Strawberries Diable

From a cookbook called "No Jacket Required" put out by Neiman Marcus and the recipe was contributed by Virginia Kopacz Valley from California. She said that this recipe was made by a restaurant in Innsbruck, Austria, called Kapelles. She and her husband had it on their honeymoon. I included chilling time in the preparation time.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 20 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2  pints fresh strawberries
• 4  tablespoons sugar
• 3⁄4 cup  orange juice
• 1  lemon, juice reserved
• 5  black peppercorns, crushed
• 1  pint vanilla ice cream
•  whipped cream, sweetened to taste
•  confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Directions

1. Remove strawberry stems, and cut strawberries into thick slices.
2. In a heavy saucepan, over medium heat, melt sugar until light brown and caramelized.
3. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
4. Stir in orange and lemon juice (combined juices should measure 1 cup).
5. Raise heat to medium-high and stir until all particles are dissolved.
6. Add strawberries and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by half, sprinkling pepper over berries while simmering; do not stir.
8. Let cool at room temperature and chill for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours.
9. To serve, spoon 1/4 of the sauce onto 4 flat plates. Place a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top slightly to the side and a dollop of whipped cream slightly to the other side and sift confectioner's sugar over plate to dust.
10. *Note: the sauce may be frozen. For a more exotic flavor use 1/2 cup of orange juice plus 1/4 cup of orange-flavored liqueur.