Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberries are all around us, Blueberries are making an appearance and Raspberries and Blackberries will be here very soon. We have to take advantage. Here's a simple marinade my nonna used to make all summer long. Any berry will work. Use your favorite.

As for the shortcake, Mary Nolan's (all rights reserved) is by far the easiest, fastest and most delicious shortcake recipe ever. It's amazing and will impress families and guests alike.

Buon Appetito!

Ingredients

For the strawberries:

• 1 1/2 pounds strawberries, stemmed and quartered
• 2- 3 tablespoons sugar (to taste)
• juices of half a lemon
• a shot of port or sherry if you want
• a couple of fresh mint leaves
• For the shortcake:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream very cold
• Whipped Cream, recipe follows

Directions

Wash, dry and cut the strawberries. Place in a non-reactive bowl and mix in all the other ingredients, cover with saran and refrigerate so juices develop, min 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the cold heavy cream and mix until just combined. Do NOT over mix! Place mixture in an ungreased 8-inch square pan and bake until golden and cooked through, 18 to 22 minutes.

Remove shortcake from pan and place on a rack to cool slightly. Cut into 6 pieces and split each piece in half horizontally.

Spoon some of the strawberries with their juice onto each shortcake bottom. Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream and then the shortcake top. Spoon more strawberries over the top and serve.

Whipped Cream:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

Using a mixer, beat the heavy cream, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest until soft peaks form, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.