Children aren't the only ones looking for treats on Halloween -- adults crave them, too. But save the frightful food, witches' brew and cute cookies for the kids.

There's a sophisticated side to the holiday that grown-ups grasp, and you evoke it subtly with hauntingly beautiful and devilishly tricky drinks and dishes. How about black bean soup with spindly sour cream spider webs, ghostly vodka ice molds or unnaturally tall apple oddities?

Or hit the Halloween theme dead-on with pumpkins cleverly cast as serving bowls and orange-black pairings that show surprising style -- black-on-orange chalupas, two-tone ravioli, caviar appetizers on sweet and purple potatoes.

Read on for some wicked Halloween creations that adult party guests won't soon forget. Don't get spooked by the preparation -- most dishes are easier than they look.

Pumpkin vessels

Pumpkins double as serving pieces with recipes such as Baked Beef Stuffed Pumpkin (below). Go with the traditional orange, or scout out a ghostly white pumpkin at a farmers' market. To prepare the pumpkin, cut the top off and scrape out the seeds and fibers inside using a large spoon or your hand.

Halloween Black Bean Chalupas

Bright orange chili tostadas are the base for Halloween Black Bean Chalupas. For the topping, puree a drained (15-ounce) can of black beans with 1 tablespoon water, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon cider vinegar, a pinch of cumin and a dash of cayenne pepper. Heat and spread on a tostada; garnish with additional whole canned black beans, if desired, grated Cheddar cheese and chopped tomato. Offer other garnishes such as salsa, lettuce and guacamole on the side.

Horned Melon Bowls

Put guacamole and other chalupa condiments in hollowed-out bowls made from spiky horned melons -- which add a nice otherworldly touch. Find them in the produce department at upscale and specialty markets.

Spider Web Soup

Decorate black bean soup with a sour cream spider web. After ladling the hot soup into bowls, pipe concentric circles of sour cream on the surface. Drag a toothpick from the innermost circle to the outer rim. Repeat dragging step five times, spacing the design at regular intervals. No pastry bag? Use a plastic sandwich bag with a corner snipped off.

Yummy yams

Fried sweet potato rounds dusted with cinnamon-sugar make a tasty Halloween-hued sweet -- and they hold well in a warm oven. To prepare, peel sweet potatoes and cut into 3/8-inch slices. Fry in hot safflower oil until golden. Remove to paper towels and drain. Put on a black serving platter and sprinkle generously with cinnamon-sugar. For a crispier treat, slice even thinner or grate the potato. (From Lee Bailey's "Country Weekends.")

Finger sandwiches (Hold the fingers)

Use pumpernickel bread and pimento cheese for holiday color theme and variations. Cut the sandwiches into triangles or use Halloween or fall cookie cutters for seasonal shapes.

Okra spikes

Take advantage of pickled okra's natural spikiness: Spear them lengthwise, points-up, on bamboo skewers, then fan the skewers like flowers in a short vase. Or set up a "forest" of okra-skewer appetizers using a plastic-foam base.

Brain food

Crunchy dried wasabi peas look like tiny ghoulish gourds or, better yet, little shriveled brains. Plus, the spicy coating of Japanese horseradish jolts the taste buds. Set some out for munching. Or use them to garnish salads.

Dr. Jekyl-Mr. Hyde Mix

Play off Halloween's good-evil undercurrent with sweet and spicy Cajun nuts, whose extreme cayenne heat contrasts with oh-so-sweet brown sugar.

To prepare, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine a pound of peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts or pecans with 2 tablespoons well-beaten egg white in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1/4 teaspoon paprika; stir into the nuts.

Lay the nuts in a single layer on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cook until the sugar forms little crystals, about 15 minutes. Watch closely so nuts don't burn. Remove nuts from oven, separate and cool. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Halloween Caviar

Purple and sweet potato rounds paired with black and orange caviar extend the Halloween color theme, not to mention adding elegance worthy of a count. To prepare, peel and steam purple and sweet potatoes just until tender. Cut into 3/8-inch-thick slices and top each with a small dollop of sour cream and a bit of inexpensive contrasting black or orange caviar.

Chocolate-Dipped Apricots

Dark-chocolate-dipped dried apricots contrast orange with near-black for a sophisticated sweet. Melt chocolate chips in a bowl over simmering water. (Don't let the bowl touch the water.) Once the chocolate is melted, turn off the heat (but keep the bowl over the hot water), dip apricots in halfway and lay on sheets of wax paper to dry. When dry, remove from paper and store in an airtight container.

Spiky Frosting

Gravity-defying frosting turns ordinary cake into a spooky, spiky dessert. Make a devil's food cake, then frost with Betty Crocker's Fluffy Homestyle Frosting, a mix version of meringuelike seven-minute frosting. Once the cake is iced, use a spoon to add more dollops of frosting, pulling the back of the spoon away from the cake as the icing is released and twisting the ends into spikes. Make frosting spikes all over the top and sides of cake. (You'll use a lot to get the effect; you may want to use two boxes of frosting -- but don't even try this if the weather is humid.)

Devil vs. angel

Good hides evil in this high-concept, low-tech tunnel cake. Slice off the top third of an angel food cake. Using your fingers, scoop out a "tunnel" in the bottom portion. Mix devil's food cake with chocolate pudding or chocolate sauce and spread it in the tunnel. Spread some whipped cream on the tunnel layer and press the top layer back on. Frost with whipped cream and top with chocolate curls. Serve on a plate ringed by blood-red raspberry sauce worthy of Dracula. (For a quick sauce, add sugar to frozen raspberries, puree and strain.)

Caramel Apple Oddities

The unusual height of these baked-apple towers makes this dessert a preternatural beauty.

To make 4 desserts, start with 8 tart apples.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set the rack low enough to give the apples some "head room" while they cook.

Cut 1/2 -inch slices off the tops and bottoms (peeled or unpeeled, depending on the look you want). Core the middle sections and cut them into 1/2 -inch horizontal slices. Stack the middle sections of two apples on top of one bottom slice. Fill the centers with brown sugar and small chunks of butter, as you would for any baked apples. Top each tower with an apple top. (You'll use only four tops and bottoms.)

Place the apple towers in a glass baking dish with 1 cup water and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, basting with pan juices once, until apples are tender but not mushy.

With a wide spatula, carefully transfer each apple stack to a dessert plate. Drizzle with caramel sauce and garnish with a thin, 2- to 3-inch cinnamon stick and a cranberry at the base of the apple stem. Serve with several tiny scoops of ice cream on the side.

And make sure the plates are big enough for your guests to knock the towers over like Godzilla.

Ghostly Vodka

Chill bottles of vodka in ice molds for eerie effect. (You'll need a good-size freezer for this.) Start by filling a large plastic or metal bucket with water. Stand the vodka bottle in the center. Tuck spiny, twisting willow branches, autumn-colored leaves or dark grapes around the bottle. Place in freezer until the water is completely frozen, about 24 hours. To unmold, run hot water over the outside of the bucket until it releases the block of ice. To serve, place the iced bottle on a rimmed plate, with a towel underneath to absorb the water.

Fall Shooters

Mix equal amounts of apple schnapps and cinnamon schnapps in shot glasses. Drop in a Red Hot for panache.

Tall, cool one

For an elegant Halloween libation, serve a Black and Tan, the two-tone drink that layers light and dark beers. Pour Guinness Stout into a chilled beer mug until half full. Carefully pour Bass Ale on top of the stout, letting a good head of foam rise just above the rim.

Tongue in chic

Although some grown-ups describe Tattoo liqueur as "disgusting," the fact that it stains your tongue gives it a certain obnoxious Halloween charm. Available in red licorice, lemon (yellow) and berry (blue) flavors.

The easiest ideas for kids' parties

So you've been tapped to help with the kids' Halloween party at school ... and you wonder how anybody could be less clever than you. Don't despair. Here are some easy and fun party ideas culled from room mothers, parents and a teacher:

Hand jive: Put a maraschino cherry in each finger of a clear plastic glove. Fill the glove with water and put in the freezer. When frozen, float the ice hand in a bowl of red punch.

Part two: Or fill clear gloves with popcorn, using candy corn for fingernails. Tie the end with ribbon or skinny black licorice.

Witches' wagons: Cut celery into 2-inch pieces. Spread with peanut butter and dot with candy corn or gummy creatures. For wheels, slice carrots into thin coins and secure with toothpicks to celery. Healthy snack, plus kids love it.

Baby Jack: Draw jack-o'-lantern faces on oranges, then cut off top part and scoop out pulp. Pour in orange gelatin that's not quite set. Add Red Hots, candy corn and/or chocolate chips. Chill till set. (Put the oranges in muffin tins to keep them steady while they chill.)

Graveyard Pudding: Fill clear plastic cups with chocolate pudding. Crumble chocolate cookies on top to look like dirt. Stick Chiclets in to look like gravestones. Add sugar skeletons and tiny candy pumpkins.

An apple a day: Start with caramel apples, made from kits. Let kids create their own monsters by adding marshmallow eyes, for instance, or licorice legs and arms. (If needed, use bits of icing or syrup to make the stuff stick to the apple.)

Corny: Substitute candy corn for chocolate chips in cookies. Or add a big bunch of candy corn and pumpkins to Rice Krispies Treats.

Easiest: Whip up some slice-and-bake cookies with pumpkins already in the middle. (Check your local dairy case.)

Hot stuff: Add Red Hots to hot apple cider for a burst of cinnamon. Plus, it turns the cider red like blood.

Baked Beef Stuffed Pumpkin

Makes 8 servings

1 (5- to 6-pound) pumpkin or 3 (2- to 3-pound) pumpkins

2 teaspoons salt (divided use)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 pound ground beef

3 eggs

2 teaspoons crushed dried sage

1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 cups cooked rice, preferably a mixture of wild and white rice

2/3 cup raisins

1/2 cup pine nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the top off pumpkin and remove seeds and strings. Prick cavity with a fork and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the salt. Heat pot or a large skillet. Add oil. When hot, add garlic and onion and saute until onion is translucent. Add beef and continue sauteing until browned. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients.

Stuff pumpkin with mixture. Place 1/2 inch water in bottom of a shallow baking pan large enough to hold the pumpkin. Put pumpkin in the pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Cut pumpkin into wedges (or if small pumpkins used, into halves) and serve, giving each person both pumpkin and stuffing.

Per serving: 372 calories (44 percent fat); 19 grams fat (5 grams saturated); 4 grams fiber; 118 milligrams cholesterol; 603 milligrams sodium; 38 grams carbohydrates; 84 milligrams calcium

Pub Date: 10/28/98