Fried Green Tomatoes with Fresh Buttermilk Dressing

Tangy, soft, and almost sweet on the inside. Crispy, crunchy, and salty on the outside.

Addictive.

If you've ever eaten fried green tomatoes before, you know what I mean.

Once you've thought about these you can't stop thinking about them until the moment when you can finally put one in your mouth.

I like to dip fried green tomatoes in cool fresh buttermilk dressing and eat them while they're still almost too hot to eat... while I'm standing at the stove frying some more of them to stuff into my mouth.

Patience and restraint are not my strong virtues. But if standing in front of a skillet licking grease off my fingers can be considered a virtue, I might be redeemed. Because I can do that.

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

Green tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
Beaten egg
Flour
Finely crushed saltine crackers
Salt & pepper
Bacon grease
Vegetable oil (optional)

Put the beaten egg, flour, and crushed saltine crackers in 3 separate bowls. Add a bit of salt and pepper to the saltine crackers. I use about 1/2 teaspoon of each to 1 cup of crushed saltines. (I realize that saltines already have salt in them but I like a bit more.)

Melt bacon grease (with a bit of vegetable oil, optional, or use only vegetable oil, but if you do that, don't say you got the recipe from me.. no one will believe you) in a skillet and heat until it's hot enough for frying. You'll want the hot oil to be about 1/4 inch deep.

One by one dip each tomato slice in the beaten egg, then dredge in flour, dip in beaten egg again, and then push down into bowl of crushed saltine crackers so that each tomato slice is covered well in crumbs.

Place in skillet and fry for a few minutes on each side, until gently browned. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain excess grease.

Serve hot with Fresh Buttermilk Dressing!

FRESH BUTTERMILK DRESSING

1/3 cup mayonnaise (use a commercial brand or make your own)
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, very finely chopped (this is equal to about 1/4 cup of slightly packed fresh leaves, before chopping)
1 tablespoon fresh chives, snipped into tiny flecks with kitchen scissors
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, rubbed off the stem
Salt & pepper to taste (I use about 1/4 teaspoon of each)
A pinch of garlic powder
A pinch of white pepper

Mix everything together with a fork and chill until ready to use.