Prompted by Brian’s brother Daryl’s craving for steak, we loaded up last night and enjoyed an evening of dinner without the messy dishes. Brian insists that one of the best two steaks he’s ever had was at a Carrabba’s restaurant.
Now that Bennett is a bit older and capable of making significantly larger messes (like this Starbucks story), I was hyper vigilant to be sure that my babe didn’t disturb the other diners. Shouldn’t have worried. Not only was Bennett on his best behavior, making minimal messes, eating his dinner and grinning from ear to ear, but I’m pleased to announce that we discovered his appreciation for kalamata olives, too! Who’d have thought?! (Naturally I broke them down into small & safe bits).
After we were contentedly stuffed, we dashed over to Reston Town Center to escort Daryl into his very first Anthropologie experience. Such an intoxicating store…
See that stroller in the bottom, left corner? Yeah, it’s a good thing that we brought it, ya know, so we could have somewhere to put… the diaper bag. (What? That’s not what they’re for?)
Being that Daryl was kind enough to treat us to our Italian dinner, I whipped up a quick dessert and coffee when we returned home. Following the simple directions for 3,2,1 Cake, I then added my embellishments.
First, the cake: Into a mug goes 1.5 T of angel food cake mix (required) + 1.5 T of french vanilla cake mix (you can use whatever cake flavor you’d like, but vanilla tends to allow me the most endless possibilities in terms of toppings). That 1.5+1.5 is your THREE. Next, add TWO tablespoons of water and stir. Place mug in microwave and cook for ONE minute. Voila. Easy-p’easy. (I like a wide, shallow mug.)
Embellishments:
- sautéed small, fresh chunks of apple in butter with agave nectar and salt
- warmed a caramel syrup with a splash of amaretto liquor
- drizzled the caramel-amaretto syrup on the cake and apples
- topped with a dollop of whipped cream
I couldn’t tell ya how it tasted as I didn’t make any for myself. But there were no leftovers, so I take that as a good sign.
Hope everyone is taking time to enjoy this Labor Day weekend! Be Square!
I wondered about that cake recipe … good to know.
Now I’m craving steak ….
My first complaint about your blog, Susie–you HAD to tell me there’s a cake I can make in less than a minute–oh, you did NOT just do that!!!! And now with all this Thrive freeze dried fruit on my shelf, I’m a goner.
I wish it had been our Carrabba’s! They’ve heard so much about little Benny-boo.
It is so wonderful to discover Bennett enjoys dining out. Opens the door to more leisure for mom and dad. Kalamata olives are loved by this nana. Add lettuce, bit of grated blue cheese, diced onions and top with olive oil for a Greek treat extraordinaire!
I gotta write that down. 3,2,1. Hmmm. Sounds perfect for cakes on the fly. Oh, and I love kalamata olives too! They are expensive in the stores. After I had my first couple at Carrabba’s, I went to buy and jar and changed my mind. I’ll just eat them when I get a salad at work. ha ha. Yummy.