Do you remember eating grapefruit as the starter at a savory dinner party? I do. It must have been an early 80′s things to do. Or maybe it was a late 70′s thing, and my mom was simply holding on to a remnant of the past (sorry, mom!). Anyhow, I loved it. It seemed so grown-up and glamorous, to eat a grapefruit instead of a standard old green salad in preparation for the rest of the meal.

To my young palate eating a piece of fruit for the first course was equivalent to the excitement that I felt when a small dish of sorbet was set down in front of me as a palate cleanser during my first dinner at French restaurant. Ice cream! In the middle of my meal? I could get used to this whole fine dining thing! Well, it’s been years since I ate a grapefruit as a first course, but come winter, I eat a grapefruit virtually everyday.

The Ruby Red is my favorite. That shock of pink flesh, the sweet-tart pungency, it gets me salivating every time. Usually I eat it simply, with just a touch of brown sugar crystals melting ever so slightly on the top. But when I have a moment to spare on a blustery weekend, it becomes all about the brulee.

So easy, it’s hardly a recipe; but I have to share anyway. Cut your grapefruit anyway you like, I use my handy-dandy, dual-sided grapefruit knife, with the curved blade (whew, how’s that for a mouthful). Then encrust the surface of the fruit with brown sugar, a bit more than a sprinkling. Pop the halves under the broiler for a few minutes, just until the grapefruit is beginning to brown. And there you have it.

The sugar seeps into the fruit, making a perfume-y, subtly sweet concoction. The grapefruit is warm and juicy, the perfect accent to a weekend breakfast, to be enjoyed while lazing around in you warmest pajamas. They may not be the grapefruits of yore, accented with bright maraschino cherries, and served chilled, in a cut-glass bowl, but somehow I think that this will still do the trick.