Ice Cream Machine

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

(Adapted from The Keeper's House)

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 3 1/4 hr (includes chilling)

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 45 min

We discovered that store-bought mango sorbet and ice cream were so good we could do little to improve upon them. But most store-bought raspberry sorbet lacked the color, tang, and true berry flavor of homemade.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

This dessert is a trompe l'oeil, resembling the peel, rind, and flesh of a cantaloupe.

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.

This recipe calls for green-and-white or clear peppermints as well as red-and-white ones. If you can't find the green-and-white or clear mints, use additional red-and-white candies.

Coffee Semifreddo "Drowned" in Coffee We have served this dessert at Pó for six years and it is consistently my favorite—a kind of adult milkshake. Be careful to use decaf for the bathing liquid, or your guests may be up yakking all night.

From L'Etoile, Madison, Wisconsin.

Ninety-nine percent of cava—Spanish sparkling wine—is made in Catalonia. So it's natural that the bubbly beverage has found its way into many elegant Catalan desserts. Here it is combined with the luscious flavors and bright colors of strawberries and oranges in a refreshing sorbet.

Pretty ice cream treats, decorated five different ways. Turn the freezer to the coldest setting for best results. Pack the left-over ice cream into a container and freeze it to enjoy after the bonbons are gone. Begin this recipe at least a day ahead (and you can start up to a week ahead). Once you¸ve mastered the technique here, create bonbons of your own using other homemade ice creams or your favorite purchased ones.

A light, refreshing and tangy-sweet dessert.

Orange juice and pomegranate juice enhance the light sorbet. The compote would also be good over store-bought strawberry sorbet or ice cream.