Grapefruit: A Starter Cocktail and a Great Dessert.

The recent cold snap in California pretty much screwed up the citrus crop. Luckily, it didn't get to Texas grapefruit. And it's peak season. Their brilliant pink flesh contains the sweetest, most wonderful grapefruit flavor you'll ever have. So, in honor of the Texas Rio Red, here are two fantastic recipes. The alpha and omega of your grapefruit meal. A perfectly refreshing cocktail and a decadent cheesecake. (So decadent that after my other half took one to work I've been hired to make another!) In a couple of weeks, I'll post two more recipes that incorporate this sinfully delicious fruit into your meal plan.

Pamplemousse Cocktail
Courtesy of Bon Appetit magazine, this recipe comes from Boston's Sibling Rivalry.
Pamplemousse is the French word for grapefruit.

7 tablespoons water
5 tablespoons pomegranate juice
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons honey
1 1/2 cups vodka
3/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Bring first 4 ingredients to boil in a small pan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cool.

Combine pomegranate mixture, vodka, grapefruit juice, and lime juice in large container.

You can then pour enough for one cocktail into an ice-filled shaker, shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Or improvise. I add a little simple syrup for sweetness to the shaker and serve it that way. You could also pour 2 or 3 ounces into an ice-filled high ball glass and top with club soda. Anyway you pour it, it's wonderfully refreshing.

Ginger and Pink Grapefruit Cheesecake
From Bon Appetit magazine

Crust
20 whole graham crackers, coarsely broken
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger

Filling
1 1/3 cups heavy whipping cream
1 (1-inch-long) piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into very thin rounds
1 cup ginger preserves
1 tablespoon water
4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs

Topping
2 large pink or ruby grapefruits
Finely chopped crystallized ginger

For crust:Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter 9-inch springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Blend graham crackers and sugar in processor to coarse crumbs. Add 1/2 cup butter. Blend until crumbs hold together; press onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan.

Bake crust until beginning to color, about 15 minutes; sprinkle with chopped ginger. Cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Stack 3 long sheets of 18-inch-wide foil on work surface. Place cake pan in center. Fold foil snugly up sides of pan.

For filling:Bring cream and fresh ginger to simmer. Remove from heat; cover. Steep 30 minutes. Strain cream. Stir preserves and 1 tablespoon water in small saucepan over medium heat until preserves melt; strain into small bowl. Discard solids; reserve ginger jelly.

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth. Beat in sugar, ground ginger, vanilla, and salt. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well. Add 2 tablespoons ginger jelly and beat until blended. Gradually beat in strained cream. Transfer to prepared crust.

Place cake pan in large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cake pan. Place cake in water bath in oven. Bake cake until gently set, browned on top, and beginning to crack around edges, about 2 hours.

Remove from water. Remove foil. Place hot cake, uncovered, in refrigerator and chill overnight.

Store ginger jelly at room temperature.

For topping:Line large plate with several layers of paper towels. Cut all peel and pith off grapefruits. Working over bowl, cut between membranes to release segments; place on paper towels to drain. Cover with additional paper towels, pressing to absorb excess liquid.
Chill, changing towels as needed.

Cut around crust. Remove pan sides. Spread 1/4 cup ginger jelly over filling; top with grapefruit, then brush with ginger jelly. Sprinkle with crystallized ginger.

Yum yum.