I’ve been thinking a lot about summer barbecues, cookouts and picnics lately. With nicer weather I just find myself wanting to get outdoors. When I was a kid (a loooonnnggg time ago), my sister and I would just hate being inside. We wanted to ride bikes, feel the wind hitting our faces and play with the neighbor kids. Now that I’m an adult, I find every reason to be outside in the sun. This includes having friends over and entertaining. This snack works great for a casual party and who doesn’t love fried pickle spears?

When we bought this house, we fell in love with the back yard.  Our former “yard” was a patio the size of a postage stamp. We had no space for entertaining and if Hubby’s kids visit and bring their kids, there was no where to play. Speaking of grandkids, #5 was born last Friday. YIPPEE!!!  We are so excited about this and can’t wait for them all to come over and run around the yard with the dogs.

I loved pickles as a kid, even the dill pickles. I have about 3 varieties of pickles in my fridge at any given time. Hubby is not a fan of the bread & butter or sweet pickles but I sure love them. I made these about a week ago when I was craving pickles. No, I’m not pregnant, ha ha. These satisfied my craving and the dipping sauce was perfect for these. You’re probably wondering what fried pickle spears have to do with warmer weather. Nothing, I just like them.

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Fried Dill Pickle Spears

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Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 1 tablespoon rosemary garlic seasoning
• 1 Large egg (beaten)
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1/2 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs
• salt & pepper to taste
• 12 pickle spears (cut in half length wise)

Directions

Step 1

In a medium bowl, add the flour, milk, rosemary-garlic seasoning and egg. Mix well. Set aside.

Step 2

In another bowl, add the panko, corn meal, bread crumbs and salt & pepper. Set aside.

Step 3

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, enough to cover half the height of the spear. Dip each spear into the batter, then the bread mix and drop into the oil. Cook 3-5 minutes per side and lay on a paper towel to soak off any excess oil. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

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A lot of my friends prefer a ranch dip to this and I think a ranch dip is probably more kid friendly as well. What kid doesn’t like ranch?  For my “Red Hot Dipping Sauce” I just mixed a half cup of light mayo, 2 Tablespoons Franks Red Hot sauce, 2 Tablespoons ketchup, 1 Tablespoon of Kiva Hot Smoked Paprika (any paprika will do) and 1 teaspoon of whorcheshire sauce. Basically, items you already have in your pantry. It was super easy and was a nice pairing with the pickles.  You can easily double or triple your recipe for large groups.

Like the fried pickle spears? Find more party appetizer ideas over on my Pinterest board.

Follow Lori’s Culinary’s board Appetizers & Little Bites on Pinterest.

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