I have a CLASSIC dessert recipe for you that everyone will love. You don’t have to bake it, and that’s PERFECT for the warm-weather months. What is it? I’ll give you a hint; it’s BERRY simple!

One of the easiest and most elegant strawberry recipes you can make at home is Strawberries Romanoff.

This famous dish can be credited in part to two chefs, Chef Marie Antoine Careme who plied his trade in France just as the French revolution was coming to an end and a predecessor, Auguste Escoffier, the father of classical French cooking. Both were world famous CULINARY ROCK STARS well before the Food Network!

Supposedly created for the Russian Tsar Nicolas the 1st, this simple recipe has MANY opportunities for personal creativity. The one constant is sweetened whipped cream and strawberries, but most recipes add an orange liquor or brandy as well.

Another traditional ingredient is sour cream, which adds a pleasant acidity and balances the sweet flavor of the cream and berries. The last, most-common adaptation is American, using softened vanilla ice cream as part of the base with the whipped cream.

Despite the whipping cream, sugar and alcohol, Strawberries Romanoff was always intended to be a light dessert. Of course, we Americans can never resist the temptation to fatten up an otherwise healthy recipe, so you’ll often find the basic Strawberries Romanoff recipe stuffed in crepes or portioned over sponge or angel food cake and drizzled with chocolate and other toppings.

Let me show you how easy it is to make the recipe combining some of the old and the new. This recipe will feed two.

Strawberries Romanoff

Serves 2 to 3

2 Cups Strawberries, hulled & cut in half
2 TBSP Orange Liquor (Grand Marnier)
1/2 Cup GOOD Vanilla Ice Cream
1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
2 TBSP Granulated Sugar
1 tsp Pure Vanilla
2 TBSP Sour Cream

1. Place trimmed strawberries in a medium mixing bowl and add orange liquor. Allow to marinate 15 minutes.
2. Soften ice cream to a pudding-like consistency. Do not melt.
3. Whip cream with sugar and vanilla into a medium-stiff peak.
4. Stir sour cream to soften.
5. Fold all ingredients together and serve in a chilled glass.
6. Optional garnishments:

• Mint Sprig
• Sponge Cake, Angel Food Cake, Pound Cake
• Crisp Meringue Shells
• Crepes

That’s IT! Simple, elegant and delicious–JUST the way it was intended to be.

No matter how you choose to prepare this classic dessert, you know you can count on Nino’s to have THE best strawberries in town. HEY, a strawberry is on the DOOR! You KNOW they’re gonna be good!

I don’t know why I don’t make this more often!