Your recipe for the day: pan fried chicken

How about a picnic? And what's better picnic food than fried chicken? Here's the L.A. Times Test Kitchen's favorite recipe for pan fried chicken, best cooked in a heavy-duty cast iron skillet, above.

--Rene Lynch
Twitter.com/renelynch

Photo credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Your recipe for the day: Melon bites with prosciutto and basil

This recipe from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen for melon bites with prosciutto and basil is a nice cool nibble for a hot summer day, and is a good way to put that fresh basil to good use.

Bonus: There will be lots of leftover melon scraps. Save them for breakfast.

--Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

PLUS: Browse hundreds of recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

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Photo credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

 

Your recipe for the day: Grilled corn and arugula salad

This recipe from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen for grilled corn and arugula salad just "says" summer. Enjoy!

--Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

Photo credit: Eric Boyd / Los Angeles Times

 

Your recipe for the day: White gazpacho with grapes (ajo blanco con uvas)

 

Your recipe for the day from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen: White gazpacho with grapes (ajo blanco con uvas) Watch the KTLA video too -- Times Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter walks you through the steps.

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

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Your recipe for the day: Butterflied roasted eggplant salad

How clever: Butterfly an eggplant and use it in place of the lettuce. This L.A. Times Test Kitchen recipe for butterflied roasted eggplant salad is part of a trio of dishes that celebrate the re-emergence of Greek taverna food. Read more in writer Diane Kochilas' story from Athens, Greece -- Greek taverna food: All the comforts of home

--Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

 

Recipe for the day: Grilled romaine with walnuts, Parmesan and anchovy dressing

This is like Caesar salad on the grill. Click here for the L.A. Times Test Kitchen recipe for grilled romaine with walnuts, Parmesan and anchovy dressing:

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

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Photo: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

 

Your recipe for the day: Rhubarb-strawberry sorbet

This is one cool way to end a warm summer's night: rhubarb-strawberry sorbet.

--Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

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Photo credit: Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times

Your recipe for the day: Garlic shrimp with grilled tomatillo sauce

I plucked this recipe from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen for a few reasons. It's got shrimp. Lots of garlic. It's grilled, which is perfect for this hot weather. It takes just 25 minutes to make.

But the real reason it caught my eye?

Check out the calorie count:

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

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Photo: Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times

Your recipe for the day: Tangy frozen lemon yogurt

Ah. That June (and July) Gloom looks like it might finally be gone. Let's celebrate with some tangy frozen lemon yogurt, shall we?

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch 

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Your recipe for the day: Grilled eggplant with walnut-cilantro pesto

So you picked up some eggplants at the market this weekend, and you've got some leftover cilantro in the fridge. Then you're halfway there to grilled eggplant with walnut-cilantro pesto, your recipe for the day from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen.

-- Rene Lynch
twitter.com/renelynch

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Photo credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times