Good morning! Today we have for you:
The Perfect Sandwich Doesn’t Exi—Halloween is on Friday, which for parents of small children means trying to get them to eat a reasonably healthful dinner before the candy onslaught begins. My own strategy, back when my now-17-year-old was in grade school and I still had a say, used to involve surefire hits like grilled cheese or hot dogs — kid-friendly things that we didn’t normally have for dinner. It made the day even more special, while defending my little Luke Skywalker or Spider-Gwen from spooky-night bellyaches. If you’re in the same boat, we can help with our editors’ collection of easy, crowd-pleasing recipes that are perfect for a pre-trick-or-treat meal. Among them is Ali Slagle’s sheet-pan grilled cheese, which, with its lacy, cracker-like Parmesan crust and gooey Cheddar center, will tempt ghouls, goblins and witches of all ages. There’s no trick to this treat — it’s just good. Featured Recipe Sheet-Pan Grilled CheeseMore food for thought:Spicy black bean soup: Another banger from Ali that’s ready in 20 minutes, this hearty soup delivers velvety texture and tangy flavor with hardly any effort. The surprise ingredient (SPOILER ALERT) is cocoa powder, which enhances the beans’ richness and deepens the soup’s color. Stirring in a little salsa verde (either jarred or homemade) adds brightness and helps thicken the broth. Have some left over? Turn it into a black bean version of refried beans. Slow-cooker dakdori tang: You don’t need to pre-brown your chicken to make Sarah DiGregorio’s Korean chicken stew. Just combine everything in your slow cooker pot and set it on high, allowing the heat to caramelize the gochujang and condense the flavors. Using skin-on chicken is traditional and gives you an especially rich, flavorful broth. But feel free to remove some or even all of the skin before cooking if you prefer. Shepherd’s pie: Samantha Seneviratne cleverly rounds out the usual ground lamb with beef for her take on shepherd’s pie, giving it an earthy robustness that balances lamb’s gaminess. And since ground lamb tends to have a high fat content, using lean beef evens things out. She then covers it all with Cheddar-spiked mashed potatoes for a fluffy, cloudlike topping that turns golden at the edges. Lemongrass tofu and broccoli: Lemongrass lends a bright, citrusy perfume to Hetty Lui McKinnon’s spicy stir-fry, where bits of tofu and sliced onions soak up the chile-flecked, turmeric-scented sauce. She adds broccoli florets to the pan at the end, letting them quickly steam just until they turn emerald green but still keep their sweetness and crunch. Kitchen sink cookies: The time-honored post-Halloween dessert often involves stealing choice items from your kid’s trick-or-treat bag. But this recipe is perfect for using up all the Mary Janes, circus peanuts or other second-string treats they won’t even miss. Mixed with potato chips or pretzels in Erin Gardner’s salty-sweet cookies, all those candy misfits get a second chance. That’s all for now, except to remind you that if you’re stuck in a technical snafu, email the smart people at cookingcare@nytimes.com for help. And I’m at hellomelissa@nytimes.com if you want to say hi. I’ll see you on Monday. For a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started.
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