Shortcakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus a little extra
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into chunks
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons milk
Sift dry ingredients in a bowl and then add the butter, a few chunks at a time, and work it with your hands into the flour, until completely combined and looks like small beads. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, and pour in 1/2 cup buttermilk and milk. Use a dough scraper to incorporate the milk and flour, pulling the flour from the edges to the center. The finished dough should feel damp, not wet, and be a “shaggy mess” and not a solid mass.
Let dough rest on parchment paper for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place dough on lightly floured working surface and roll out to 1/2″ thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter, then place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden, then transfer to rack to cool.
For Strawberries:
1 pint berries, sliced
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice.
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, and let the berries macerate in the sugar, up to 4 hours. Store in fridge until ready to serve.
For assembly:
Cut short cakes in half, and place bottom half on the plate. Top with a spoonful of the strawberries, and drizzle a bit of the juice on as well. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a little shot of whip cream, then rest the top of the biscuit against the side of the stack. Serves 8
Holly Michaud is a personal chef who works for The Pier, a unique waterfront restaurant in Newport, Rhode Island. She has years of experience in the kitchen cooking for celebrities on various chartered yachts.
If you notice a hole in the upper left-hand corner of your Farmers' Almanac, don't return it to the store! That hole isn't a defect; it's a part of history. Starting with the first edition of the Farmers' Almanac in 1818, readers used to nail holes into the corners to hang it up in their homes, barns, and outhouses (to provide both reading material and toilet paper). In 1910, the Almanac's publishers began pre-drilling holes in the corners to make it even easier for readers to keep all of that invaluable information (and paper) handy.
