Good old-fashioned pickling and canning scare me to death. All those Mason jars, the sterilization and special procedures--it seems to me there are just too many ways for some horrible bacteria to invade the process, and I’ll end up killing someone. When I was on the Food Network, I agreed to a canning show exactly one time, and that was when we had an expert guest scheduled. Of course, the weather was terrible that day, and my guest’s plane didn’t even land until after the show ended. The only way I got through it was by enlisting the help of my viewers; somebody would call in with a question and another viewer would call in with the answer. Not one of my favorite shows.

Me, I’m a quick pickle gal. The cucumber pickles in this recipe take a mere 10 minutes to “cure,” but they emerge just as sweet and sour and crunchy as you please. They’d be a superb accompaniment to Pulled Chicken Barbecue on Beer Bread and Barbecued Salmon, but you may be tempted to put them on everything.