Solve the Halloween Dinner Problem

Turning on the oven and filling it with highly flavored, slow-cooking foods brings out the best of a cool fall day. This Halloween, a Dutch oven full of pork, braised with tomatillos, poblanos, and onions, will warm the souls of your treat-or-treaters after all the fun.

Chunks of fresh pumpkin add color and a touch of sweetness while black beans add their unique earthiness. Roasted poblano chiles and jalapeño add green notes along with their heat.

You can make this colorful stew several days in advance and warm it gently on the stovetop. Serve the stew in wide bowls with a variety of toppings so guests can personalize it to their tastes. Pass warmed tortillas or chunks of cornbread for mopping up all the juices.

Boneless country-style pork ribs make terrific stew meat. Like pork shoulder, this cut has several different muscles—some lean and nearly white when cooked, while others are darker. Country ribs, marbled with fat, tenderize beautifully with a long, slow simmer. When cutting the ribs into large chunks, resist the temptation to trim away all the fat, as it adds loads of flavor to the finished stew. For a less rich dish, skim fat from the surface of the stew before serving.

Fresh tomatillos, roasted under a broiler to golden goodness, add a tart flavor and beautiful texture to the stew. Look for these husk-covered fruits at farmer’s markets or in the produce section of most supermarkets. Select firm tomatillos with bright green husks. Store them on the counter for a few days or refrigerate for a week or more. Remove the papery husks before rinsing. I like to roast them under a broiler on a foil-lined baking pan. The foil catches the delicious juice that oozes out as the fruit softens and browns.

You can store roasted tomatillos and their juices in a covered container in the refrigerator for about a week. You can also freeze them for up to several months. Use the roasted tomatillos in green salsas and braising sauces.

Short on time? Swap in a 16-ounce jar of tomatillo salsa, salsa verde, or green chile salsa for the tomatillos. Just know that bottled salsas contain salt and may taste more acidic than freshly roasted tomatillos.

Purchase small pie pumpkins to use as a vegetable. Cut in half and remove the seeds. Carefully peel off the skin with a paring knife, then cut the flesh into 1-inch cubes. Freeze the chunks for up to several months. Alternatively, use cubed butternut squash from the produce section.

Offer fresh apple cider and a variety of cold lagers. Finish the meal with pumpkin cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting. All treats, no tricks.

Green Chile Pork Stew With Pumpkin and Black Beans

You can season the pork and roast the tomatillos and peppers up to a day or two in advance.

Serves 10

• 4 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs, cut into 2-inch pieces
• Salt, freshly ground pepper
• 14 to 16 medium-size tomatillos, peeled, about 1 pound
• 2 poblano peppers
• 1 or 2 small jalapeño peppers
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil for high-heat cooking, such as expeller-pressed canola, avocado, peanut, or safflower oil
• 1 large white onion, halved, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 6 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) black beans, drained, rinsed
• 4 cups (14 to 16 ounces) cubed, peeled fresh pumpkin or butternut squash

For Serving

• Shredded cheese
• Sour cream
• Chopped fresh cilantro
• Green chile hot sauce
• Warm tortillas or cornbread
• Corn chips

Put pork on a baking sheet and sprinkle generously on all sides with salt and pepper. Refrigerate loosely covered up to 2 days.

Preheat broiler to high. Line a baking pan with foil and fold up the edges to create sides to capture juices. Place peeled tomatillos on the foil. Set poblanos and jalapeños on a pan. Broil, turning vegetables over once or twice, until golden brown on all sides, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool.

Transfer tomatillos and their juices to a bowl; mash coarsely with a potato masher or immersion blender. Peel poblanos and remove seeds and cores. Rinse. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Cut jalapeños in half; remove and discard seeds. Cut into fine dice. (Take a small taste of the poblanos and jalapeños to help determine how much to add for desired spice level.)

Pat pork dry with paper toweling. Heat a large, heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil and then add a single uncrowded layer of pork chunks. Use a splatter guard if you have one. Cook pork, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove to a plate while you brown the rest of the meat.

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Add onion to pan drippings and scrape up browned bits. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in cumin, oregano, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, then stir in garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in crushed tomatillos. Heat to boil while scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Stir in chicken broth and heat to simmer.

Return browned pork and accumulated juices to pan. Bake in oven, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

Stir in pumpkin, black beans, poblanos, and jalapeño to taste. Return pan to oven. Cook covered until everything is tender, about 1 hour.

Season to taste with salt. Serve stew in wide bowls topped with a generous sprinkling of cheese, sour cream, and cilantro. Pass hot sauce, warm tortillas, and corn chips.

Green Chile and Cilantro Slaw With Pepitas

This recipe doubles easily when cooking for a crowd.

Serves 4 to 6

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 green onions, trimmed, finely chopped
• 1 can (7 ounces) diced green chiles, drained
• 1 bag (14 ounces) coleslaw mix
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup roasted salted pepitas

Mix mayonnaise, lime juice, cumin, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in green onions and chiles. Stir in coleslaw mix and cilantro. Season to taste with salt. Refrigerate covered for several hours.

Serve sprinkled with pepitas.