St. Patty's Day Meets Martha Stewart

It's not very often that I do anything particularly "homemakerey" - beyond getting a few home-cooked dinners on the table each week, there just never seems to be enough time for anything creative or what Martha would describe as "special." When we were invited to our neighbors house for a casual St Patty's Day dinner, I really shocked myself when I volunteered to bring a dessert. But, I was committed - one St Patty's Day themed dessert coming up. Luckily, I remembered a green cake that my friend Carolyn had made in college. I immediately texted her for help. She sent me the recipe and i was set. It was actually a piece of cake - no pun intended and a big hit with our neighbors. Here's the recipe:

• 1 package white cake (whatever is required to prepare the cake mix - typically oil and eggs)
• 1 jar of hot fudge ice cream topping
• 1 container of cool whip
• 1 bottle of creme de menthe liquor

Instructions - Prepare the cake according to package instructions substituting creme de menthe for the water. (I used two 9 inch rounds for a layered cake). Allow cake to cool, then spread hot fudge on one cake for middle layer and stack cake rounds. Continue to spread the hot fudge on top layer and around edges. It is very helpful to slightly heat the hot fudge in the microwave before spreading. Pop cake into fridge for 20 to 3o minutes to allow fudge to harden. Finally, mix cool whip with a couple tablespoons of the creme de menthe liquor - add gradually as you want to be careful to not make the cool whip too runny. I also added a few drops of green food coloring to kick up the green color. Then spread cool whip over entire cake surface. Then decorate as so inclined - for me that meant a shakey four leaf clover and a few green sprinkles! Keep cake in the fridge until ready to serve - this cake tastes best right out of the fridge but it could probably sit out for a couple hours and still be great. The result is a cross between and bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream and a thin mint girl scout cookie. Yummmmmm.

We had a great time with our great neighbors last night - thanks Lindsey, Charlie and Nash for having us over - and thanks for inspiring me to make something truly "special." :-)