Fried pickles are a feature of many restaurants specializing in southern cooking. In fact, the challenge in some of these places is finding something that hasn't been fried.

I'm not crazy about all pickles. My mother made her own bread and butter pickles years ago and I couldn't stomach the flavor. Unfortunately, Gramma BamaVol is no Mrs. Fanning. I'm also afraid to try pickled okra; afraid they'd be more like boiled than fried - the only way I really like okra, besides scattered throughout a gumbo.