for birthdays. Mine and 4 of my friends within 7 days of each other! So I made these as cupcakes to celebrate. This recipe is adapted from Shuna Fish Lydon's Bay Area Bites recipe. For the caramel sauce, I use the Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels I posted below (cooking to a 250 degree - 258 degree temperature will keep the consistency sauce-like) and the Outrageous Mocha Buttercream frosting is from the Essential Baker by Carol Bloom.

CARAMEL CAKE
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup caramel syrup (Golden Vanilla Bean Caramel)
2 each eggs, room temp
splash vanilla extract
2 cups ap flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1c milk, room temp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter one tall 9" cake pan.
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth.

2. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.

3. Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl.

4. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.

5. Sift flour and baking powder.

6. Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dries.

7. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time.

8. Add another third of the dries, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dries. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}

9. Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds. making sure batter is uniform.
Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it. Cake will keep for three days unrefrigerated.

Mocha Buttercream
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
————————
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (opt)
————————
1 pound (2 cups, 4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
————————
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped, melted over a double boiler and cooled to room temperature
————————
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon water

In a small sauce pan fitted with a candy thermometer, bring the 1 1/4 cups sugar, water and cream of tartar to a boil over medium-high heat. If any of the sugar crystals get onto the side of the pan, be sure to wipe them down with a wet clean pastry brush. The sugar needs to cook until it hits 242° F on the thermometer. This takes several minutes.

While that is boiling, place the eggs, egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer and whip on medium speed until they are thick, pale in color and hold a ribbon when the beater is lifted. Once the sugar syrup has reached its temperature of 242° F, then slowly pour it into the bowl of whipped egg yolks while the beater is going on slow. Be sure to pour it along the bowl so that the hot syrup doesn’t hit the beater and splatter! Allow the eggs and sugar mixture to beat on medium high speed until the eggs have cooled, about 8 minutes.

Add the butter 2 tablespoons at a time.

The buttercream will go through a stage that looks soupy and curdled, but continue to add all of the butter and it will come together.

The finished buttercream will be smooth and silky.

Add a tablespoon of water to the espresso powder and dissolve.

Add the melted and cooled chocolate to the buttercream.

Mix to combine and decorate your cake. The buttercream will freeze if you have any left, wrapped really well in plastic. Just allow it to come bake to room temperature and whisk it on low speed to smooth it out.