| Good post-Halloween Saturday morning, everyone. Has your family come down from the inevitable sugar high? By the time you read this, I will have already skimmed a few pieces off the top of my son's haul. I'm interested only in the chocolate stuff — especially Whoppers, Twix, Mounds and 100 Grand — while he's much more inclined to fruity and sour candies, so maybe we can come to some kind of agreement for the coming weeks. (Or months. We really did just finish last year's loot.) My history with homemade candy is checkered, especially when it comes to dupes of store-bought favorites. Attempts at DIY York Peppermint Patties and Starburst have crashed and burned. (How did I describe the appearance of the latter? Oh, yes, "shredded Muppet.") I've had greater success with chewy caramels, peppermint bark, sesame candies, toffee and pâte de fruit. Making these kinds of confections is very much about knowing your own comfort level and knowing when to push yourself. (Also: Owning an instant-read thermometer.) If you're looking for something on the easier end of the spectrum, you have plenty of options, including the classic chocolate truffle. Ellie Krieger put her own autumnal and healthful spin on the treat this week with her Pumpkin Spice Truffles. We all swooned over these little bites inspired by pumpkin pie. A mixture of canned pumpkin, maple syrup, spices and graham cracker crumbs gets formed into balls, dipped in chocolate and rolled in chopped pecans. This no-bake dessert is easy to make and just the thing for a party snack or host gift. "These are delicious!" said one early review. "I made them for my mahjong group and they devoured them!" Don't miss Ellie's equally delectable Pecan Mocha Truffles. The Chicken, Sweet Potato and Kale Salad that Aaron Hutcherson shared from cookbook author Rachel Riggs is similarly seasonal and simple. Riggs's chronic health challenges have brought both physical and dietary limitations, so she designed this recipe around a few low-lift elements that can be prepared in advance, then assembled at mealtime. Roast the vegetables, buy or cook the chicken breasts, whisk together a maple-ginger vinaigrette, and you're ready to go. Daniela Galarza's Skirt Steak With Radicchio and Figs also keeps the work manageable. This 35-minute meal with a built-in side of wilted radicchio and shallot comes together in a single skillet. The jammy figs seared in the pan are my favorite part of the dish. They pair especially well with the optional but highly recommended garnish of blue cheese. Now that we're in November, the month of Thanksgiving, I expect to start getting a lot more questions about the holiday in our cooking chat that Aaron and I host every Wednesday at noon Eastern. (It's never too early to start menu planning.) Apologies to anyone who tried to tune in to this week's edition, as a Microsoft outage took down our system. We'll be rolling over the several dozen questions already in the hopper and combining them with next week's new ones, so get ready for a supersize hour of all things food. Submit your questions now, and be sure to join us live, too. ✨Bonus: I'll be joining our Travel team and a few esteemed guests for a special Disney parks chat on Thursday at noon Eastern. And I have a brand-new recipe to share for it! Hope to see you then, too. Until next week, happy cooking. | 
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