Boo to You! An Adult Halloween Party

Why should the kids have all the fun? Here are some quick and easy ideas for an adult Halloween party that won't break the budget or your time. Instead of the all out Halloween party, why not decorate the house like it was a haunted house where the evil scientist lives and plays. This party would very easy to put together for an after-work party, You could do the decorating the night before and make the appetizers. Cobwebs hung in the corners of the room and a couple of lamps should do the trick. You can decorate as elaborate or as simple as you want or can afford.

Set up a table to hold your appetizers. To decorate your table, why not go with a laboratory theme? You can decorate this fast and easy with some jars in which you have filled with cooked spaghetti and water and green food coloring. Go to the dollar store and by a plastic rat and a plastic bat ( good sized) that will fit in your jar. Fill them with water and yellow or red food coloring. Look around the dollar store you might also be able to find plastic eye balls that you could fill your jars with. Plastic body parts like fingers work well too. Cover the table with a black table cloth and some candles and you are done. You can also buy spiders and assorted bugs at the dollar store to drop into your drinks or hang on the appetizers. Make some little signs to put next to your ghoulish treats.

This an easy appetizer and cocktail party. Many of these can be made ahead of time and then set out just as your guest arrive.

Appetizers

Pus Filled Tomatoes

• 6 medium tomatoes
• 1/2 avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
• 4 oz Swiss cheese, grated
• 6 fresh basil leaves, chopped or 1 Tbsp. dried basil
• 1/4 tsp. dried oregano

Wash the tomatoes and cut them in half crosswise. Place the halves (open side up) on a cookie sheet. In a small bowl, mash together the avocado, grated Swiss cheese, and basil. Spoon the mixture on top of the tomatoes and sprinkle with oregano. Broil the tomatoes for 5 minutes, or until cheese begins to ooze. Carefully remove the tomatoes from the broiler and serve hot, or allow to cool slightly and eat them with your hands.

Mummy Fingers

• 1 package of fajita size flour tortillas
• 1 container of garden vegetable or onion and chive cream cheese

Spread cream cheese on each tortilla and roll up. Cut in half.

Crudites With Vomit Dip

• cherry tomatoes
• carrots, peeled
• zucchini
• celery stalks
• radishes
• mushroom caps
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 1 onion soup mix
• 1/4 cup milk
• yellow food coloring

Rinse the vegetables in warm water, except the mushroom caps. Wipe those gently with a damp paper towel. Then slice the carrots, zucchini and celery into thin sticks. The cherry tomatoes can be served whole, but you may want to remove any green stems. The radishes and mushrooms can be halved or served whole. If you are not serving right away, put the vegetables in a plastic bag and store them in the refrigerator to keep them fresh and crispy. In a small bowl, mix the cottage cheese, onion soup mix and milk. Stir in some food coloring until you get the desired yellowish color. Do not overmix! Lumpy is more realistic! Arrange your vegetables on a platter surrounding the Vomit Dip.

Deviled Mice

• 8 eggs
• 4 1/2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 6 large lettuce leaves
• 16 pimento stuffed olives
• 1 Tbsp. chocolate sprinkles

Hard boil your eggs. Slice each egg in half lengthwise. With clean fingers, scoop out the yolks and put them in a small bowl. Mash the yolks with a fork until they are crumbly. Add mayonnaise and blend. Carefully fill the empty egg whites with yolk mixture. Cover a platter with lettuce leaves, setting a leaf or two aside for garnish. Arrange the egg halves, YOLK SIDE DOWN, on the leaves. These are your mice bodies. To give them each eyes and a nose, pull the pimento out of an olive and cut it into three small pieces. Cut thirty two thin, lengthwise strips from several of the green olives. Stick two of these strips end to end onto the back end of the mouse to form the tail. Out of the remaining olives, cut thirty two small triangular ear pieces. As a final touch, heap a pile of mouse droppings (chocolate sprinkles) on the platter. Serve each mouse on a small piece of lettuce.

Vampire Wieners on Cotton Swabs

• 8 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
• 24 cocktail franks
• 1/2 cup mustard
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• toothpicks
• cotton balls

Melt the butter or margarine in a small pan over low heat, being careful not to burn it. Place the franks on a broiling pan and carefully brush them with melted butter. Broil the franks until they are evenly browned, turning them 2 or 3 times. While the franks are cooking, combine the mustard and mayonnaise in a small bowl and set aside. This will be your ear wax. Arrange the cooked franks on a serving platter. Pierce each frank with a toothpick, then stick a wet cotton ball on the end of each pick. Place the small bowl of ear wax in the middle of the platter, surrounded by franks.

Cocktails

Now for your cocktails

Brain Hemorrhage

• 2 oz. Schnapps
• 2 tsp. Irish Cream
• 1 tsp. Grenadine

Pour Schnapps into a large shot glass. Slowly pour Irish Cream into Schnapps so that it basically forms a "brain" in "formaldehyde". Finally, dribble the grenadine (dribbling onto a spoon then into the schnapps helps) directly into the center of the Irish cream mass . As the grenadine amount slowly increases, it will eventually burst through the Irish cream creating a "hemorrhaging" "brain".

Gates Of Hell

• 1 1/2 oz. tequila
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. lime juice
• crushed ice
• 1 tsp cherry brandy

In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine the tequila, lemon juice, and lime juice. Shake well. Strain into an old-fashioned glass almost filled with crushed ice. Drizzle the cherry brandy over the top.

Headless Horseman

• 2 oz. vodka
• 3 dashes bitters
• ginger ale
• 1 slice orange

Put vodka and bitters into a collins glass. Add several ice cubes, fill with ginger ale, and stir. Add the orange slice and serve.

Nightmare On Elm Street

• 1 1/2 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. cherry brandy
• 1/2 oz. Madeira
• 1 tsp. orange juice

Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.

Hope this helps you have a very Happy Halloween!