Grapefruit Bars
My friend Evelyn, introduced me to the tradition of making the “baby dinner” for a couple who has a baby. I thought it was such a great tradition to have, that I started doing it for friends who have a baby. The whole concept is really easy, make a homemade meal, package it up nicely and drop it off for the new parents. This way they have something home cooked to eat and have to do little preparing. Our baby dinners are pretty much the same, homemade pesto (enough for them to enjoy and freeze), some quality pasta, occasionally I toss in a package of great sausage, salad with homemade vinaigrette, a bottle of wine and a dessert. Dessert, is usually the highlight of the meal it seems. I usually make these outrageous brownies and once in awhile lemon bars. People love getting this gift and it really puts a big smile on their faces more so then another receiving blanket would.
Our friends, Daniel & Samantha had a baby boy, Dashiell, right before the holidays. With Christmas, New Years and traveling we never got a chance to take the “baby dinner” over until recently. This particular dinner I made a nontraditional Pesto, this batch was made with spinach, arugula and toasted walnuts. I did not get a chance to try it on pasta but on the spoon it was pretty good. Since we have pounds upon pounds of grapefruit I decided to make something else that is nontraditional with the “baby dinners”, I made grapefruit with candied ginger bars. Thanks to the twitters I got with ideas, so I added the ginger which was a great addition. I made a traditional sable crust for the base of the bars. Then I made an ultra rich topping of grapefruit juice, lots of zest, eggs (lots), sugar and flour. The bars came out gooey (in a good way), a little tart and a little spicy, a bit too sweet (will cut the sugar down next time), they had a slightly crispy crust and overall, they were fantastic! Definitely one to something good here!
Those look incredible! I love the idea of a baby dinner. Incredibly thoughtful and I’m sure very much appreciated.
Best,
Emily
justeatfood.com
That’s such a nice idea! I wish I had friends that did stuff like that. I needed this recipe last week when I had a bag of grapefruits from the Texas valley.
oo gooey grapefruit bar…sounds interesting! The baby dinner idea sounds really nice!
I want the recipes! These truly look delicious.
They remind me of the St. Louis classic gooey butter cakes. A grapefruit version would be really great! And I always volunteer to cook for the newborn babies in my circles. Always fun.
I can’t wait for the recipe! it looks delicious!
I’ve been on a grapefruit kick lately and made grapefruit sorbet recently. These bars sound fantastic!
Hi Denise- I hope all is well. Although the baby dinner sounded fabulous the brownie recipe sounded even better so would it be possible to get that from you when you have a minute?
Talk to you soon,
Gretchen
Looking forward to making these with the slew of grapefruits we have! Baby Dinners are a great thing - Ive done a post on them myself!
http://deannasgoodeats.blogspot.com/2008/11/baby-dinners.html
I love grapefruits and want to make these, but when I click on the recipe it just brings me to the ingredient list- not the directions. I have tried everything on the page and can’t seem to find them. Am I doing something wrong?!