Strawberry-and-Chocolate Sundae

Tips: Strawberries and chocolate are a great combination. Here, the strawberries are macerated with sugar and orange juice for an hour or so, which results in a nice blend of fruit and some syrup--the perfect foil for ice cream! I prefer to use ice cream with just a bit of chocolate in it, but you can use straight chocolate if you like. For a change of pace, consider using chocolate sorbet instead of ice cream. The strawberries do not keep well; use them within about 6 hours of combining with the sugar and orange juice. If your berries are really sweet, you may want to use less sugar. Discard any moldy or soft strawberries first, then wash what you need quickly in cold water and dry on paper towels.

• 1 cup thinly-sliced strawberries

• 2 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar

• 1 Tbsp. freshly-squeezed, strained orange juice

• Scoops of good-quality chocolate chip OR vanilla fudge ice cream, slightly softened

• Lightly sweetened whipped cream

• Chocolate sprinkles

In small, nonaluminum bowl, combine strawberries, sugar, and orange juice. Stir gently to mix well. Cover; chill at least one hour and as long as six hours, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar.

Place ice cream scoops in wineglasses or sundae dishes. Divide berries and syrup evenly among sundaes, spooning mixture over ice cream in each dish or glass. Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream, then finish each sundae with chocolate sprinkles. Serve immediately!

2 to 4 sundaes, depending upon how much strawberry topping is used for each