Halloween Party Foods and Beverages for Adults

Having the appropriate Halloween party foods and beverages for adults can enhance your guests' experience. Whether you prefer a traditional Halloween theme or an over-the-top event, chances are you can find recipes and decorating tips to achieve desired results.

The types of Halloween party foods and beverages served will depend on the theme. Frightening parties should have frightening foods such as brain molds and tapeworm sandwiches. Tombstone themed parties could include R.I.P. cakes and BBQ ribs. Ghoulish Halloween parties might include eyeball ice cubes and severed fingers.

It's important to plan ahead when hosting a Halloween party. Many tasks can be accomplished ahead of time; freeing up your time and allowing you to join in the festivities. It's best to provide a selection of meats, cheeses, salads, crudities, appetizers, breads, crackers, dips and desserts.

Wooden skewers and toothpicks are a must-have accessory for Halloween parties. You will also want to have plenty of small serving plates and cocktail napkins. Instead of buying bagged ice, prepare extra ice cubes and store in gallon-size resealable bags in the freezer. Add plastic Halloween decorations to ice cube trays for added effect and use to chill fruit punches or salads.

Pumpkins are one of the best serving vessels for Halloween parties. Use small pumpkins to hold votive candles; medium pumpkins to serve dips; and large pumpkins to serve soups. Pumpkins can also be used to hold skewers of food. Once the food is gone, guests can carve the pumpkins and take them home as a memento. It's best to use thick wooden skewers. Use a nail to start a hole through pumpkin flesh to ease insertion.

Apples are another versatile choice for Halloween parties. They can be used as votive candle holders or serving bowl for soups, dips, and desserts. Caramel apples are always a big hit at parties, as are apple slices served with caramel dip. Spritz apple slices with fresh lemon juice to retain freshness.

Cheese trays are always a hit at Halloween parties for adults. Stick with medium to hard cheeses or offer cheese spreads. Cut cheese into bite-sized pieces and insert a party toothpick. Popular cheeses include: Vermont sharp cheddar, Parmesan-Reggiano, Gruyere, Jarlsberg, Longhorn, and Swiss. Serve with a selection of gourmet crackers, flatbread and wine biscuits.

Create raw vegetable skewers by alternating colorful peppers, baby carrots, zucchini slices, radishes, cucumbers, and grape tomatoes. Insert skewers into a pumpkin filled with Beau Monde vegetable dip. Or, make fruit skewers with strawberries, grapes, bananas, kiwi, pineapple chunks and marshmallows and serve with chocolate fondue. Make a grand statement by renting a chocolate fountain.

Meat platters are a welcome addition to Halloween parties for adults. Consider serving hard meats such as salami, pepperoni, chorizo, and dry sausages. Other popular meat selections include: pastrami, roast beef, Lebanon bologna, prosciutto, and Black Forest ham. Serve with a variety of breads such as whole wheat, rye, marbled, and Italian, cheese slices, and assorted condiments.

Garden salads and pasta salads can be spooked-up by adding food color to salad dressings or cooked pasta. Try using black pasta to create a ghoulish pasta salad. Black pasta can be found in Italian specialty stores or made by adding squid ink or black food coloring.

Halloween desserts are the best part of planning the food menu. Desserts can range from bloody cakes to worm-filled cupcakes and brain molds to bowls of intestines. Cupcakes are one of the more popular choices and can easily be decorated with gummy worms, tart candies, licorice sticks, candy coated chocolates, or pretzels. Visit AllThingsCupcake.com to view the largest Halloween Cupcake Roundup and obtain decorating inspiration.

Adult beverages can range from spiked fruit punch to non-alcoholic beverages. It's best to offer an assortment of both. Serve fruit punch in a smoking caldron or place dry ice in a container positioned underneath the punch bowl. Jell-O shots using red or orange gelatin are a popular Halloween indulgence. Jello-Shots-and-Shooters.com offers an astounding recipe collection including: Black Widow, Creepy Crawler, Purple Haze and Parrot Head.

PerfectEntertaining.com offers a great list of Halloween beverages including: Day of the Dead punch, pumpkin pie shots, spiced apple cider, Vampire's kiss, and hot spiced cranberry apple punch.

While Halloween parties for adults are great fun, please don't let guests drink and drive. Post the number for local taxi service by the front door or consider hiring a limo service. When guests ride together and share the expense, the cost to hire a limousine is cheaper than hiring taxi cabs and a lot more fun.

Sources:

Brain Molds and Tapeworm Sandwiches Recipes
Severed Fingers Halloween Recipe
R.I.P. Cake Recipe from the Food Network
Black Pasta Salad Recipe