Oven "Fried" Pickles with Skinny Herb Buttermilk Ranch Dip

Cornmeal panko herb crusted dill pickles baked in the oven until golden and crisp. Have you ever had fried pickles?

Fried pickles to a New Yorker is quite uncommon, alien actually! But in the South they are wildly popular. The first time I tried fried pickles was at a restaurant in DC, I found myself trying to decide if I liked them, yet oddly reaching for seconds and thirds.

Since then I have had many requests for a make-over and finally tackled the request.

Baking them worked out great, the crumbs stuck perfectly and with a generous amount of oil sprayed on top, they baked to a golden crisp. You can easily make 1/2 batch (1-16 oz jar) for less people. If you are watching your sodium, you may not want to make them unless you can find low sodium dill pickles.

As a base I started with a version Mary from Mary's Bites shared with me, which I slightly adapted it to suit my taste. Hope you Southerners and even all you Yankees enjoy!!

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California Grilled Chicken Avocado and Mango Salad

Sweet champagne mangos pair superb with creamy haas avocados and grilled chicken for a sweet-savory salad to delight your taste buds. This meal is ready in minutes, perfect for a hot summer day or night!

I could live on a tropical island and never miss the fruit from the states.

When I was a kid, I spent many summers at my cousin's house in Puerto Rico and I remember the mango trees and mangoes all over her yard. I would pick them up and try to save them, but even I couldn't consume the overabundance of mangoes she had falling off those trees. Back then mangoes weren't as popular here in the states, but luckily today you can find them in every supermarket. I'm hoping one day guanabana (soursop) and guava will make it's way here too!

Have you seen the new Salanova butter lettuce from Dole, they come two in a container – simply cut the core off and you have baby lettuce!

For this salad I used the red butter variety, but you can use any baby lettuce, especially home grown if you have any in your garden!

For the dressing I kept it real simple, extra virgin olive oil and white balsamic vinegar which is naturally sweet and perfect on this salad. You can easily halve this recipe for 2 servings or double for 8. Enjoy and stay cool!


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