Granita

This super-easy, no-cook dessert tastes like the ultimate Creamsicle.

Until you've tried this dessert, you may not have tasted a pear's multiple personalities.

Natilla is the Cuban answer to a French pot de crème. Here, an icy coffee granita tops the pudding for a cool contrast. (The puddings need to chill overnight and the granita needs freezing time, so be sure to start a day before serving.)

Use any combination of ripe melons that you can find. Charentais (or Cavaillon), delicious French melons with orange flesh, are at farmers' markets now, while Galia (sweet and aromatic, similar to honeydew) and Sharlyn (a white-fleshed variety that tastes like a combination of honeydew and cantaloupe) are increasingly available at supermarkets.

Editor's note: This recipe is from Brini Maxwell's Guide to Gracious Living. For Maxwell's tips on throwing a summer pool party, click here. Pineapple is the international symbol of welcome, and this light dessert is prepared in advance so all you have to do when guests arrive is serve it. I first had it at the beach. It originated with my friend David Mandel, and he's made many variations of it with different fruits.

This granita is not particularly sweet and is best served as a first or intermezzo course. Try it on top of raw oysters or thick tomato slices.

Use a Microplane grater or the smallest holes on a box grater to remove the lemon peel in thin, fine pieces. Any delicate buttery cookies — such as pirouettes, small shortbreads, or tender madeleines — would be delicious with the granita.

The addition of the Italian aperitif Campari to fresh orange juice gives a slightly bitter taste to this light and refreshing dessert.

Not overly sweet, and with a spunky kick, this palate cleanser is a take on the traditional Italian combination of strawberries, black pepper, and balsamic vinegar. (It also tastes great in a Bloody Mary.)

Here's an easy granita (a grown up snow cone). If you like, top it off just before serving with a diced melon salad made from cubes of cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon that have been tossed with a bit of sugar and thinly sliced fresh mint leaves.

Sicilians are the acknowledged masters of ices, and they, in turn, acknowledge the Arabic origin of their refreshing frozen creations. It started when the Arab conquerors chilled sweet fruit syrups, called sarbat, with snow from Mount Etna. The evolution from chilled syrup to frozen syrup - granita - was only a matter of time. The most common granita flavors are lemon and coffee. A scoop of lemon granita is often floated in iced tea. Coffee granita is usually topped with whipped cream and frequently accompanied by brioche.

"The citrus-Champagne granita was the perfect ending to a dinner I had at The Harvest in Pomfret, Connecticut," writes Phyllis A. Nigris of Johnston, Rhode Island. "I love this type of cool, refreshing dessert, so I would be grateful if you could obtain the recipe."

A light dessert that is made extra easy by the use of purchased fruit juice. No ice cream maker required.