Grapefruit _ not just a breakfast food.

Byline: Lauren Chapin

Grapefruit _ it's not just for breakfast anymore.

Thanks to selective breeding, the pucker in this citrus fruit has mellowed out and the number of pesky seeds has been decreased. Chefs and home cooks are thinking outside the breakfast bowl and incorporating grapefruit in all kinds of fun and fancy dishes.

Although once relegated to a wintertime breakfast staple, halved, sectioned and sprinkled with sugar, grapefruit and its juice are increasingly crafted into cocktails, consommes, sorbets, salads and desserts.

In his book "The Great Ceviche Book" (Ten Speed Press), Douglas Rodriguez likes to add grapefruit juice to his scallop and mackerel ceviches, adding a little sparkle to the traditional lime juice marinade.

Cookbook author Deborah Madison turns grapefruit and its uncouth cousin, the pummelo, into marmalades and candied citrus peels. Martha Stewart uses it as a key ingredient in a lobster salad with grapefruit, avocado and hearts of palm, and in a citrus…