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)

Rossini Italian Bistro

If Ezio De Rosa is cooking, save me a spot at the table. That’s how passionate I feel about his food.

The chef’s latest venture, Rossini Italian Bistro, is no exception. Those who know De Rosa from his former place, Ristorante Grissini, will likely remember his penchant for using the freshest ingredients in ways that bring the traditions of his home turf, in the heel of Italy’s boot, to American palates.

In the intimate Rossini, he is showcasing the brightest and best on a menu that changes weekly. You’ll be able to find some of the basics — a steak, risotto, ravioli — but how those are prepared will rarely be the same. Risotto on one visit was made creamy with mascarpone and given a little kick from green peppercorns; a few weeks later, the risotto featured wild mushrooms in a thick stock. Both very different, both equally wonderful. (It’s easy enough to knock restaurant risotto, which is too often al dente or mush; not here.)

De Rosa doesn’t just pick the freshest ingredients, he also knows what to do with them to show off just how good they are, such a salad with organic greens, deep red tomatoes, olives and artichoke hearts. It was simple yet the flavors were so alive that you kept wanting more.

House-made ravioli in a sage-brown butter sauce.

Take a look at what he does with smoked salmon, one of the few dishes I’ve encountered at Rossini on several occasions. He takes thin, delicate slices of the fish with just the right amount of smoke to enhance the flavor, not mask it, and drizzles a little olive oil over the top, again to illustrate the beauty of the fish. A few capers to add a salty touch, and that’s is. The plate is about the fish.

I remember having a variation of this dish at another Italian restaurant that is, thankfully, no longer with us. That version featured huge cuts of salmon well was past its prime buried under at least a half-inch of olive oil on the plate. The end result was something “fishy” tasting and slick on the tongue, like trying to eat unfiltered cod liver oil, only less pleasant.

Aged steak has come in a Barolo sauce, a giant pork chop in a Cabernet Sauvignon sauce, seafood pasta in a tomato sauce, vegetables tossed with noodles, all eliciting sighs of contentment from the friends who had them. In fact, the vegetarian refused to share even a strand of his pasta.

Rossini's panna cotta

As good all of these dishes are, seafood is the area in which De Rosa really shines. Halibut, shrimp, calamari and scallops have been among the items sampled, and the clean flavors of each, no matter the setting, makes the week’s offerings worth a try.

Desserts are not as big a deal to Italians as they are to Americans, yet you’d never know that at Rossini. De Rosa’s panna cotta is, in a word, magnificent. He once showed me how to make it, and though I have followed his recipe, I have somehow never managed to get it quite as soft yet solid as his. Eating it is as sensual a culinary experience as I can think of.

On a recent visit, he had another irresistible creation, fresh strawberries with mascarpone. Imagine tiramisù without the ladyfingers. Just fresh berries and a sweet, eggy cheese that was both light and rich beyond belief.

De Rosa’s wife, Maria, is in charge of the front of the house, ensuring brisk, friendly service and steaming hot food.

The restaurant only has about 10 tables, so reservations are not taken. It’s a first-come-first-served atmosphere, meaning there can be lines on the weekend.  Yet I’ve also seen people surrender their table for a seat at the bar, if they were only lingering over a last glass of wine from the restaurant’s impressive collection of Italian reds, whites and sparklers. It has that kind of neighborhood feel that makes you feel as expansive and generous as the food is with its flavors.

Rossini Italian Bistro
2195 N.W. Military Hwy.
210-615-7270
Lunch: Monday-Friday. Dinner: Monday-Saturday

Use oyster mushrooms or salmon in this salpicon recipe.

Salpicón is a light, refreshing salad that can be eaten by itself or on top of tostadas or chalupas. In this satisfying version from celebrity chef Rick Bayless, you can use either salmon or mushrooms.

Salpicón del Chile Poblano (Roasted Poblano Salpicón)

8 ounces (3 medium) fresh poblano chiles
1/2 medium red onion, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
4 ounces smoked salmon (the fully cooked hot-smoked salmon available widely is good, as is traditional smoked salmon), skin removed, flesh broken into 1/4-inch pieces, or 6 ounces fresh mushrooms (oyster mushrooms would be my first choice), touch stems cut off, caps cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips about 1-inch long
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (you may want to use less if you are using smoked salmon)
Salt, if using mushrooms

Over an open flame or 4 inches below a preheated broiler, roast the poblanos, turning them regularly until evenly blistered and blackened all over, about 5 minutes for an open flame, about 10 minutes for the broiler. Place in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let cool until easy to handle. Rub off the blackened skin, then pull out the  stem and seed pod; briefly rinse to remove any bits of skin and stray seeds. Chop into 1/4-inch pieces and scoop into a medium bowl. Scoop the onion into a strainer, rinse under cold water,  shake off the excess and transfer to the bowl along with the mushrooms (or smoked salmon), oregano and lime juice. taste and season with salt if using mushrooms, usually about 1/2 teaspoon. (If using smoked salmon you won’t need salt.) Cover and refrigerate.

Makes 1 1/2 cups or 12 servings as part of a party.

From “Fiesta at Rick’s” by Rick Bayless with Deann Groen Bayless