Wines of the Giro Stage 4: Battaglin & Falanghina

http://www.gazzetta.it/static_images/ciclismo/giroditalia/2013/zoom/planimetria_04.jpg

Policastro - Serra San Bruno 

From the Garibaldi:  Long stage at 246 km. The first 190 km are mostly flat with slightly rolling sections along the SS18. Road surface in good condition, with some lit tunnels along the race route. The other side of the Lamezia Terme plain, the climb begins towards Maierato and Vibo Valentia (GPM: Gran Premio della Montagna or King of the Mountain) with very ‘pedalable' gradients despite short, very steep stretches (road surface paved with stone slabs in some villages). Beyond Vibo Valentia, the road descends as far as the final climb up to Croce Ferrata (Intermediate Sprint at Soriano Calabro, the half-way point of the climb) with gradients of around 5%. Stage finish is 7 km after the GPM.

After the GPM at Croce Ferrata the road loses altitude quite quickly, first narrow and twisting, then from -6 to -3 km along a wide road. Final 3km climbing towards the town centre. At 600m the road narrows and the surface is stone slabs. The finishing straight is 550 m long and 6m wide with a slight upward gradient.

The first uphill finish of this year's race and the question of the day is whether or not Katusha will be able to keep Luca Paolini in the race leader's jersey after yesterday's stage win. Early on, pre-video, the break of the day formed with: Johan Le Bon (FDJ), Francis Mourey (FDJ), Julien Berard (AG2R), Emanuele Sella (Androni Giocattoli), Miguel Minguez (Euskaltel), Ioannis Tamouridis (Euskaltel), and Pim Ligthart (Vacansoleil). They are mainly a group of non-threatening riders, though the presence of Sella would keep the teams behind alert. 
With a little under 200 km remaining the break riders had a lead of 7:55 over the peloton behind. Things continued and with less that 100 km to go, the breakaway was 3:50 ahead of the Katusha led peloton. The break split, with Minguez, Ligthart, Le Bon and Berard pushing up ahead, probably hoping that the peloton would chase less aggressively if they dropped Sella. 
With about 73 kms left, Be-in went live and I no longer had to fight livestream pop-ups. Note: I sometimes like to think of finding the right x as a not very exciting video game. 

With 65 km to go, the gap was down to 4:00. Action ahead as they climb?

mrconde 6:57am via Web

Vini-Fantini really set a high pace and in no time the gap has gone from 4 min to 1½ min. 57,4 km to go. #giro

Then as word came of rain at the finish, the break attacked each other. Much to the amusement of the tv commentators, the Euskatel rider, Minguez, had just loaded up his jersey with water bottles in preparation for the catch and had almost a hunchback created by bottles. He ended up tossing them to the side and riding ahead on his own. From twitter:

nyvelocity 7:07am via TweetDeck

Sammy Sanchez is all like, "Where's Minguez with my water?"

Sure enough, rain on the camera lens and more limited video. 

TeamSky 7:23am via Web

The weather is making it's presence felt now with 43km to go. Heavy rain at the finish and it's reaching the peloton now. #Giro

Nervous time for the peloton and after a commercial the sight of Nibali on the side of the road getting a wheel from a teammate. It was time for a chase back to the bunch. And chase he did, making it back to the main peloton in time for the climbs ahead. 

inrng 7:54am via Web

20km to go and a group of five riders trying to go clear on the descent but the bunch will surely catch then on the Croce Ferrata climb?

  opqscyclingteam 8:06am via TweetDeck

14.2km to go, gap went from 1 minute to 37" quickly. #Giro. Pirazzi, Quintero, Rabottini still chasing.

A solo attack by Sylvain Georges looked good for a little while, but he was caught as twitter groaned at the sight of Danilo Di Luca.

 

  giroditalia 8:20am via Twitter for iPhone

Attack by Di Luca (FAN) and Chalapud (COL) 8 km left / Attacco di Di Luca (FAN) e Chalapud (COL) 8 km dall'arrivo #giro

Would they make it?

giroditalia 8:26am via Twitter for iPhone

Di Luca, Chalapud > 10'' > Peloton / Gruppo. 5 km left #giro

No, but it was very close. Enrico Battaglin (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox) won the sprint of a surprisingly large group to win the fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday. The peloton, which included all the favourites, caught late breakaway rider Danilo Di Luca with only a few hundred meters to go, and Battagli took the win by several bike lengths over Fabio Felline (Androni) and Giovanni Visconti (Movistar).

Stage:

http://www.podiumcafe.com/2013/5/7/4307588/giro-ditalia-stage-4-live

 

 

 

GC:  

1	Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha
2	Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling	0:00:17
3	Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team	0:00:26
4	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team	0:00:31
5	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp	0:00:34
6	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling
7	Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha	0:00:36
8	Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling	0:00:37
9	Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia	0:00:39
10	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:00:42

Antica Masseria Venditti Falanghina Sannio Vandari 2010: 

From the importer: 
Wine Description: The Mastroberardino family has been dedicated to making wine from ancient varieties that are indigenous to the region. Falanghina is the primary grape for the Sannio appellation and is named after "phalange" which is Latin for "supported by stakes." Many believe this grape to have been the basis of the legendary Falernum wine, the most prized wine of ancient Rome, due to its unique profile and fragrance.

Tasting Notes: Pale lemon-green in color, this Falanghina displays fresh aromas of lemon citrus, pineapple and white flowers. On the palate, these layered notes are complimented by zesty acidity and hints of honeysuckle and toasted almond that linger into the finish. This summer-sipper is a definite crowd-pleaser.

Food Pairing: Serve it with oysters, clams, scallops or seafood stews.

• Vineyard  & Production Info

  • Production area/appellation: Sannio DOC
  • Vineyard name: The Sannio zone/Benevento area
  • Vineyard size: 105 acres
  • Soil composition: Sandy and volcanic
  • Training method: Guyot
  • Elevation: 825 feet
  • Vines/acre: 1,200
  • Yield/acre: 4 tons
  • Exposure: Southern/Eastern
  • Year vineyard planted: 1970
  • Harvest time: September
  • First vintage of this wine: 1996
  • Bottles produced of this wine: 80,000

I say: Purchased and not consumed for a Giro stage last year. Citrus, flowers and indeed almond. Another winner.

Wines of the Giro Stage 3: Ravello Bianco and Paolini

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Stage 3: Sorrento - Marina di Ascea 222 km

From the official roadbook (Called the Garibaldi): "Stage divided into three parts. The first on the Amalfi  peninsula with a circuit to be covered twice before passing San Pietro and following the coast to Salerno. From Salerno (intermediate sprint), largely straight and flat roads to Agropoli (intermediate sprint). The final part in Cilento has many curves. It rises and falls continuously. There are two GPMs with technical descents, the second of which levels out 1500 m from the finish line. 
The final kilometres are descending with demanding sections on well-surfaced roads of medium width. The final 1.500 m are flat with a finishing straight 400 m long and 6 m wide, surfaced with asphalt." 

Perhaps a bit too rolling for the sprinters? Perhaps the first real breakaway of the race? Time to find out.
Sure enough, before I even had live video a break formed:
giroditalia 4:57am via web

Taborre, Boaro, Wauters, Pantano, Bellemakers, J. Rodriguez, De Backer > 6'30'' > Peloton. 140 km left #Giro

And so they continued, with the break maintaining a good gap (wth video, thanks to a livestream of Eurosport).

With about 73 kilometers remaining, Bein sport started the coverage and there are bikes on my tv! I could see, without pop-up ads, the gap continuing to drop as the lead riders challenged each other for the King of the Mountain points at the top of the climb. Behind, Sky came to the front of the peloton, perhaps to defend the pink jersey? 
Further behind, the first grupetto of the race formed with Cavendish and several other sprinters.
opqscyclingteam 6:48am via TweetDeck

A lot of riders off the back. Cavendish is one, but has two #OPQS teammates with him in a group of several sprinters. #Giro

A grupetto, by the way, is a group of riders, usually sprinters, that forms on mountain stages when non-climbers fall off the back of peloton during the climb.  Their primary concern is arriving at the finish before the day's elimination time to ensure their survival in a multi-stage race. I like to imagine them whistling and singing, but the reality is that it can be a rather desperate and precise race to get in before the time cut. 

Up front, the gap was down to just a little bit over 4 minutes with 56km remaining and Taborre set out on his own, gaining about 20 seconds over his compatriots in the break Behind, the slow pace has allowed the gruppeto to return to the main peloton. 

With 40 km to go, the gap from Taborre to the peloton was 3:40 min. Could he hold on? I doubt it, but it happens sometimes. 

And then, a race broke out, with Garmin and Astana leading attacks. 

From twitter:

mrconde 7:49am via Web

Taborre is caught. Hesjedal in front now. 25 km to go. Astana leading the chase... Except Nibali to attack on the final descent. #giro

But Hesjedal was soon caught.

giroditalia 7:52am via Web

The peloton is again packed, 23 km left. / Gruppo di nuovo compatto, 23 km all'arrivo. #giro 

With the race leader, Salvatore Puccio, dropped, there would be a new race leader tonight. Continuing on there was a group of approximately 10 riders in the front, including all of the big favorites. Out of that group, Paolini attacked, powering away and looking like he would stay away. A couple of crashes behind may have helped his cause and indeed, away he stayed, winning the stage and the pink jersey.

giroditalia 8:27am via Web

1) Luca Paolini 2) Cadel Evans 3) Ryder Hesjedal. Luca Paolini is the new Maglia Rosa! / Luca Paolini è la nuova Maglia Rosa! #giro

Stage: Luca Paolini

Race
1	Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha	9:04:32
2	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:17
3	Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling
4	Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team	0:00:26
5	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team	0:00:31
6	Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team
7	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp	0:00:34
8	Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha	0:00:36
9	Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha
10	Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling	0:00:37

If I jump now, I will get in the picture.

Marisa Cuomo Costa D'amalfi Ravello White 2010, $21.99 from 67Wine
Producer website: http://www.marisacuomo.com/it/1028/ravello-bianco.htm
From the Importer:
Harvesting by hand usually starts at the beginning of October. The grapes are gently pressed and a cold maceration is used to obtain the finest fragrance of the fruit. Temperature controlled fermentation takes place in stainless steel for about 20-30 days. Then the wine is decanted into other stainless steel tanks for an additional 2-3 months before bottling.

The Producer: Imagine yourself transported into a time where the Hollywood movies cast Anna Magnani and Roberto Rossellini… now picture them in Furore’s pristine setting on the Amalfi coast. This is a magnificent panorama, with its vineyards perfectly arranged on the stone-walled terraces along the cliffs of Furore, at altitudes between 980 to 1300 feet above sea level. A sunny southern exposure encourages production of high quality grapes in this unique combination of ocean currents, mountains, and high pressure systems, creating a special microclimate responsible for flavorful, complex, and well-balanced wines. A fair share of the credit for developing and spreading the vineyard techniques goes to Marisa Cuomo, wife of Andrea Feraioli (who inherited the estate from his grand-father Raffaele Ferraioli), creating a modern winery with great growth potential following the same style of its enological ancestors. Its volcanic and alluvial soil is the reason for the relatively low yield but produces Campania's finest wines. Recently Marisa and Andrea have worked at replanting the vines and reorganizing the winery to maintain the high quality needed in today's market. In 1995, after the D.O.C. appellation was accepted for the Amalfi coast, this winery received great honors for their Furore and Ravello wines.

Tasting Notes: Ravello Bianco is a straw yellow color with greenish hues. Refreshing, with complex floral, citrus, pear and apple flavors with an emerging polished finish. This elegant wine pairs well with light sauce risottos, fish soups, homemade pastas with delicate sauces, grilled vegetables, seafood platters and fresh cheeses.

The Grapes: 60% Falanghina, 40% Biancolella

Areas and joint production: Ravello and Scala
Exposure and altitude: South / South-West, 300-400 m / slm
Soil: Limestone-dolomite rocks

My thoughts: Another recommendation from Melissa Sutherland. Floral, apples and some honey. Fuller and richer than I expected.

Wines of the Giro: Stage 2: Sky & Ischia Frassitelli

http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Giroditalia/2013/it/tappa.shtml?t=01&lang=en

Stage 2 brings us a Team Time Trial of 17.4 km from Ischia to Forio. 
What is a team time trial? Much like in the perhaps better known individual time trial (itt), the riders race against the clock. In contrast to the ITT, in the team time trial, the teams start at equal intervals with the riders drafting (riding in the slipstream) behind each other. Each member takes a turn at the front while team-mates sit in behind. After his turn, the lead rider swings over, allowing the next rider to take the lead, while the leader goes to the back of the team. 

From Inrng: The road twists and turns a lot and has a busy feel, it’s crowded by buildings along the route. Don’t expect wild roads and winds blasting in off the coast. Instead the challenges are man-made with some tight turns and even a tunnel towards the end.

Pre-stage thoughts from twitter: 
taylorphinney 3:42am via Twitter for iPhone

Just drove the TTT course. Everybody was a bit speechless by the time we got through w/it! Gonna be a spectacle, but incredibly difficult!!!

Off the 23 teams went, with 3 minutes between the teams. It has been said before, that TTTs seldom will win the race for a rider, but they can help one to lose. So the pressure is on for Sky, Astana, Garmin and some of the other teams of the favorites for the race (gc) win. The first of these to start was Sky and at the half way point they had the fastest time so far. They finished in 22:05, first place by almost 30 seconds, with more than half the teams still to finish. 

And not that they were expected to win, but this is what not to do in a TTT:

inrng 7:43am via Web

Carrot down... the road. Euskaltel reach the finish with 4 riders but 5 need to cross finish line to stop the clock pic.twitter.com/jTLshz5rK6

Astana came in 14 seconds down to Sky, giving Bradley Wiggins some valuable seconds over Vincenzo Nibali.  

From Jonathan Vaughters on twitter:

Vaughters 7:56am via Twitter for iPhone

Hmmm... BMC and orica slow. Beginning to think the wind shifted a bit for the late starters.

Indeed the later teams did finish slower than expected. Garmin, one of the pre-race favorites, came in 7th giving Wiggins 25 seconds on last year's race winner, Ryder Hesjedal.

And at the end of the day, after a rather slow ride by Omega Pharma Quick Step, Mark Cavendish lost the race leader's pink jersey.
giroditalia 8:10am via Web

1) @TeamSky 2) @Movistar_Team 3) @AstanaTeam.

@SalvatorePuccio (SKY) is the new Maglia Rosa

Casa d’Ambra Ischia Frassitelli 2010, $27.99:

From the producer website: The geographical isolation contributes to the unique climate, historical and cultural characteristics that any island develops. Winemaking in Ischia is not only a source of income but it also helps to protect the environment and to preserve ethnical and cultural traditions. The difficulties Ischia winemakers have to face are related not only with the territory but also with the historical, geographical and socio-economical restraints. All this results in very high production costs: for these reasons Ischia's winemakers have been called 'crazy angels' by the specialized press.

Two great personalities made a major contribution to the creation of our winery's label: the French champagne producer monsieur Chandon, and the movie director Luchino Visconti. Monsieur Chandon, who Mario D'Ambra had met by chance in a café in Naples, contributed to the format by granting the Ischia winemaker permis- sion to use the champagne template. As for Visconti, he gave suggestions as to the layout and content: "...it has to be straightforward: your house, Ischia's sky and sea, and the wording have to stand out ..." And actually the company logo, based on a lithograph by Aniellantonio Mascolo, an Ischia-born artist, represents some key elements, namely huge chestnut containers filled with grapes in the foreground, a palm tree, and the old Villa Garavini, the company's first cellar, in the background.

Producer D'Ambra Vini d'Ischia S.r.l.
Grape production area Tenuta Frassitelli (Pietra Martone and Tifeo): four hectares of steep hillside vineyards at elevation 600 m above sea level with a south-south westerly exposure. Vineyard farming is facilitated by a rack-rail train.
Grapes 100% Biancolella
Production technique Traditional white vinification with cold decantation and thermally-controlled fermentation, storing and bottling. The grape-wine yield is 55 litres. While the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation regular batonage (hand stirring) is applied to enhance flavor.
Colour Straw yellow color.
Bouquet Delicate fruity bouquet with banana and broom flavors.
Palate Intense, delicate, long-lasting palate.
Alcoholic gradation 12 % Vol.
Year Denoted on the label.
To be served at 12/14° C.
Best with Appetizers, fish-based pasta dishes and fish. Linguine with prawns, Ischia's typical rabbit grown in large open pits.

From North Berkeley Wines : Many wineries say they cultivate old vines, but not ones with roots as far back as 800 BC. Many, too, say their terroir is unique—but few are built on sea-green lava beds wrought by the power of ancient volcanoes and the salty, mineral richness of the Mediterranean sea.
Casa d'Ambra can claim both. We were drawn to Casa d'Ambra not only because of the rich viticultural history of Ischia, a beautiful island off the coast of Naples in Campania, but also for the thrill of discovering grapes and wines that so perfectly embody the power and spirit of the sea.
Founded in 1888, the Casa d'Ambra winery has (and continues to be) a family affair. Francesco d'Ambra, originally from Calabria, founded the estate; yet it was his son, Mario, who established Casa d'Ambra as the authority on Ischian wines from cultivating its unique, native grapes. Today, winemaker and enologist (and nephew of Mario) Andrea d'Ambra runs the estate, managing not only the winery's own vineyards but also the small group of dedicated, local farmers who help to grow grapes for the winery.
Casa d'Ambra cultivates native grapes Biancolella, Forestera and Per'e Palummo that are only found on the volcanic island of Ischia.  Vineyards are carved into volcanic rock, which sport a unusual sea-green color, a result of mineral deposits from the sea. You can really taste this sea salty, mineral influence especially in the estate's white wines—making them a sublime pair for seafood.

I say: Another recommendation from Melissa Sutherland. Minerals, minerals, minerals, with some yellow fruit. Delicate and crisp. Lovely. Worth seeking out. 

Wines of the Giro: Stage 1: Gragnano and Cav!

http://www.gazzetta.it/static_images/ciclismo/giroditalia/2013/zoom/planimetria_01.jpg

 
Stage 1: Naples – Naples
Distance: 130km
Category: Flat
This year, rather than with a prologue or time trial, we start with a pretty flat stage through Naples, designed for the sprinters. Fingers crossed here for a Cavendish win. But we shall see.  

Here we go again: The Giro! I've even added a sport package to my cable system in order to watch the coverage from BEIN on my tv. Starting out though with Eurosport online. Looks like a beautiful day for a race. 
And the first small break:
  giroditalia 6:16am via Web

The gap is now 1:30, 92 km left. Visconti takes the first mountain's points. #Giro

But safe to say that they will not be going far. Look at that, the Giro on my tv, if a bit delayed by soccer coverage.
From twitter:
Irng 7:13am via Web

Watching the Giro stage is like watching Vesuvius across the bay. It's nice to look at but you're secretly waiting for everything to erupt.

Around they went, with the day's course consisted of four laps of an opening circuit, which included a climb, and then eight laps of a flat closing circuit. With a sprint anticipated, the break never grew and as it came down to the finish, Cannondale, Orica-GreenEdge, Argos-Shimano and Omega Pharma-QuickStep were setting up their sprint trains. Cannondale moved to the front and picked up the pace yet again and the field became a long string. This split the field and the crash caused a gap, leaving 12 or so riders at the front, including Mark Cavendish. The Cannondale team faded as they crossed under the flamme rouge, with Orica-GreenEdge leading the sprint. Matthew Goss had a great lead out and started his sprint with 200 meters to go. But Cavendish was also moving up and came up on the right side with speed, to grab the win and the first pink jersey. Yay!

Results:

1	Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma - Quick Step
2	Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale
3	Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ
4	Danilo Hondo (Ger) Radioshack - Leopard
5	Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Radioshack - Leopard
6	Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica - GreenEdge
7	Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar
8	Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team
9	Leigh Howard (Aus) Orica - GreenEdge	0:00:23
10	Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica - GreenEdge	0:00:32

A preview of some of the wines to come

Wine: Cantine Federiciane Monteleone Penisola Sorrentina Gragnano 2011, $14.99, from 67Wine

From the producer, with some help from google translate:  
SORRENTO GRAGNANO DOC
The slopes of Vesuvius, hidden and raised in the volcanic soils of the Sorrentine Peninsula, (this wine is) always produced with skill a noble and is an ancient wine of Naples. The Gragnano is a rebel wine with an intense color, which often emits from the mouth of the bottle or by the glass s a fine red foam is probably reminiscent of the great eruption of Vesuvius. This wine is made ​​from old forms of breeding and a mixed blend, where the main characteristics of noble grape varieties as "Piedirosso and Aglianico" give the finished product the quality of freshness and liveliness enhanced, however, by the final stage of "taking of foam. "



From NY Mag in 2009: "Italians, it turns out, aren’t big on vino with pizza. Beer, yes (Peroni, usually). Even Coke. There is one rather obscure exception: Gragnano, the frizzante red that comes from the town of the same name on the Sorrento Peninsula outside of Naples. Drunk young and served chilled, Gragnano has a touch of sweetness, a smoky finish, and a slight effervescence that cuts the fattiness of cheese and oil. David Orange, president of Brooklyn-based importer Wine Emporium, started bringing in Cantine Federiciane Monteleone Penisola Sorrentina Gragnano five years ago, and describes the blend as “inky, grapy, and similar to Lambrusco, with smaller bubbles.” The wine has DOC status, appealing to those new-school pizzaioli who aspire to Neapolitan authenticity in all things."

I say: It will not surprise anyone that I opted to pair this wine, chilled, with pizza. Frizzante, slightly sweet and intensely red. Grapey indeed. I think it would be an excellent backyard barbecue wine. A fun way to start the race. 

Easy Lemon Confit

Lemons halfway through the first boil.

Lemon confit was not my first choice for this weekend's project. I really wanted to make rhubarb compote. But after the excitement of finding rhubarb at the farmers market last week, it was not to be found at any of the three markets we checked.

Meyer lemons

Instead, Lisa suggested this confit, something she has made a few times in the past. I had never tasted it, but one forkful was enough to convince me. It is tangy, slightly sweet, spicy and fragrant. Lisa liked to mix with with chopped fresh celery or parsley and serve it with grilled asparagus. She also suggests spooning it into an avocado or eating it with roast chicken. I imagine that it would also be great with grilled fish or as the base of a pasta sauce. Obviously, it can also serve as a salt-free substitute for preserved lemons. 

Lime thyme

Pickled Lemon Confit  

Note: This recipe involves very little active work, but the process of boiling and then cooling the lemons takes time. As always, we made a few changes to the printed recipe: We substituted meyer lemons for Eureka, lime thyme for regular thyme, as I had it growing in my garden and also dried red peppers from a CSA box, for the jalapenos. We also made a second batch minus the dried peppers to share with chile averse family.

from The Elements of Taste by Gray Kunz and Peter Kaminsky

• 10 lemons, halved and seeded (We used meyer lemons as they were available in a friend's yard)
• 1 teaspoon allspice berries
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 jalapeno chiles (We substituted 2 dried red peppers)
• 10 sprigs thyme (We used lime thyme from my garden)
• 1 tablespoon white peppercorns
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 cup sugar 

Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and cool. Repeat, boiling and cooling 4 or 5 times, until the lemons are almost translucent. We cooled the lemons for about 40 minutes each time. Place the lemons in a glass jar and cover with the confit liquid. Store in the refrigerator until needed.

Ready to jar.

My half of our two batches.

 

Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake

 When K was younger, she was my assistant in the kitchen. She liked to measure, cream butter and sugar and always, lick the bowl or beater. Eventually though, she decided that she wanted to try baking on her own. Muffins and cookies became her own projects. We would choose a recipe together and I would be banished from the kitchen. At first, a yell would come from the kitchen every few minutes: "Is the butter fluffy enough?" "Can you help me separate the eggs?" "Does the frosting look ready to you?" "Can you put the pan in the oven?" "Can you test to see if it is done?" 

Cakes though, remained a joint project. But at some point this year, she decided that she could do them on her own as well. She would choose a recipe, or more often, come up with an idea. My job was to purchase any missing ingredients from a list she provided and to let her work on her own. Except, it turns out, when it comes time to cut the cake into layers. That she says "is still too hard for me to do yet. Yet." 

Here is what she has to say about her Easter Cake. "I decided I wanted something with strawberries. So I based it off of the same recipe as I used for the St. Patrick's Day cake, from one of the cakes we tested for Caitlin. 

First up, I cut strawberries and mixed them with sugar, so they would be juicy and sweet.
Then I made the cake. It was a basic yellow cake. I did use vanilla paste and vanilla salt, but beyond that I followed the recipe.
After the cake was done, we let it cool completely, overnight. I did not want to wait. 
On Easter day, I made whipped cream. I added the juice from the strawberries, to make the cream sweet and turn it kind of pink. Then Mama cut the cake into two layers for me. 

I put the strawberries on top of the bottom layer. Once the top was on, I frosted it with the whipped cream. I put a couple of whole strawberries on for decoration. It was really good."

For the cake: There are a lot of good basic cake recipes available and most bakers have a favorite. The recipe that K used, from Modern Art Desserts by Caitlin Freeman, can be found here. Her modifications to it were to use vanilla paste rather than extract, to sub vanilla salt for plain salt and to bake in a 9-inch pan.

Simple Strawberry Filling
Many strawberry compotes use lemon, K opted not to include it. 

-->

5 cups fresh strawberries, cleaned and hulled
1/2 cup sugar

Cut the strawberries in half, or quartered if they are especially big.
Combine them with the sugar and toss with your hands to incorporate.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours, until the strawberries soften and are swimming in a good amount of juice.
Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
To use: drain the juice from the strawberries, reserving both. 

Strawberry Whipped Cream

1 pint whipping cream

Juice from the cut strawberries

In a mixer whip your cream until it forms soft peaks. Add your strawberry juice and continue whipping until well combined.