Ice Cream

One of the most popular flavors in gelaterie in Italy is crema, a simple frozen custard unenhanced by any flavoring. It has a rich, yellow color due to the brightness of the yolks of Italian corn-fed chickens.

This recipe makes more ice cream than you'll need to fill the cones (see Coconut Tuile Cones with Passion-Fruit Ice Cream recipe), but it's so delicious you'll have no trouble getting rid of the leftovers. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 3 1/4 hr

Executive chef Bridget Batson of Hawthorne Lane serves this dessert with homemade caramel sauce (you can use purchased if you like). If you're running short of time, omit the homemade ice cream and mix chopped peanut brittle into your favorite vanilla ice cream.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr (includes freezing)

Don't let the unexciting name of the recipe fool you—this ice cream is unusually good. Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 4 hr

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 4 hr (includes chilling and freezing)

This dessert hits both sweet and savory notes. Aged balsamic vinegar has a syruplike consistency, so a little drizzle goes a long way. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

Broiled pineapple is teamed with an easy-to-make ice cream and topped with toasted coconut for a tropical treat. The pineapple would also be good with purchased mango or coconut sorbet or with vanilla ice cream.

The tart cherries brighten the classic flavor of almond in this tortoni.

There are no eggs in this recipe — it's the cornstarch that gives the gelato a smooth, silky texture. Fine-quality chocolate provides its rich flavor. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 5 hr (includes chilling and freezing)

What to drink: Fess Parker 2000 Late Harvest Muscat Canelli, Santa Barbara County, or another sweet dessert wine with orange and honey flavors.

Tossing the peaches in lemon juice brightens their flavor.

Because the oil in the pistachio paste separates from the solids, it is necessary to blend the contents of the entire can of paste in a food processor until it is creamy and light in texture.

"The highlight of our trip to Scotland was a stay at Knockinaam Lodge in Portpatrick, on the southwest coast," writes Walter Deegan of Fairfax, Virginia. "My wife still talks about the caramel ice cream served for dessert one evening."