SLAP SOME BEANS into them, and dinner is served -- right?

You must be thinking of the tortillas of yesteryear.

Never mind that you'll choose between white, whole wheat or corn, burrito-size, sandwich-size and mini-tillas. Today, those thin discs of dough indigenous to Southwestern cooking fold around fillings from fajitas to fish sticks. They can loosely wrap a handful of something portable, and they can be downright stuffed -- and variously dipped, deep-fried or toasted, even laden with sweets and served as a trendy mealtime finale.

And why not, ask Victoria Wise and Susanna Hoffman, authors of "The Well-Filled Tortilla" (Workman, $9.95.) The "irrepressible tortilla," they call it. After you've thumbed through nearly 300 pages of recipes, ideas and tips, you'll wonder how Wonder Bread holds its own.

"Tacos have swept the country," says Hoffman during a high-speed rhapsody regarding her favorite bread. Foods wrapped in tortillas rival the hamburger for popularity today -- and with good reason, she says:

* They're a basis for great meatless meals, filled with anything from beans or fried green tomatoes to grilled eggplant.

* Tortillas are a break from the usual meat-on-bun theme. "Face it, they're fun," Hoffman says.

* They're versatile, especially where vegetables are concerned. "They're really a 'wet salad,'" she explains.

"And they're delicious. They don't require sitting at the table to enjoy them, which is something the average person doesn't do any more."

"Pancake cuisine," she calls them.

The largely international book that Hoffman, a part-time anthropologist, co-wrote with fellow restaurateur Wise, bespeaks a worldliness not expected of an unassuming peasant bread with predominantly Mexican roots.

The co-authors' backgrounds helped. Wise and Hoffman were involved in the development of Chez Panisse, the Berkeley restaurant that largely gave birth to "California cuisine." Although they went on to open the Good & Plenty Cafe, a more down-to-Earth eatery in Oakland, neither lost her knack for turning humble staples into grandiose meals.

"We wanted to do an international book about something fairly commonplace," Hoffman said, rattling off a list of recipes in the book with Chinese, Middle Eastern and European roots. Stir-fries and stews are in great abundance here, because that's how working people eat the world over.

"In some ways, 'pancake cuisines' came from people who, like ourselves, were on the move -- herdsmen, often, who ate quickly, and hearth cuisine, formed by ancient families who moved through the kitchen at different times and ate on the move.

"Now, today we may not be herding cattle, and our fields may be cement fields, but in a great many ways our lives are comparable. Anything we can do for convenience, we can't afford to overlook."

The tortilla's best friend is salsa, which is loaded with flavor- and nutrient-packed vegetables in an extremely low-calorie dish. ("The modern way of saucing today," Hoffman declares. "If you have some (salsa) in the refrigerator, it's like having money in the bank.")

Yes, the book is laced with salsa recipes, just as the pages also include basic recipes for flour and corn tortillas, tips for making chips, lore and useful information.

But mostly, the aim is fun uses for a casual food.

"We think people will mostly buy them -- tortillas, and probably salsa -- rather than make them themselves," Hoffman says. "Fortunately, so many good products are coming out. We just want to share good ideas for one of the greatest convenience foods around."

Grilled Beef Fajitas

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lime juice, divided use

2 1/2 to 3 pounds shirt steak

2 large, ripe avocados

1 red bell pepper, cut in half, seeds and veins removed

1 yellow bell pepper, cut in half, seeds and veins removed

1 green bell pepper, cut in half, seeds and veins removed

1 large onion, peeled and sliced

8 flour tortillas, 8 to 10 inches in diameter, warmed

1 cup sour cream

Garnish: tomato salsa

In a medium bowl, combine garlic, oil and two tablespoons lime juice. Add steak and marinate one hour.

Peel and coarsely mash avocados. Stir in remaining lime juice until well combined; cover and set aside.

Start barbecue. If using charcoal, wait until 80 percent of coals are covered with gray ash. Place skirt steak, peppers and onions on grid about six inches above coals. Grill meat six to eight minutes for medium rare. Grill the pepper halves and onion slices until cooked through and softened. Remove steak; slice into one-half-inch pieces on the diagonal. Separate onion slices into rings; cut pepper halves into strips.

Presentation: Lay warmed tortilla on plate. Spread about one-quarter-cup mashed avocado down center. Arrange slices of steak, pepper strips and onion rings down center. Top with tomato salsa and sour cream, if desired. Fold tortilla in half and serve.

Makes six to eight tortillas.

Savory Baked Fish

2 1/4 pounds fish steaks, fillets or chunks, such as red snapper, rock cod, sea bass, shark or tuna

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons dry white wine

1 medium-size red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

Salt to taste

18 corn tortillas or 12 flour tortillas, warmed

Topping: 4 cups shredded lettuce

Topping: fresh tomato salsa

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place fish in single layer in a non-reactive baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with chili powder, lime juice and wine. Arrange onion on top and season lightly with salt. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Bake fish in preheated 375-degree oven until white curds are just beginning to form on top or an instant-reading thermometer registers 115 degrees, about eight to 12 minutes for chunks, ten to 13 minutes for steaks or fillets, depending on the thickness. Remove fish and set aside to allow the juices to settle for a few minutes.

Break the fish into bite-size pieces, removing any bones.

Spread about one-third cup of fish in center of warm tortilla. Top with shredded lettuce and tomato salsa. Fold and serve immediately.

Makes four to six servings.

Variations: Additional toppings might include: chopped tomatoes, fried potatoes, bell pepper strips (raw, fried or grilled) and feta cheese.

Dessert Tostada Cups

Coffee-Caramel Sauce:

2 cups packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup brewed very strong coffee

3/4 cup whipping cream

Dessert Tostada Cups:

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided use

6 tablespoons sugar, divided use

6 corn or flour tortillas

Ice cream of choice

Place brown sugar, coffee and cream in medium saucepan. Bring to boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, to just before the soft ball stage (about 230 degrees on candy thermometer), about 15 minutes.

Can be served immediately or reheated in double boiler over simmering water or in a microwave oven on medium setting.

Place approximately 1 1/2 teaspoons butter or margarine and one tablespoon sugar in skillet large enough to hold tortilla. Set over medium heat until the butter foams and sugar melts. Stir. Add one tortilla to skillet and fry over medium to medium-high heat until the tortilla puffs up, about one minute. Turn and fry on other side until well browned, about one minute more. Remove tortilla to a small bowl, pressing down the center to fit the shape of the bowl.

The size of bowl used to form tortilla cups will vary according to whether you want to use one or more scoops of ice cream. For a single scoop size, use a Chinese-rice bowl or cup-of-soup size bowl. For hearty two-scoopers, use a cereal bowl.

Let cool until set, then remove the tostada cup from the bowl. Add more butter and sugar to skillet and continue with another tortilla until all the tortillas are fried and molded.

Tostada cups can be made several hours in advance.

Place tortilla cup on serving plate. Add scoop (or scoops) of ice cream of choice. Top with warm Coffee-Caramel Sauce. Serve immediately.

Makes six servings. Any leftover Coffee-Caramel Sauce can be stored, well-sealed, in refrigerator for two months.