Pantry items to liven up dishes

You can reproduce some of your favorite restaurant dishes at home with these pantry items from Atlanta chefs.

Chile con queso and jalapeno ranch dressing from Little Rey

Now you can bring home two favorites from the menu of Little Rey, Ford Fry’s quick-service Texmex restaurant in Atlanta’s Piedmont Heights neighborhood. The restaurant has just started offering to-go jars of its jalapeno ranch dressing (traditional ranch flavors in a creamy dressing that’s pale green, thanks to the inclusion of cilantro and jalapeno) and chile con queso (another creamy sauce, featuring white American cheese melted with onions, green chile, jalapenos, half-and-half, butter and spice). We think these are more versatile than their names might suggest, having enjoyed both on chips and on salads. The queso made an especially nice topping for a salad of fresh Georgia corn and tomatoes.

$10 per 12-ounce jar of queso and $7 per 12-ounce jar of dressing. Available at Little Rey, 1878 Piedmont Ave. NE, Atlanta, or at order.littlerey.com/littlerey/piedmont-heights/menu.htm#menuitems.

Chamoy from El Ponce

Combining salty, sour and spicy flavors with fruit is a hallmark of Mexican cuisine. Do you squeeze the juice of a lime on your mango? Do you sprinkle chile and salt on your melon? If so, you’re already familiar with

the interplay of sweet fruit with tartness and heat, and you’re ready to try chamoy. El Ponce Mexican restaurant in Atlanta’s Poncey-highland neighborhood mixes up small batches of this sauce — made from dried cranberries, hibiscus, apricot, chile tajin, chile de arbol, chile mulato, lime juice, sugar and salt — and offers it in 4-ounce jars. The restaurant recommends using it to rim the glass of a michelada, or to top fresh fruit, or a dish of mango sorbet. But don’t restrict its use to fruit. It can be used where you would enjoy a fruity hot sauce, or as a dip for slices of cucumber or jicama. We mixed some with pureed end-of-season peaches to make frozen pops reminiscent of paletas, only with a kick.

$6 per 4-ounce jar. Available at El Ponce, 939 Ponce de Leon Ave., Atlanta. Order for pickup at elponce.com.

Worcestershire sauce from Arnette’s Chop Shop

Stephen Herman, executive chef of Arnette’s Chop Shop in Brookhaven, is happy for you to come in and enjoy a perfectly grilled steak, hearth-roasted shellfish

or other steakhouse favorites, but Arnette’s online commissary sells the same prime steaks they serve at the restaurant, so you can cook them at home. And you also can order the restaurant’s house-made Worcestershire sauce. You could make it at home, from a list of ingredients as long as your arm — including vinegar, anchovies, chile peppers, lemon juice, onion, garlic, spices and, for that distinct tang, tamarind — if you had a few hours, and the need for a gallon of Worcestershire. But why not let Arnette’s do it for you? The restaurant’s sauce may be a bit thicker than the commercial sauces you’re accustomed to buying, but that will make it cling perfectly to that well-grilled steak.

$15.99 per 6-ounce bottle. Available at Arnette’s Chop Shop, 2700 Apple Valley Road, Brookhaven. 404-969-0701. Information under the Commissary tab at arnetteschopshop.com.

COURTESY OF LITTLE REY Chile con queso and jalapeno ranch dressing from Little Rey should find a spot in your kitchen pantry.