Marinated Strawberries over Pound Cake

Yes, I have a favorite cookbook.  How'd you know?  A friend let us borrow a shelf of his fridge while we were moving and we were without a full-sized fridge for nearly two weeks.  To repay him, I offered to make him dinner.  He requested Italian and I immediately knew what book to reach for: Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis.  In my meal planning, I was naturally first concerned with dessert.  I'd just had some lovely strawberries, which inspired me to try "Marinated Strawberries over Pound Cake," basically an Italian take on strawberry shortcake, but better!


Fixins:

• 1 quart strawberries, hulled and halved
• 1/3 cup aged balsamic vinegar
• 1-2 Tbs sugar
• 1/3 cup whipped cream (My husband whipped up his own sweet vanilla concoction, but Giada just calls for cold whipping cream)
• 4 slices pound cake
• 1/3 cup amaretto liqueur
• 6 amaretti cookies (I couldn't find these, but I found another thin almond cookie that worked just fine.)

Pour the vinegar over the strawberries and let it sit out for 20 minutes.  We used the fancy vanilla fig balsamic vinegar that we bought for our anniversary and it was a dynamite compliment.  Next, add sugar to taste.  Make your whipped cream how you like it and refrigerate it until you are ready to use it.  My husband put in some sugar and vanilla, since we both looove our sugar.  Put a slice of pound cake on each plate and brush it with the amaretto liqueur.  Top with the strawberry mixture, then a dollop of whipped cream.  Sprinkle with crumbled almond cookies.  I got out a bit of aggression making the crumbs nice and fine with a frying pan in hand :)

Result:

Look at that sexy little plate!  This dessert is fresh, sweet, complex, and not too heavy.  The guys both had second helpings and could not stop raving about it.  There is something so mystical about the combination of vinegar and strawberries.  I'll admit that I scoffed in the beginning, but I am now a believer.  There are layers of flavor here, and each one adds something without overpowering the dish.

Repeat:

In case you hadn't guessed...YES!  This dessert is so delightfully different that it will forever stand out in my memory Rolodex as the quintessential end to any Italian summer meal.  I can't believe I'm saying this, but I didn't even miss the chocolate!