Happy Birthday Hilary and Alison

I saw this cartoon years ago in an old New Yorker magazine

and thought it was hysterical.

You see I also have two children from a previous sexuality.

And I had a wonderful wife who was, and still is a terrific mother.

This is a photo of Hilary holding Alison with Dr. Feore and I.

Today, May 21st, is my former wife Hilary's birthday.

On Tuesday the 24th it will be my daughter Alison's 21st birthday.

This is one of my favorite early photos of the two birthday girls.

Last Wednesday on the 18th, it was my son Jack's 19th birthday.

As you can imagine, there are a lot of birthday cakes eaten within

a week at our house.

Alison and Hilary love strawberry shortcakes.

And not the pre-made spongecake kind that you buy in the store

either. They prefer the Bisquick shortcakes that are still warm when

I put them together. And yes I use Bisquick. That stuff rocks as far

as I am concerned. I am not a person who has to make

everything from scratch.

When I make strawberry short cakes, I buy the best strawberries

I can find. I choose the darkest and the reddest ones.

Rinse and then cut off the green tops and any white unripened tips

or areas that may have already spoiled.

Cut the berries in small pieces, place in a bowl and cover with

some sugar. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of sugar but I think that is

too much. Use your discretion, but I would start with 1/4 and see

if that is enough for you.

The more ripe the fruit, the less sugar you will need.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the sugar do

its thing. The sugar will not only sweeten the fruit, it will make a

nice syrup in the process. By the way, do not refrigerate unwashed

strawberries. It makes them taste bland. Buy them and eat them

the same day. Strawberries have a very short shelf life.

Now it is time to make the shortcakes. Here is the recipe I use.

Of course I always feel free to put my own twist on things

as I cook and you should too.

I add in a teaspoon of vanilla to the biscuits.

And I use cream in place of the milk for an added little

sumptin' sumptin' as we like to say. One day I might even substitute

buttermilk for the milk just to see what happens. I have also thrown in a

dash of nutmeg or cinnamon to good effect.

And I make my own whipped cream from heavy whipping cream.

When whipping the cream, I add start with a half pint of very cold heavy

whipping cream (or one cup). I add in one teaspoon of clear vanilla. You can use

regular vanilla, but it will make the cream look tan colored. I also add in

1/4 cup of confectioners sugar. I know many people use regular sugar, but

I prefer to use confectioners sugar because it has cornstarch in it and that

helps the whipped cream keep its shape. Whip all ingredients until peaks

form. Be careful not to whip too long or you will end up with sweet vanilla butter!

When the freshly baked biscuits are cooled but still warm, split them in two.

I like to drizzle some strawberry juice on the bottom part before adding some

whipped cream. Place some strawberries on top of the whipped cream add a

little more whipped cream on top of that and then put the top on the biscuit.

I like to put the top on with the cut side up. This way the top can support

another layer of syrup, whipped cream and berries. In my mind you can never

have enough whipped cream or berries.

And don't think you can only use strawberries for shortcakes. Try blueberries,

raspberries, or blackberries or even peaches. Experiment!!

I hope when you make shortcakes next time you will think of Hilary and Ali.

And I hope you enjoy them just as much as they do.

Happy Birthday to two of the sweetest girls I know:

Hilary Boyd Fechino and Alison Marie Fechino.