Granita

This simple dessert is completed in the freezer—no ice cream maker required. Feel free to use your favorite red wine in this recipe, but keep in mind that a lighter-style wine (like Beaujolais) will really let the strawberries shine. If you choose a deeper red, such as Merlot or Zinfandel, the strawberry flavor will be less pronounced.

A combination of fresh grapefruit juice and Campari (the bitter Italian aperitif) gives the granita a refreshing bite. A dollop of whipped cream brings everything into balance.

Time to dust off that bottle of cream Sherry lurking in the back of your liquor cabinet: Its nutty, plummy nature rounds out the flavor of the melon, and its alcohol content helps produce a granita that feels smoother, less icy, on the tongue.

Nearly all of chef Kyle Caporicci's sweets come with their very own ice cream pairings: carrot cake with root beer ice cream; mango-kiwi cheesecake with mint. And in the case of this exotic fruit salad, the topping is a refreshing sake granita and pear sorbet.

Adding grated orange peel amps up the melon's flavor, and layering whipped cream with the icy granita makes for an intriguing contrast of both texture and temperature.

The best thing about this icy, tart-and-sweet treat might be how little forethought it requires. You can use any flavored yogurt on hand.

Street vendors throughout Mexico's beach towns sell cold fresh fruit served in a plastic bag with bits of ice in it to keep the fruit chilled. This dessert is as take on that, as well as a refreshing end to any meal. Feel free to experiment by pouring a bit of tequila over the ice to create an instant margarita.

After such a substantial meal, you'll want to keep things light for dessert. A little fancier than a fruit salad yet almost as easy, this cool combination of musky cantaloupe and honeydew gets an unexpected fillip from icy granita. Don’t worry if the granita melts faster than you expect—it will slump into a lovely sauce over the fruit.

Before the storm of desserts comes the palate-cleansing calm. This playful, snowy mound of savory celery with hints of green apple and tarragon refreshes after the preceding spread. Counterintuitive as it may seem, taking a break before dessert¿to eat a pre-dessert¿will help you enjoy the sweet abundance that awaits.

Think of this marvelous first course as a savory sundae, with a pretty salad of crunchy julienned vegetables topping the icy granita. Cream Sherry adds a sweet base note to the granita, while the sharpness of Sherry vinegar accentuates the tomatoes' acidity.

For a fun presentation, serve the granita in hollowed-out lime halves. To prepare the limes, snip the membranes with scissors, then scrape clean with a grapefruit spoon.

The best desserts are those that manage to be sweetly satisfying while also containing an element of surprise, and this unique granita certainly fits the bill. We first had a version of it at Manhattan's Wallsé, and were stunned by the interplay among the bright, verdant mix of apple and celery with the richness of olive oil and the heat of grated horseradish. (Here, we've substituted wasabi for the horseradish.) It's a truly sophisticated way to end a meal.

A dollop of cream gives rich contrast to this pink summer ice.

At Caffè Sicilia, this granita is served for breakfast along with a brioche and a shot of espresso—a wonderful way to start the day. Unlike most other granitas, it has an almost creamy texture. (The Caffè Sicilia almond paste, though pricey, is worth it: Incredibly moist and possessing a delicate floral quality, it tastes so pure that we actually eat it by the spoonful.)

Start this at least one day before serving.

Cloves add a little extra holiday flavor.