tom hudgens

These past few months have been citrus months: if winter vegetables such as leafy greens, leeks, cabbages, chicories, arugula, and watercress are the "tree," then oranges, lemons, tangerines, Mexican limes, pomelos, grapefruit, cara-caras, mandarins, Sevilles, bloods, and kumquats are the precious, sparkling "ornaments." Citrus' acid bite and intense aromas inspire great winter cooking.

Grapefruit are unique among citrus--they are rarely used any other way than simply eaten on their own. One morning recently, weary of the usual eggs-oatmeal-eggs-oatmeal rotation, I decided to have a couple of grapefruit, cut the way my Mom taught me: halved, with each section individually cut to free it from the tough membrane, ready to be scooped up with a narrow silver spoon. After eating the sections one by one, you take up the spent grapefruit "carcass" in your hand and squeeze spoonful after spoonful of the delightfully bitter-tart-sweet juice into your spoon, sipping and slurping, until you can squeeze no more. And that is how you eat a grapefruit. No sugar, no honey--just knife technique...and patience. With a little work and care, it becomes something special. (more…)