STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

     We're on the cusp of berry season.  Recipes I've had tucked away are again seeing the light of day now that acceptable seasonal fruits are beginning to show up in our grocery stores.  Try to purchase organic strawberries.  Their taste far surpasses the others.

                                           STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
                                       (adapted from Gourmet Magazine)

2 pints strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

FOR THE BISCUIT:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons firmly-packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into bits
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons sugar

1 cup chilled heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
3 tablespoons sour cream

1.  In a bowl combine 3/4's of the strawberries with the sugar and vanilla, mash them lightly with a fork and let them macerate, covered and chilled, stirring occasionally for one hour.
2.  MAKE THE BISCUIT:  Into a bowl sift together the flour, the baking powder and the salt; add the brown sugar and the butter and blend the mixture until it resembles coarse meal. (You can do it up to this point in a food processor.  Transfer to a large bowl and continue).  Add the milk and stir the mixture until it just forms a dough.  Drop he dough in 8 mounds onto a buttered or parchment paper-lined baking sheet, letting the mounds touch to form an 8-inch ring.  Sprinkle it with the sugar and bake the biscuit in the middle of a preheated 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Transfer the biscuit to a rack carefully and let it cool.  Cut the top 1/4 off the entire biscuit ring with a serrated knife, transfer the bottom to a platter, and spoon the macerated strawberries and the liquid over it.
3.  In a chilled bowl, beat the cream with the powdered sugar until it just holds soft peaks.  Beat in the sour cream, and beat the mixture until it is stiff.  Top the macerated strawberries with the cream mixture and the remaining one fourth of the strawberries and cover the mixture with the biscuit top. Chill until ready to serve. 
The shortcake is best eaten the day it is made.