Comfort Food & White Jacket Required

There are a handful of foods that rank on my "comfort food" list.  No, not mashed potatoes...not meatloaf.

My number one comfort food is toast.  Toast with butter or cinnamon toast, but definitely toast.

Also ranking high on the list: graham crackers with chocolate frosting.  Comfort food when made for you, is a little like a love letter, isn't it?  Maybe that's why it's so comforting to me...I remember my mom making these. I'm sure she made them with leftover frosting, but today I made them using Jenna's recipe from her new book.

Let me tell you a bit about White Jacket Required by Jenna Weber.  As the subtitle states, the book is "culinary coming-of-age story," taking the reader along on Jenna's journey through culinary school and beyond.  Jenna's book is  not only a love letter to food, but to her family as well...it's heartfelt and touching.

To top it off, each chapter ends with a recipe...or three.  Oh, I love a book with recipes, don't you?  I love thinking about what the author was eating and cooking...and the story behind the food.  There's ALWAYS a story.

Culinary school, family bonds, recipes...can you ask for more, really?

Jenna was kind enough to let me share her recipe for chocolate buttercream here on the blog.  It's light and fluffy, and just perfect for sandwiching between two graham crackers....or for frosting a cake if you're feeling ambitious.

It's comfort food.


Jenna's Chocolate Buttercream
{with permission from White Jacket Required}

1 stick (8 TBSP) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
Pinch of sea salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 TBSP cocoa powder
2 TBSP milk

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla for 5 minutes on high speed.  Add the cocoa powder and milk and keep beating for another 8-10 minutes until very light, thick, and fluffy.

Having met Jenna last month in Oregon, I can attest to the fact that she's as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.  I think you'll want to know her, too.

{Also, be sure to visit Jenna's blog: Eat, Live, Run.}