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...


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