What to put on a relish, or pickle, tray?

The expected: Celery stuffed with cream cheese. Black olives. Green olives.

Something with a twist: Spiced apples.

Sauces: Cranberries, jellied or whole.

The expected, kicked a notch higher: Radishes turned into rosettes.

And things you might not think of right away: Pickled okra. Roasted onions. Marinated mozzarella.

Ethnic stores, from Italian to Middle Eastern, have arrays of jarred and canned and freshly prepared prospects, from baby eggplants to stuffed grape leaves to grilled, pickled Cippolina onions. So do specialty stores such as Williams-Sonoma.

Dig around and have fun putting your creativity to work, because nowadays, almost anything goes, and the variety of vegetables, fruits, even cheeses that you can plunk on a pickle tray is endless.

And get jiggy with it. Kimberly Schlegel Whitman, author of "Tablescapes: Setting the Table with Style" (Gibbs Smith, $40), a luscious coffee-table book with tips on presentations, says pickle trays can be conversation starters.

"[Your guests] might say, 'My grandmother had one just like this.' ... It's amazing how one little thing like that can launch a conversation that people can find joy and laughter in."

Ms. Whitman suggests dressing up the trays, if you like. "Putting extra thought into each dish is important. So you go the extra mile, maybe line the bottom of your relish tray with something interesting -- lettuce leaves ... or flowers between the compartments."

A trip to the salad or olive bar at your local grocery or specialty store provides plenty of inspiration, as well as eliminates the need for preparation.

George DeLallo Co., the Italian food purveyor based in Jeannette, likes to say -- "and not to kind of boast," says marketing manager Giuliana Pozzuto -- that "we really are in the forefront of bringing [olive bars] to grocery stores 20 years ago.

"We pride ourselves on inventing the idea of the olive bar in stores."

The company, which supplies local chains such as Shop'n Save and Giant Eagle as well as operates a retail store at its Jeannette headquarters, offers plastic compartment trays to purchase and fill from its olive bars.

"It's no fuss," says Ms. Pozzuto, ticking off the "full range of imported olives from all over the world -- Italy, Greece, Spain, France ... We specialize in California sevillano olives -- a green olive that's Sicilian-style cured" -- and stuffed olives, containing anything from provolone to roast garlic to blue cheese and feta.

DeLallo also makes and markets antipasto and artichoke salads at self-serve bars, and, all told, at the holidays, "It's a pretty big hit."