We recently wrote about gazpacho; now we’re expanding the conversation to recipe below, Chilled Cucumber Yogurt Soup.

Chilled soups can be savory or sweet, smooth or chunky, thick or thin, creamy or fat-free, flavored with your favorite herbs and spices, garnished with anything from croutons to chopped nuts.

You can use a base of milk/cream, purée, stock/broth, yogurt, even bread and water or beer.

You can serve the soup in bowls, cups, mason jars, mugs, wine glasses. You can serve mini-portions in shot glasses or juice glasses.

You can carry it around in a thermos.

If you don’t often cook—or if you want to teach a household member to cook—these recipes are pretty foolproof. Most can be made in a blender.

While soups with meat (beef, chicken) or lots of butter don’t lend themselves to chilling (the fat globules solidify), you won’t notice their absence. Just name your favorites and look for a recipe.

 
The recipes can be as classic as white gazpacho (the original gazpacho) or as modern as iced carrot and orange soup.

Nothing is easier than blender soup. Try this yummy recipe…

…and check out these 9 ways to use cucumbers.

strong>Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

2. TASTE the soup just before serving and adjust seasonings as desired. Serve in bowls garnished with finely diced cucumber, red onion and a drizzle of olive oil.

 
Recipe adapted from Andrew Zimmern, FoodAndWine.com.
 
 
CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOUPIN OUR SOUP GLOSSARY.

[2] Chilled cucumber soup (photo Jacob Barss Bailey | CC BY NC-ND 2.0 License).

[3] Raspberry soup with yogurt. Here’s the recipe (photo © Eat Wisconsin Cheese).

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The gelato and sorbetto—celestial, awesome, fill in your favorite superlative here—is our new favorite ice cream and sorbet. Everything is as good as it can be (our thought: “to die for”), sometimes jaw-droppingly so (don’t overlook the Chocolate Sorbetto—no dairy—is like thick fudge, the Basil-Lime special of the month is a revelation, etc. etc. etc.).

Launched in 2002 in Paris by two friends, the the company now has some 60 locations worldwide, and growing.

There are two locations in Manhattan (Eighth Avenue and Eighteenth Street in Chelsea and University Place in Greenwich Village), one in Boston on Newbury Street, and others to come (keep checking the website or the Facebook page for new locations).

Want an Amorino Gelato in your home town? Franchises are available. All of the food is made by artisans in Italy and shipped to the U.S.

The brand’s signature is the gelato “flower” (photo above), with petal-like scoops. You can have as many different flavors as you want, from the monthly selection of 23 flavors (gelato, sorbetto, frozen yogurt) plus a special of the month.

Not in the mood for an ice cream cone? There are:

If you are traveling to an “Amorino city,” make it a destination. You won’t be disappointed, even if you have to wait in line.

Or better yet, make your city an Amorino city!

This fun approach to Melon and Prosciutto was created by Chef Mario at Bar Eolo in New York City.

 
OTHER TYPES OF HAM

You don’t have to use prosciutto, an Italian dry-cured (uncooked) ham served in very thin slices. You can try serrano, speck or any ham you prefer. While this recipe

Check out the different types of ham in our Ham Glossary.

A coulis (French, prounounced coo-LEE) is a fruit or vegetable sauce that is puréed, then strained to remove any seeds. Although straining creates a more elegant-looking sauce, you can save a few minutes and serve the purée unstrained.

You can use fresh or frozen strawberries—or any berry you prefer. Or, try kiwi, mango or other fruit. You can make the coulis up to a week in advance and store it in a sealed container in the fridge.

 
Ingredients For 1 Cup Of Sauce

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

2. COOL and transfer to a blender or food processor. Purée until smooth; strain, and refrigerate.
  

It’s National Ice Cream Month, which we interpret to include all frozen desserts. There is no National Frozen Yogurt Month, No Sherbet/Sorbet Month.

The history of frozen desserts dates back to 2000 B.C.E. when the Chinese used syrups to flavor snow. Fruit juices were turned into fruit ices. Honey and aromatic spices expanded the menu of flavors.

So, the first frozen dessert was more sorbet than ice cream. Here’s the history of ice cream.

Since ice cream is one of our favorite foods, we created a glossary of the different types of ice cream 10 years ago. Today’s tip, straight from the glossary, is to make a semifreddo.

You don’t need an ice cream machine to make semifreddo. As with granita, it is often made in a loaf pan or even an ice cube tray.

Semifreddo is the word for “half cold” in Italian; frozen soufflé is the English term. Semifreddo may look like ice cream but it is more of a frozen mousse, created by combining equal parts of ice cream and whipped cream. It is frozen in a pan or other container, then sliced and served.

Semifreddo is a special occasion or party dessert that you can prepare ahead of time. The elegant Strawberry-Pistachio Semifreddo recipe below is from Safest Choice Pasteurized Eggs.

Since the recipe uses raw eggs, pasteurized eggs are a worry-free solution (here’s more about pasteurized eggs and the 12 popular foods where you should consider them to eliminate the Salmonella risk).
 
 
> The different types of frozen desserts: a glossary.
 

RECIPE: STRAWBERRY-PISTACHIO SEMIFREDDO

Prep time is 25 minutes; allow another 12 hours for freezing. You can make and freeze the semifreddo up to three days in advance.

You can use a different fruit, replace the nuts, etc. (we just made a raspberry-chocolate chip semifreddo adapting this recipe, and replaced the vanilla extract with Chambord raspberry liqueur). You can also be trendy, as in this recipe for Chocolate Semifreddo with Chile-Chocolate Sauce.

You can also garnish with nuts, sliced fruit, chocolate shavings, crushed cookies or candies, and sauces: chocolate sauce, custard sauce, fruit sauce, whipped cream, etc. You can also top it with meringue, Baked Alaska-style.

Check out the different types of dessert sauces in our Dessert Sauce Glossary.

 
Preparation

1. LINE a 9×5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.

2. PLACE the strawberries in a food processor or blender. Add 1/3 cup of the sugar; process until the berries are puréed and set aside.

3. BEAT the cream and 1/3 cup of the sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, just until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

4. BEAT the egg yolks with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a separate large bowl, until pale yellow and tripled in volume. Add the vanilla. Fold the whipped cream into yolks. Stir in the pistachios.

5. POUR half of the egg mixture into the loaf pan. Top with half of the strawberry purée. Use a small spatula to swirl the purée into the egg mixture. Repeat with the remaining egg mixture and strawberry purée.

6. SMOOTH the top with a spatula and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze until firm, about 12 hours. To serve, remove the plastic wrap and invert the semifreddo onto a clean cutting board. Cut into 1/2-inch thick slices. Garnish as desired and serve.
 
 

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Quesadillas, anyone?

Yes, and make them on the grill for a touch of smoky flavor! For just $7.98, you can get this Quesadilla Grill Basket from Williams-Sonoma, on sale from $19.95.

In fact, at these prices get more than one, and grill multiple quesadillas at the same time. Then, enjoy smoky quesadillas hot off the grill, with a crisp golden exterior.

The 12-inch diameter grill basket cooks one large quesadilla or two halves at the same time. The basket is designed to flip and cook without spilling any ingredients from the quesadilla.

Buy this Williams-Sonoma exclusive online at Williams-Sonoma.com.

You can also use it to grill pita and other flat bread. Mmmm!