Galatoire's is a famous, old New Orleans restaurant located on Bourbon
Street in the French Quarter. Reportedly, it was untouched by the
recent hurricane and will probably be reopened in due course.

The recipe is from _Galatoire's Cookbook_ by Leon Galatoire.

Victor

Grapefruit Salad

A very old New Orleans salad that used to be found in every restaurant
was the grapefruit salad. The Mustard Vinaigrette makes the grapefruit
a true salad, one especially to be enjoyed on hot August days when the
heat becomes a bit intolerable.

Mustard Vinaigrette Dressing
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 cup salad oil salt to taste
black pepper, freshly ground, to taste

4 grapefruit
1 head iceberg lettuce, washed, trimmed, and torn

In a small mixing bowl, combine the Dijon mustard with the red wine
vinegar and gradually whisk in the salad oil at a dribble until it is
completely absorbed in an emulsification.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and hold aside in the refrigerator
to chill.

Peel the whole grapefruits, separate and trim each individual section,
and arrange the sections in a fan design over torn lettuce leaves on
well-chilled salad plates.

Serve with Mustard Vinaigrette, garnish with a single red cherry, and
serve. Serves 4.

In article >, (Victor Sack) wrote:
>Galatoire's is a famous, old New Orleans restaurant located on Bourbon
>Street in the French Quarter. Reportedly, it was untouched by the
>recent hurricane and will probably be reopened in due course.
>
>The recipe is from _Galatoire's Cookbook_ by Leon Galatoire.

G'day Vic,

I'm intrigued by this recipe because I normally have a huge surplus of
grapefruit each year -- about the only reliable citrus species here!

However, I have a couple of questions:

1. I'm wondering if your "grapefruit" is the same as ours. Ours are
usually quite a bit larger than oranges; quite sour (the juice is not
so bad to drink straight, but most people would put sugar on the
pulp); and damned hard to peel (worse than an orange). Does that
sound something like the ones used in this recipe?

2. The recipe calls for "salad oil". Is that a special type, or just
a generic name for any edible oil that one might use to make a salad
dressing (e.g. a good olive oil)?

Thanks for your time.

> Grapefruit Salad
>
>A very old New Orleans salad that used to be found in every restaurant
>was the grapefruit salad. The Mustard Vinaigrette makes the grapefruit
>a true salad, one especially to be enjoyed on hot August days when the
>heat becomes a bit intolerable.
>
>Mustard Vinaigrette Dressing
>1/2 cup Dijon mustard
>1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
>1/2 cup salad oil salt to taste
>black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
>
>4 grapefruit
>1 head iceberg lettuce, washed, trimmed, and torn
>
>In a small mixing bowl, combine the Dijon mustard with the red wine
>vinegar and gradually whisk in the salad oil at a dribble until it is
>completely absorbed in an emulsification.
>
>Season to taste with salt and pepper and hold aside in the refrigerator
>to chill.
>
>Peel the whole grapefruits, separate and trim each individual section,
>and arrange the sections in a fan design over torn lettuce leaves on
>well-chilled salad plates.
>
>Serve with Mustard Vinaigrette, garnish with a single red cherry, and
>serve. Serves 4.

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

On Mon 05 Sep 2005 04:03:56a, Phred wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> In article >,
> (Victor Sack) wrote:
>>Galatoire's is a famous, old New Orleans restaurant located on Bourbon
>>Street in the French Quarter. Reportedly, it was untouched by the
>>recent hurricane and will probably be reopened in due course.
>>
>>The recipe is from _Galatoire's Cookbook_ by Leon Galatoire.
>
> G'day Vic,
>
> I'm intrigued by this recipe because I normally have a huge surplus of
> grapefruit each year -- about the only reliable citrus species here!
>
> However, I have a couple of questions:
>
> 1. I'm wondering if your "grapefruit" is the same as ours. Ours are
> usually quite a bit larger than oranges; quite sour (the juice is not
> so bad to drink straight, but most people would put sugar on the
> pulp); and damned hard to peel (worse than an orange). Does that
> sound something like the ones used in this recipe?

Phred, I'm not Victor, but your grapefruit sound the same as ours. They
are all larger than an orange. Some are "jumbo" and almost as large as a
small cantaloupe. Most all of our grapefuit types have yellow to slightly
blush colored skin, but the pulp may be "white", "pink", or "ruby red"
(actually a very deep pink). They are all tart, but the ruby red variety
is usualy the least tart.They are hard to peel. If served for breakfast,
they are usually just cut in half, then the half sections are removed with
a spoon.

Grapefruit grown in Texas is regarded by some as the best, although they
are also grown commercially in Florida and Arizona (where I live).

> 2. The recipe calls for "salad oil". Is that a special type, or just
> a generic name for any edible oil that one might use to make a salad
> dressing (e.g. a good olive oil)?

Just a generic edible oil. Some oils labeled "vegetable oil" are blends
of varous oils. All have a rather bland taste. Ligher olive oils may be
fine, but I think an extra virgin olive oil might add too much flavor for
this particular recipe.

> Thanks for your time.

<recipe snipped>

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four,
unless there are three other people.

Phred > wrote:

> However, I have a couple of questions:
>
> 1. I'm wondering if your "grapefruit" is the same as ours. Ours are
> usually quite a bit larger than oranges; quite sour (the juice is not
> so bad to drink straight, but most people would put sugar on the
> pulp); and damned hard to peel (worse than an orange). Does that
> sound something like the ones used in this recipe?

Yes, it sounds very much like what I can get here. However, even though
I'm not quite as far from Louisiana as you are, I'm far enough, and
whatever they grow there in the way of grapefruit may well be somewhat
different... sweeter maybe. Basically, there are two main types - white
and pink, with pink usually tasting sweeter. I don't put sugar on my
grapefruit, but then I lack a sweet tooth. Also, I occasionally eat a
lemon "as is", too.

I notice that Wayne has provided some good info.

> 2. The recipe calls for "salad oil". Is that a special type, or just
> a generic name for any edible oil that one might use to make a salad
> dressing (e.g. a good olive oil)?

It is generic vegetable oil, usually neutral-tasting.

Victor

Thanks for your responses, Vic and Wayne.

Another question came up while discussing this today:

The recipe calls for the individual segments to be separated after
peeling the fruit, but it seemed slightly ambiguous about how far to
go with the "peeling".

Is it necessary to remove the parchment from the segments too, just
leaving the naked juice cells like you can do when eating pumelo, for
example? (If so, it looks like becoming a fair bit of effort to
prepare properly.

The parchment and the pith under the skin are the sources of most of
the bitterness in grapefruit -- the pure juice is much sweeter -- so I
suspect the removal of all this "skin" would make the dish more
acceptable to many people. There's also the question of seeds -- if
the segments are not "skinned" then people will be spitting pips
constantly when eating the dish. (Maybe the French didn't concern
themselves with such problems of decorum. ;-)

In article >,
(Victor Sack) wrote:
>Phred > wrote:
>
>> However, I have a couple of questions:
>>
>> 1. I'm wondering if your "grapefruit" is the same as ours. Ours are
>> usually quite a bit larger than oranges; quite sour (the juice is not
>> so bad to drink straight, but most people would put sugar on the
>> pulp); and damned hard to peel (worse than an orange). Does that
>> sound something like the ones used in this recipe?
>
>Yes, it sounds very much like what I can get here. However, even though
>I'm not quite as far from Louisiana as you are, I'm far enough, and
>whatever they grow there in the way of grapefruit may well be somewhat
>different... sweeter maybe. Basically, there are two main types - white
>and pink, with pink usually tasting sweeter. I don't put sugar on my
>grapefruit, but then I lack a sweet tooth. Also, I occasionally eat a
>lemon "as is", too.
>
>I notice that Wayne has provided some good info.
>
>> 2. The recipe calls for "salad oil". Is that a special type, or just
>> a generic name for any edible oil that one might use to make a salad
>> dressing (e.g. a good olive oil)?
>
>It is generic vegetable oil, usually neutral-tasting.

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

On Tue 06 Sep 2005 04:55:18a, Phred wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> Thanks for your responses, Vic and Wayne.
>
> Another question came up while discussing this today:
>
> The recipe calls for the individual segments to be separated after
> peeling the fruit, but it seemed slightly ambiguous about how far to
> go with the "peeling".
>
> Is it necessary to remove the parchment from the segments too, just
> leaving the naked juice cells like you can do when eating pumelo, for
> example? (If so, it looks like becoming a fair bit of effort to
> prepare properly.

In short, yes and yes. :-) Although I have no clue as to what a pumelo is.

> The parchment and the pith under the skin are the sources of most of
> the bitterness in grapefruit -- the pure juice is much sweeter -- so I
> suspect the removal of all this "skin" would make the dish more
> acceptable to many people. There's also the question of seeds -- if
> the segments are not "skinned" then people will be spitting pips
> constantly when eating the dish. (Maybe the French didn't concern
> themselves with such problems of decorum. ;-)

The seeds must also go. Ahem, that would be quite a sight!

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four,
unless there are three other people.

"Wayne Boatwright" > wrote

> On Tue 06 Sep 2005 04:55:18a, Phred wrote in rec.food.cooking:

>> Is it necessary to remove the parchment from the segments too, just
>> leaving the naked juice cells like you can do when eating pumelo, for
>> example?

> In short, yes and yes. :-) Although I have no clue as to what a pumelo
> is.

It's a really thick skinned grapefruit. Seems you can spell it a number
of ways. Around here it's a pomelo.

nancy

Phred > wrote:

> The recipe calls for the individual segments to be separated after
> peeling the fruit, but it seemed slightly ambiguous about how far to
> go with the "peeling".
>
> Is it necessary to remove the parchment from the segments too, just
> leaving the naked juice cells like you can do when eating pumelo, for
> example? (If so, it looks like becoming a fair bit of effort to
> prepare properly.

Yes, removing the skin and the membrane can be difficult. To make it
easier, treat the grapefruit like an egg, so to say. Plunge it into
boiling or just-boiled water for a couple of minutes for the skin to get
just heated through. Remove and plunge into cold water and let more
cold water run over it until it cools. The skin and the membrane will
be easier to remove.

> The parchment and the pith under the skin are the sources of most of
> the bitterness in grapefruit -- the pure juice is much sweeter -- so I
> suspect the removal of all this "skin" would make the dish more
> acceptable to many people. There's also the question of seeds -- if
> the segments are not "skinned" then people will be spitting pips
> constantly when eating the dish. (Maybe the French didn't concern
> themselves with such problems of decorum. ;-)

You can hold each segment up to light to find the pips and then remove
them carefully with a sharp knife. Some juice will run out and it will
be a bit messy, of course. Also, some varieties of grapefruit have no
pips.

Victor

Thanks Vic (and Wayne) for confirming this apparently rather laborious
process. :-)

I might give it ONE go, just to see how it turns out. But I suspect
it will need to be bloody good tucker before I try again after that.
(Much easier just to let the fruit fall, then dump them.

In article >,
(Victor Sack) wrote:
>Phred > wrote:
>
>> The recipe calls for the individual segments to be separated after
>> peeling the fruit, but it seemed slightly ambiguous about how far to
>> go with the "peeling".
>>
>> Is it necessary to remove the parchment from the segments too, just
>> leaving the naked juice cells like you can do when eating pumelo, for
>> example? (If so, it looks like becoming a fair bit of effort to
>> prepare properly.
>
>Yes, removing the skin and the membrane can be difficult. To make it
>easier, treat the grapefruit like an egg, so to say. Plunge it into
>boiling or just-boiled water for a couple of minutes for the skin to get
>just heated through. Remove and plunge into cold water and let more
>cold water run over it until it cools. The skin and the membrane will
>be easier to remove.
>
>> The parchment and the pith under the skin are the sources of most of
>> the bitterness in grapefruit -- the pure juice is much sweeter -- so I
>> suspect the removal of all this "skin" would make the dish more
>> acceptable to many people. There's also the question of seeds -- if
>> the segments are not "skinned" then people will be spitting pips
>> constantly when eating the dish. (Maybe the French didn't concern
>> themselves with such problems of decorum. ;-)
>
>You can hold each segment up to light to find the pips and then remove
>them carefully with a sharp knife. Some juice will run out and it will
>be a bit messy, of course. Also, some varieties of grapefruit have no
>pips.
>
>Victor

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

Victor Sack wrote:
> Phred > wrote:
>
> > The recipe calls for the individual segments to be separated after
> > peeling the fruit, but it seemed slightly ambiguous about how far to
> > go with the "peeling".
> >
> > Is it necessary to remove the parchment from the segments too, just
> > leaving the naked juice cells like you can do when eating pumelo, for
> > example? (If so, it looks like becoming a fair bit of effort to
> > prepare properly.
>
> Yes, removing the skin and the membrane can be difficult. To make it
> easier, treat the grapefruit like an egg, so to say. Plunge it into
> boiling or just-boiled water for a couple of minutes for the skin to get
> just heated through. Remove and plunge into cold water and let more
> cold water run over it until it cools. The skin and the membrane will
> be easier to remove.
>

Another way in which this is commonly done is with a knife. Slice the
rind from the fruit across its top and bottom at a level that will
barely reach the juicy flesh, then from top to bottom (or bottom to top
[or pole to pole]) slice away the rind and parchment-like membrane
leaving only the juicy flesh without the membrane. It's a little tricky
to know where to cut to remove the rind and membrane while leaving the
flesh. At this point you have a peeled grapefruit. Now, holding the
grapefruit above a bowl to catch the juice and fruit segments, cut
along the parchment from the exterior to the center center of each
segment to free it from the membrane, and let each segment fall into
the bowl. When you have freed all the segments from the fruit, squeeze
the membraneous portion in your hand to extract any remaining juice.

-bwg