Strawberries & Vanilla Ice Cream

When we were all between 21 and 22, Kathleen and Steven came to Philadelphia for the weekend to visit the newly married Paul and me. On Saturday night, Kathleen made one of the most delicious dinners I have ever had—even to this day: four steamed lobsters with a bucket of drawn butter, a salad of iceberg lettuce, green and red peppers, radishes, cucumbers, and red onion in a garlicky vinaigrette, followed by large goblets of vanilla ice cream layered with strawberries. We were young and hopeful and simply hungry for everything.

I’ve made that dessert many times since, always trying to keep it just as simple and just as good. I don’t macerate the strawberries—I slice them and let them sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. That’s long enough for their flavor to bloom without pulling out too much juice. If they’re perfectly ripe, they don’t need sugar. If they’re not, I slice them thinner and add just a tiny bit.

I serve them over vanilla ice cream that’s been out of the freezer for a little while so it’s soft and a little melty around the edges. The strawberries should settle in—not bounce off.

Any vanilla ice cream you love will work if it has a full, clean vanilla flavor and a texture that scoops easily once it’s had a few minutes on the counter. The strawberries don’t sink into it—they fold into it.

You can serve this in small glass bowls or old-fashioned goblets if you have them. I still think of that first time, and how it felt to be at the beginning of everything, with people I loved and food that was somehow exactly right.

For years afterward, this was the only dessert I ever served—and if push comes to shove, I would have to say, even all these years later, having learned to bake more than a few good things, it’s still my favorite.

Sharon, who is a pastry chef and has eaten this many times at my table, says that the combination of ice cream and strawberries “makes a third thing.” I know what she means, and if you make this, you will too. This is just as delicious made with raspberries, and if you can get just-this-minute-picked strawberries—as I can from my local farm stand around July Fourth—it will be a revelation.

I now make my own Sweet Cream Ice Cream, which I think is very special, following instructions from Jeni Britton Bauer in Jeni’s Splendid Desserts, and it’s very good here. But for old time’s sake, I’m happy making this with the always dependable and delicious Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream.Strawberries & Vanilla Ice Cream

Strawberries & Vanilla Ice Cream
From Kathleen
Serves 4

Buy a pint (or a quart if you want lots) of strawberries. Hull and cut them in half—or quarters if the strawberries are large—and a pint of vanilla ice cream. I use Häagen-Dazs Vanilla (not Vanilla Bean).

Put the berries in a bowl and add 1 to 3 tablespoons of sugar, depending on how sweet the strawberries are to begin with and how many berries you have. Use the least amount of sugar you can. Allow the berries to macerate in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Serve in wine goblets, layering—berries first, then ice cream, berries, ice cream, berries—always starting with berries on the bottom and ending with berries on top.

If you use raspberries instead of strawberries, leave the berries whole.