Barely Legal Birthday Bash + Sin-sational Strawberries

My friend Fanny Wildwood (pictured above) recently turned 21 for the second time around, and we promptly threw her one of our famous thrown together party. More or less we all agreed to bring something to her house and eat like the fat girls we probably are.


I brought the Sin-Sational Strawberries with Balsamic Sauce and Vanilla Ice cream.

Yes, I am talking about putting vinegar on top of ice cream. But friends, this combination is a true revelation. If given the choice between sex or balsamic strawberries, I would actually have to think about which one I would prefer at the moment. The tartness of the vinegar cuts the sweetness of the ice cream, and it highlights the flavor of the strawberries.

The day I get my Kitchen Stand Mixer, I want the Ice Cream attachment so I can just cut out the middle man and make straight-up stawberry balsamic flavored ice cream.

Simple, simple recipe...

Vanilla Ice Cream topped with Balsamic Vinegar Marinated Strawberries:

2 pints of strawberries, chopped up into quarters
3 Tablespoons good balsamic vinegar. (Can't tell how what's a good balsamic? Good balsamic is imported, good balsamic doesn't have caramel color or artificial flavor. Or you could just be trashy and buy the fake stuff next to the salad dressing).
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt. (Salt enhances the flavor of the other ingredients)
1/2 Teaspoon of Pepper (In this case, pepper tingles and excites your tongue. It also adds a flowery aroma to the dish)
Zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Mix up everything and let sit for at least an hour. Scoop ice cream into serving dishes and top with strawberries and plenty of the liquid in the bowl.


The strawberry mixture will look like this:




Fanny made her own birthday cupcakes. She baked them in a sheet pan and cut them out with an empty soup can. These mini cakes were really, really good.

This was much easier than making a whole cake, and a lot more fun. Because sheet pan cakes are so thin, they always bake a lot better than round cakes. Fanny also used boxed cake mix which we have no problem with using.


And who doesn't want to eat this?



Stawberry balsamic, cake, and hot dogs. Best dinner ever.

And Kitty Conners really likes hotdogs.