"In a pickle." Goodness knows Lafayette (pictured above) finds himself in one quite often.

A phrase with quite a bad connotation, etymologists suggest that it came up from the process of making pickles -- that to do so, you would "stir, confuse, and mix" vegetables, or meat, or eggs in sour broth, and in doing so, preserve them in that particular state. Similarly, when we speak about someone "in a pickle," they are stuck, are bound, are in a state from which they cannot escape.

Doesn't seem like it was that long ago, does it?

The salty breeze, the glare so bright you don't take your sunglasses off all weekend, the lazy crabs crawling over the rocks -- who doesn't love themselves a little summer getaway? My favorite part of these days is always right before sunset; the prickle of hot water on slightly sunburned skin, a G&T with lots of lime, and, of course, something to nibble on.

Today's recipe is one of those great vacation nibbles, polished up and made respectable for the winter months. I actually like it best with a ice-cold pilsner, but, no matter what you're drinking, it'll make you plenty of friends. Let's get right to it.