A Menacing Halloween Menu

Semi-homemade, but Not Semi-scary!

By Sandra Lee

Why should kids have all the fun on Halloween? Whip up your own petrifying party – for the adults. Take one haunted house, add ghoulish guests and stir in the following ingredients to yield hours of eerie enjoyment.

Halloween is all about atmosphere, so dim the lights or use black or red bulbs to set the scene. Line your walkway with Halloween luminaries to lure your "victims" inside. Cover the furniture in white sheets and rent videos of old black and white horror movies, like Dracula or Frankenstein, to play on the VCR. To complete the nightmare, crank up the creepy tunes. The Monster Mash CD is frightfully fun or buy a Scary Sounds CD.

Don't forget the bathroom. For a touch of the theatrical, spatter fake blood in the bathtub and around the sink. For entertainment, tuck a fortuneteller behind a black curtain and give each guest a 15-minute date with destiny.

Show you're a gruesome gourmet with this menacing menu.

Finger Sandwiches:
Make sandwiches on white bread using pimento cheese, chicken salad, ham, turkey or roast beef. Trim the crusts from sandwiches and cut into long, narrow "fingers." Carve a slice of tomato skin into a fingernail and attach it with mayonnaise. Place cuts at the bottom of the "finger" sandwich with a serrated blade that's been smeared with red food coloring.

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