The phone just rang. It was friends announcing they were going to drop by. You just got off work and haven’t a thing to serve them. Or so you think. The following are easy appetizers that you can create out of items you may have in your refrigerator or pantry that will make it seem as if you were expecting company.

Some items to keep on hand:

• Chips and salsa. This is San Antonio. Any questions? You can liven up the usual mix with a jar of black bean dip, but even that’s not necessary if your salsa and your chips are good.
• Tins of anchovies, sardines, smoked oysters and other seafood favorites, as well as canned pâté, that some guests will enjoy.
• Several types of crackers, including soda crackers, Wheat Thins and Triscuit, so guests have a choice.
• Three or four distinctly different cheeses. These can range from a soft cheese, like a triple crème, to a harder cheese, such as Manchego. They don’t have to fancy, either. Aged cheddar, a smoky Gouda, a spreadable goat cheese from Texas, a block of Swiss, Colby and Monterey Jack all have their fans.
• Sliced salami of various types, from pepperoni to Genoa to spicy Hungarian styles, and prosciutto or ham are great to have on hand. Also stock up on a couple of mustards you can offer to dip them into.
• Bread of some sort: Cocktail rye slices, pumpernickel, pita bread, flour tortillas and baguette are among the easier styles to serve at a moment’s notice.
• Popcorn. Try seasoning your popcorn with various flavors, from black truffle to Cajun spice to Parmesan cheese and pepper. It takes only minutes to pop a fresh batch in a Dutch oven, which tastes so much better than the stuff that comes out of the microwave.
• Jars of pickled or preserved vegetables and fruits. Roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, cornichons, giardinara and even pickled brussels sprouts are at most area supermarkets. The olive bar is a great place for easy snacks. Ethnic stores offer an even wider variety, including baby eggplants, grilled zucchini and radish.
• A piece of ripe fruit to go with the cheeses. Pears, apples and oranges are all in season now and full of flavor.
• Dark chocolates. Have a bar of 70 percent dark chocolate, another of 85 percent and a third with some sort of flavor. Break off a few pieces of each for a comparison tasting. Serve with dried cranberries, raisins or nuts on the side.
• Good olive oil, good balsamic vinegar.
• Dried fruit and nuts. Mix them together with a touch of coconut or serve them separately.
• Chex Mix. Some snacks are classics for a reason. With this party mix, it’s the irresistible combination of Worcestershire sauce, butter and garlic powder on top of cereal, nuts and pretzels that make it so appealing.
• Keep a bottle of white wine or sparkling wine in the refrigerator or a six-pack of beer, so you are ready with drinks. Reds are easier to have ready since they should be served at around 65 degrees or so; if the bottle is a little warm, pop in the refrigerator for a few minutes before opening.

Here are some quick appetizer ideas:

• Wrap a radish with an anchovy. Skewer with a toothpick.
• Drain assorted olives, rinse and warm in the oven with a little olive oil, your favorite spices, some citrus zest and a skewer of fresh rosemary.
• Take slices of sour dough rye, layer with feta, then ripe tomatoes and fresh herbs. Drizzle a little olive oil on top and some freshly cracked black pepper. Or top the cheese with slices of pear and black pepper.
• Top slices of cocktail rye or pumpernickel with butter, Swiss cheese and slivers of radish.
• Roll and slice of prosciutto or black forest ham around a tender raw stalk of asparagus. The ham also works wrapped around a crunchy dill pickle.
• Offer slivers of smoked salmon and cream cheese on cocktail rye or pumpernickel. Serve with diced onion or chopped hard-cooked egg and a touch of fresh dill.
• Top toasted slices of baguette with hummus and crown with strips of roasted red bell pepper, herbs, toasted pine nuts, olive slices or a touch of spice, such as sumac or Chilean merkén.
• Nachos, fresh from the broiler, are always welcome.
• Baked brie in puff pastry is easy to assemble and always welcome. Just follow the directions on the package of brie. Serve with crackers and fruit. Or, just heat the brie up, either in the oven or microwave until it’s warm and softened and starting to ooze out of its casing. Top with a big handful of thinly sliced scallion.
• Boil your own shrimp, which taste so much better than those processed shrimp rings, and serve with a homemade cocktail sauce that has just enough horseradish and lemon to give it a kick.
• Another appetizer that can be made in a minute flat is to open up an 8-ounce package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, mound on top of it as much fresh jumbo lump crabmeat as you can afford, then empty a jar of good (cold) cocktail sauce over the crab. Very good with crackers.
• Bagna cauda is a quick-and-easy Italian butter dip that’s great with vegetables. Click here for a recipe.
• Make bagel pizzas. Slice the bagel in half, top with your favorite pizza sauce and garnish with shredded mozzarella cheese. Pop under the broiler until the cheese melts, 2 or 3 minutes. Add pepperoni, bell pepper or mushrooms, to taste.
• Make a dip mixing equal parts 8 ounces each of salsa and cream cheese at room temperature. Whip together until full incorporated. Top with a confetti of diced red onion and green and red bell pepper. Serve with bagel chips.
• Make quick quesadillas by using shredded cheese between two flour tortillas and your choice of filling. Add cooked beef fajitas or grilled shrimp, and it’s so much the better.
• If you have any leftover Holiday Cran-Raspberry Sauce or sweet-spicy jelly, pour it over cream cheese.
• This recipe for crab dip comes from my late sister-in-law, Jeanne Servais: Clean 7 ounces crab meat, mix it with 8 ounces cream cheese softened at room temperature, 1 tablespoon sour cream, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce and1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce. Mix well and bake in a greased, oven-proof dish at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
• If you want to use your slow cooker, then here’s a good one to mix together. Grease the dish first, then add 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese softened at room temperature, 1 cup milk,2 1/4 ounces sliced dried beef and1 tablespoon dry mustard. Mix well. Heat on low for several hours until melted together. Serve with cubes of good bread on fondue sticks or wooden skewers as well as vegetable sticks.
• If your guests like a mix of sweet and salty, then place individual butter pretzels (the little square kind)  on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Then place a single unwrapped Rolo candy on each pretzel. Top each candy with pecan half. Bake at 250 degrees until the candy is melted.  Allow to cool or refrigerate before serving.
• Don’t forget one of the simplest of all appetizers: A shallow bowl of extra-good, extra virgin olive oil, seasoned as you like it, with kosher salt and cracked pepper, herbs, a few hot pepper flakes. And, have slices of very fresh baguette to dip into it.

(Photo: Zsuzsanna Kilian)

Remake your favorite cocktails or try some new concoctions this Christmas. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Just remember, if you’re out partying, to drink and drive responsibly.

Mele Kalikimaka Martini

I love Christmas kitsch. And nothing is quite as wonderful as Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters singing “Mele Kalikimaka,” Hawaii’s way of “saying Merry Christmas to you.” I will now enjoy it even more with a Mele Kalikimaka Martini in one hand.

Mele Kalikimaka Martini

1.5 ounces SKYY Infusions Pineapple
3 ounces eggnog
Splash of coconut cream or coconut milk
Nutmeg, to taste
Cinnamon, to taste

In a shaker filled with ice, mix Skyy Infusions Pineapple, eggnog and coconut cream. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon.

Makes 1 martini.

From SKYY

MexiCabo Hot Chocolate

This adult take on Mexican chocolate is a real winter warmer.

1½ ounces blanco tequila
4 ounces hot chocolate
½ ounce coffee liqueur
Whipped cream
Cinnamon

Pour tequila, hot chocolate and coffee liqueur into a coffee mug. Top with whipped cream. Sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Makes 1 drink.

Adapted from Cabo Wabo Blanco Tequila

Noël Impérial

This punch recipe gets its sparkle from Champagne and an extra kick from Grand Marnier.

3 spoonfuls of fruit cocktail
1 ounce Grand Marnier
1 ounce simple syrup
1 ounce lemon juice
2 ounces pineapple juice
6 ounces Moët & Chandon White Star Champagne (almost 2 cups)

Directions: In the bottom of a 17-ounce pitcher, muddle the fruit cocktail. Add the Grand Marnier, simple syrup, lemon juice and pineapple juice. Stir contents. Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. When ready to serve, stir contents and top with chilled White Star Champagne. Stir again and serve with cocktail glasses filled with ice.

From White Star/Kim Haasarud, Liquid Architecture

Candy Cane Swirl

Mint lovers can indulge their passion this holiday season. Here’s yet another way to enjoy candy canes.

Candy canes, some crushed fine
1 ounce SKYY Infusions Raspberry
3 ounces cranberry juice
1/2 ounce Grenadine
1/2 ounce peppermint schnapps
Lemon-lime soda

Rim martini glass with crushed candy cane. Combine SKYY Infusions Raspberry, cranberry juice, Grenadine and peppermint schnapps into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass. Top with lemon-lime soda and garnish with small peppermint candy cane.

Makes 1 cocktail.

From SKYY

Holiday Glögg

Holiday Glögg

This variation on Scandinavian mulled wine includes vodka.

1.5 tablespoons mulling spice
12 ounces vodka
1 (750-milliliter) bottle dry red wine
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons blanched almonds
4 tablespoons raisins

Wrap mulling spice in cheesecloth. In a large saucepan, combine the vodka, wine, cheesecloth with mulling spice, orange zest and sugar. Allow to very lightly simmer over medium heat for at least 30 minutes (do not boil). Discard the mulling spices. Drop a few raisins and almonds at the bottom of each mug and top with the hot liquid.

From SKYY

We prepared a crown roast for a SavorSA get-together recently. I’d never made one, though I’d thought about doing it for years. It turned out well and wasn’t difficult to make, especially as good meat markets and butchers will either have the crown roasts on hand or prepare them (by shaping and tying the roast) for you.

What the butcher does is take a couple of lengths of bone-in pork loin, trims it of some fat. Then, the rib ends of the chops are frenched, or closely trimmed to expose several inches of the ribs.  The butcher also cuts little notches between ribs to make the strip of ribs bend more easily. Also, these can be guides as to where to carve.  Then, the butcher stands the ribs up on the meaty ends and ties the roast (securely, you hope) into a circle.

Your part is easy. Take the roast home, season it, put stuffing in the center and put it in the oven. And, of course, take it out at the right time!  I bought an 8-pound roast with 12 chops in it, and it fed seven of us generously, plus there were leftovers.

Here are the steps. (Also, click here for general tips on making a good roast of any kind.)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Unwrap roast and set it in a large roasting pan. Season it with salt and pepper (or try Tyler Florence’s Pork Loin Seasoning Rub). Let loin sit awhile to bring it to room temperature, or close.
3. Stuff the center with Jalapeño, Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing. This will give you a good-looking presentation, juicy stuffing and helps push the roast into a round shape. (Some recipes say to add stuffing an hour and a half or so into the baking, but I put it in right away and was pleased with the results.)
4. Top the stuffing and the ends of the ribs that stick up in the air with foil. About 15 minutes before the roast is done, take the foil off the stuffing so that the stuffing browns.
5. Put the roast in the oven; you might have to lower the rack to accommodate its height. Put the meat thermometer into the thick part of the meat. You want it to read at 155 or 160 degrees, depending on how done you want the pork. The 8 pound roast I made took about 2 hours and 20 minutes to roast. I took it out at about 156 degrees and let it sit for about 20 minutes. It was cooked through, maybe with just a hint of pink. You can take the foil off the rib ends now.
6. Parade the roast around the house so that everyone sees its beauty. (Or, invite them into the kitchen.)
7. We let the roast sit 20-30 minutes to redistribute the juices. If you want to make gravy, take the roast out of the pan and put it on a large plate in a warm place to rest. Then, proceed with making gravy.
8. Take the stuffing out of the roast and put it in the center of a large, preferably warm, serving platter
9. Cut the strings off of the roast with a kitchen scissors.
10. With a sharp carving knife (I used my French knife, which worked fine) slice off as many chops as you have guests (these will be big chops). Arrange them, ribs toward the center and pointing up, as much as possible, over the stuffing. Put a serving fork and spoon on the platter so guests can lift off a chop and spoon out some stuffing.
11. Hint: If you want to further enhance the presentation, either on the roast or the chop plate, make little bunches of parsley and put tiny grape tomatoes on them: It’s Christmas-y and pretty.
12. What about those paper booties that we see on crown roasts or racks of lamb? I discussed this with someone who, as do I, considers these things. We agreed that they might be a little passé. If you want them, you can find them in a well-stocked supermarket (ask the butcher, too). Or, make some yourself out of pretty gold foil Christmas gift-wrap – passé maybe, but fun!

Peppermint bark didn’t really cross my radar until about four years ago. I ordered some to send to my father for Christmas but made a fatal mistake. I tasted it first. He did get his peppermint bark, but it was on Christmas the following year.

Time to make peppermint bark. All the ingredients ready to go. Click image for recipe.

Now, it seems that peppermint bark is everywhere. While my SavorSA colleagues Nick and Kristina Mistry are trying their hand at making the candy this year, I  picked up a tub of it at Costco for $10. I also noticed World Market selling tins of peppermint bark for the same price.

I planned to make multiple uses of it. First, to have some myself.  Then, to put it along with the cookies and gingerbread in gift baskets, and finally to experiment and see if I could make some other treats with it.

My experiments turned out to be edible, but somewhat less than satisfactory.

The first thing I made was peppermint bark hot chocolate.  I heated up a few big chunks of the bark along with a heaping tablespoon of Scharffen Berger unsweetened cocoa and another tablespoon of sugar in a double boiler, along with a little milk. When the chocolate had melted, I poured in more hot milk and brought it to a simmer. It was good, but I think that hot chocolate with really good chocolate, all by itself, tastes better.

Peppermint bark ice cream sounded good. It was just a matter of chopping up the peppermint bark into small chunks, then stirring it into slightly softened vanilla bean ice cream and refreezing it. I sampled it the next day with high hopes. The frozen bark was mighty hard on the teeth and my thought was that, really, I’d rather have had the plain vanilla ice cream with some peppermint bark on the side.

Peppermint Bark Chip Cookies. Click image for recipe.

Of  the three experiments, the Peppermint Bark Chip Cookies turned out somewhat better. White chocolate, dark chocolate and peppermint in a cloak of Toll House cookie dough would seem a good thing.  In practice, though, the cookies melted out too thin and flat for my taste.  I like them a little thick in the center and moist, only flattening out toward the edges with some crispness.

My guess would be the oils in the chocolate might have been the culprit. And it’s possible we need to give that little chocolate chip more respect — it was designed carefully to melt in a cookie just right. And peppermint bark is best just as it is.

(photos, top & middle: Nicholas Mistry,  cookies: Bonnie Walker)

Ring in the festive season at Scenic Loop Cafe’s Sip & Swirl Holiday Wine Tasting event. This is an opportunity to sample wines and make decisions early about those you might choose for holiday events, dinners or gifts.

The casual event, at 7 p.m. Dec. 1,  will spotlight Mandolina wines from the Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards in Santa Ynez Valley, CA. Also, a malbec and a riesling from Scenic Loop’s wine list will be poured. All wines are paired with gourmet appetizers from the Scenic Loop kitchen.

The cost per person is $22. RSVPs are suggested, as there is limited seating. Scenic Loop Cafe is at
25615 Boerne Stage Road. The phone number is (210) 687-1818.

Teams of cooks and chefs will prepare the food — but you get to be the judge at the first annual Bin 555 Holiday Food Challenge at Artisan’s Alley.

The chef  “smackdown”, hosted by Jason Dady of Bin 555, gets started at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov, 7.   A $5 per person donation is requested, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting the American Heart Association.

Restaurant contestants include Bin 555, Two Bros. BBQ Market, Tre Trattoria, The Lodge at Castle Hills and La Hacienda Los Barrios.  Each team will prepare holiday-inspired dishes in a contest that promises to be tasty and exciting.  Event guests will enjoy tastings of all of the dishes and then cast their ballot for “Best Dish.”

The Holiday Food Challenge is part of 2009 Holiday Light Up celebration at Artisan’s Alley, located at 555 West Bitters in San Antonio.  For more information, call (210) 494.3226.