Birthday Feast

I have always loved other people's birthdays. It's wonderful to focus on celebrating a friend and helping them feel special on the commemoration of their birth. Other people's birthdays possess none of the bittersweet undertones of one's own birthday and I just love giving presents to the people I love.

Today is Prof. Hubs' birthday and one of my gifts to him is a birthday feast. I am planning on preparing the chard tart as an appetizer, a green salad with lemon vinaigrette, a beet and goat cheese salad, sweet potatoes, steak, and for dessert a family favorite: the famous Chocolate Chip Mint cake!

Note: This is about as close to 'semi-homemade' as I get... But it's just so delicious and cheap, why not use these shortcuts?

Mom's famous Chocolate Chip Mint cake

1 package devil's food cake mix (Duncan Hines is my preference)

1 package instant Jell-o chocolate pudding

3/4 tsp mint extract

4 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 1/4 cup water

1 package chocolate chips (I prefer dark)

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a bundt pan.

Mix all ingredients until well combined (about 2 minutes with an electric mixer)

Pour into bundt pan, bake for 50-60 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. When cooled, invert pan and cover with a dusting of cocoa powder or powdered sugar if you'd like...