Upsides to the Down Economy/ "Any"tizers

We're having a dinner party Saturday night and there was some mix-up about who was bringing appetizers, so I was thinking about what easy appetizers I could whip up in short notice. These are what I call "anytizers", handy apps you should have the makings for in your pantry or freezer. This can also come in handy during the holidays, in case you have guests who stop by on the spur of the moment. Of course cheese and crackers is always an option (with grapes and figs), but try to get more creative.

The Grand Prize winner of items to have on hand is a block of cream cheese. With this item, and a couple add ins, you can make four different appetizers.

Easiest: Take a block of cream cheese. Put on a plate. Top with a jar of hot pepper jelly. Serve with Wheat Thins.

Easy: Take half a block (4 oz) cream cheese, softened. Mix in 1/2 cup toasted walnuts and 4 oz. blue cheese until combined. Serve with water crackers and veggies.

Easy and Hot: Take a block of cream cheese and put in a small saucepan on low heat until it is softened. Add a 15 oz can of chili with no meat and mix until until hot and well blended. According to the contributor "this is one of the easiest and best recipes that tastes like it takes a long time to make, but only takes 5 minutes." Serve with crackers or corn chips.

Easy, Hot and Seafood: (if you have 30 minutes) 1 cup Hellmans mayonnaise, 1 block of cream cheese, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 2 cans crabmeat, juice of 1/2 fresh lemon, hot sauce, to taste. Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients and bake for 30 minutes. Broil to brown the top. Serve with crackers and additional hot sauce. A friend makes this and brings it to every party and everybody loves it.

Another item I usually have on hand is toasted almonds. This recipe is from Nora Ephron's book Heartburn. "You melt some butter in a frying pan, add whole blanched almonds, and saute until they're golden brown with a few little burned parts. Drain lightly and salt and eat with a nice stiff drink."

My sister Kelley is not known to have well-stocked kitchen but one item she invariably has on had is thinly slice Genoa salami. If you add to this some crackers, cheese, olives and pepperocini, you have yourself a nice Antipasti plate.

One thing we almost always have in our fridge is store-bought Hummus. Add to this, sliced pita bread, olives, sliced carrots and celery and you have an easy Mezze Platter.

If you have tomatoes, garlic and a loaf of bread (even stale bread will do) you can make yourself the ever-popular bruchetta.

One of my father-in-law Mort's favorite appetizers was grilled sausage, served with mustard. He used bratwurst and knackwurst, but any sausage would do. Slice into rounds. Serve with toothpicks and if you want to get fancy, serve different types of mustard.

Frozen pizza can be turned into an elegant app simply by slicing it into little thin slices. I like Wolfgang Puck and California Pizza kitchen, but any type (preferably thin crust) will do.

If you have ravioli or tortellini on hand, boil some up, put on a short skewer and serve with a heated pasta sauce.

One of my favorite appetizers is Rumaki, but a lot of people are squeamish of chicken livers. An alternative is just to wrap a small piece of bacon around a water chestnut and broil or grill until the bacon is cooked. Marinating in teriaki sauce optional.

Last but not least is an appetizer I read years ago in, The Frugal Gourmet. It was someone who wanted an appetizer, so used what she had available. This was mayonnaise, onion, party rye bread and Parmesan cheese. She mixed 1/2 cup of peeled, chopped onion with 1/2 cup mayo, spread it over the bread, topped it with Parmesan cheese and put them under the broiler until the cheese got brown.

Sometimes, the easiest appetizers are the best. I hope these "anytizers" will come in handy for you, so needn't ever sweat about what to serve. Bon Appetit!