Strawberry Romanoff

Here's a little glimpse into my legendary Summer in Estes. (I formatted it like that, because I feel like it should be a major motion picture.)
As I mentioned previously, Andrea and I set out the summer between our freshman and sophomore year at Arizona State to live in the beautiful tourist town of Estes Park, Colorado. We got jobs as waitresses up there and getting to work was the only responsibility we had all summer. Rough life, obviously.
Neither of us had worked in a restaurant before we moved out there, and we were pretty much thrown into it. My first day of training was with Ricardo. I hadn't met him, but I heard he was known for changing in the back room before his shift and would occasionally walk out in his pink undies. This made me a little nervous to go look for him. Luckily when we met, he was nearly fully clothed.
The entire night consisted of shadowing him for the most part, but he would push me out of my comfort zone once in a while and make me carry a tray or list off the salad dressings to a table.
Each night the restaurant would have a dessert special. That first night happened to be strawberry romanoff. I had no idea what it was, but once a table ordered it Ricky said, "Okay, you watch this time and next time you do it." He grabbed a cart from the side of the room and rolled it over to the table. There was a small gas burner on top, a dish of strawberries, ice cream, and a few other ingredients.
I wasn't aware the restaurant was also an ideal location to watch a fireworks display. Ricky had a pan full of flaming strawberries right in front of these people's faces and I was about to do this?! I could barely lift a skillet in the first place. I was convinced I was going to burn down the restaurant.
Well Ricky, the wonderful trainer he was, stood by me the whole time and made sure no one would be leaving with third degree burns. And more good news: the restaurant is still standing.
So Grandma's in town and Mom decided it was time to show off my flambéing skills acquired over the summer. She bought the good stuff this time, too! Go Mom!

Wash & slice strawberries. Mom says pesticides aren't good for you. I like to think they strengthen my immune system.

Happy Valentine's Day! I thought it looked like a heart :D

 And here's the lineup:

Butter, Cinnamon, Brown Sugar, Strawberries, and 151 Rum.

Told you she got the good stuff.

Oo! Almost forgot the ice cream!

Side note: my dad used to tell me when I was little he'd pay me $.50 for each one of these bowls I broke. For some reason he hated them when my mom bought them.

Please excuse my ghetto backyard/grill. My mom isn't as encouraging as Ricky and makes me cook it outside.

First step: Melting the butter (or burning it, if your name is Callie.)

Next add the strawberries & cook a tad.

Then the rum!
Props to my sis for this awesome mid-pour shot!

Tell Grandma to back up, tilt the pan & set fire!
Also note that I'm tossing the cinnamon into the flames. It creates the "firework effect."

 Once the rum cooks out, add in the brown sugar.

Make sure brown sugar is well dissolved & pour over ice cream.

Finished product. I admit, I need to work on my displays. They aren't the prettiest.  Although, I promise you it tasted delicious.