Ice Cream

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

Tossing the peaches in lemon juice brightens their flavor.

The good news here is that there will be leftover ice cream to enjoy at another time.

At the ever-popular Cafe Pasqual's in Santa Fe, chocolate and devilishly hot chile pequín flakes come together in an ice cream not soon forgotten. Our version is rich but almost austere compared to chef Katharine Kagel's original, the recipe for which appears in Cafe Pasqual's Cookbook.

Pineapples are grown all over Thailand and are commonly eaten freshly sliced at the end of a meal. We wanted a worthy finish to this complex meal, so we decided to put a slightly different spin on this classic ingredient. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 17 3/4 hr (includes chilling and freezing)

A pretty pink dessert that is refreshing and light. Plums with dark purple skin or flesh will give the sherbet beautiful color. Serve a pot of green tea alongside.

Chopped toffee candy gives orange-scented vanilla ice cream a surprise crunch in this easy and innovative dessert.

You can find canned litchis in the Asian section of most supermarkets.

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

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.

From L'Etoile, Madison, Wisconsin.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.