OK all you grapefruit fans!

[ziggy]

Our new house has a lovely grapefruit tree in back(one of the pink/red varieties). The fruit off it is wonderfully sweet...but it has a bountiful harvest...we've been eating since Feb and still have lots of fruit out there...now that it's getting real hot here I'd like to use it up and get it off the tree(besides next year's crop is already growing).

Any favorite recipes? We loved it baked in the mornings, in salads, used as a reduction on fish, but welcome any other ideas!

[Isa]

As a special treat, my mother would sometime prepared meringue grapefruits. She would cut the fruit in half and remove all the grapefruit and mix them with a little honey. Pack in the half shell they went, they were topped by meringue and put in the oven until the meringue was golden.

[Kimmie]

You don't realize how lucky you are, Ziggy!

Got a recipe for you.

GRAPEFRUIT SORBET
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice, strained and chilled
1 tablespoon vermouth

Preparation

1. Pour the water in a saucepan. Add the sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Refrigerate until chilled.

2. Combine the sugar mixture, grapefruit juice, and vermouth in a bowl. Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's directions.

Hope you like it!

[kokopuffs]

Try substituting the grapefruit juice for OJ in a screwdriver or sunrise as you watch the sun set behind half-closed eyes.

[ziggy]

Ah Kimmie...I do know how lucky I am...when my husband decided to take the job down here I had a few requirements...among them our new house would have a grapefruit tree, a lemon tree and a fig tree. The house already had a grapefruit, we've planted the lemon and next year the fig goes in! I love grapefruit...but we have tons of them...too many for two people!

Thanks for the suggestions...unfortunately hubby is alcohol-free- though I do love a Greyhound(grapefruit and vodka), perhaps this is why we have two retired racing greyhounds in our house!

Keep any suggestions coming( and if anyone is nearby and would like some grapefruit or oranges - we have lots of those too- let me know!)

[ May 18, 2001: Message edited by: ziggy ]

[Pooh]

I envy you so thoroughly!

We "enjoy" a pretty rough climate up here, almost 6 months of winter.


BRRRRRRRR

And just skip the tablespoon of vermouth, it will be perfect without it!

I almost forgot, for those who don't have an ice cream machine, it can be done in the food processor. Start by pulsing, and then, add 1 or 2 egg whites (depending on the amount you're making). The "slush" will have a very smooth, ice creamy texture.




[ May 18, 2001: Message edited by: pooh ]

[kokopuffs]

I think that pink grapefruit, aka the Marsh Ruby, furnishes more minerals than its yellow brother.

[ May 18, 2001: Message edited by: kokopuffs ]

[shroomgirl]

Candied peel...boil and drain 3 times then soak in a simple syrup and dry....can be dipped in choc.

Grapefruit with orange glaze on cornish game hens...I like condensed oj with grapefruit sections to cut the sweet on roasted hens....

[logose]

I have a recipe from Preserving by Oded Schwartz. It can be used for toast and such, but also for filling pastries and cakes.

Grapefruit Curd
For 2 pints
Grated rind and juice of 1 grapefruit
Segmented flesh of 1 grapefruit
juice of 2 lemons
1 1/2 cup sugar
7 T butter softened
4 eggs and 2 egg yolks beaten
3 T orange-flower water

Place the grapefruit rind, juice, and flesh , the lemon jiuce, and sugar in a small pan. Heat gently, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the butter and stir until melted.
Transfer the mixture to the double boiler or a bowl place over a pan of simmering water, Strain in the eggs and cook over barely simmering water, stirring often, for 25-340 minutes, until the mixture coats a the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil or it will curdle. Remove from the heat and stir in the orange flower water. Pour the curd in the warm and sterilized jars and seal.

[Svadhisthana]

Don't forget your local food pantry, they sometimes take fresh fruit and vegetables along with non-perishables. Or, you could make up small grapefruit baskets and send them to nursing homes or hospitals. The only thing better than good food is sharing it.

[ziggy]

Excellent suggestion! We just took a big load of canned goods to the food bank...never crossed my mind to take fresh stuff. Will have to keep that in mind this year as all the fruit is now off the tree for this year(no more for breakfast...darn!).

thanks!

[Pooh]

Sounds delicious Mez. Thanks.

[ziggy]

Mezzaluna sounds yummy! We do something similar - salad with grilled sea bass, grapefruit, avocado, and mango.

I can't wait to have a fig tree with fruit on it! I grew up very near a fresh fig orchard in california - we ate them all summer long, fresh off the tree. I have never once bought a decent fig at any market so I'm dying to have them fresh from the yard!

[Pastachef]

I LOVE grapefruit, Ziggy. I couldn't imagine the luxury of picking my own at will How beautiful is that? You are so lucky!

[Mezzaluna]

Wow, I'd love to buy a share in your fig tree! they were $.75 each at my upscale market this week.

I love grapefruit and avocado salad. Make a citrus vinaigrette with good olive oil (Papa's!!!), a bit of chopped onion or shallot, ground pepper and some grapefruit juice. Section and remove the membrane from the grapefruit. Add chunks of ripe avocado; dress with the vinaigrette. Wow! I love this salad.