Kate Krader ( @kkrader on Twitter ) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to get our grub on, we listen up. I’ve always believed that the day after Halloween is better than the holiday itself – November 1st being the day when all candy left on store shelves goes on half price sale. If you’re not like me, if you’re already getting sick of the candy you stole from your kids, or legitimately trick-or-treated for yourself, here are some smart strategies for unloading those sweets. Smash it up My hero in this world is Christina Tosi from NYC’s Momofuku Milk Bar. And my new favorite all-purpose snack food is her ingenious Snack Mix, combining sugar-coated pretzels with broken-up mini candies like Reese’s or Take 5’s. If you don’t feel like smashing up mini bars, you can alternatively toss in peanut M&M’s. Bake it At my house candy corn disappears; that’s not true at everyone's home. Candy corn haters can thus rejoice in the chocolate chip cookies that Momofuku’s Christina Tosi created (hers include a tasty cornflake crunch). They’re studded with the candy – you can’t really taste them, but they look super fun melted into the cookies. Drink it I won’t suggest that this is any kind of power drink, but Snickers lends themselves quite nicely to milkshakes. If you chop them up and mix them with milk and vanilla ice cream, you’re set. Next I’ll be experimenting with Milky Ways. Donate it If you want to unload candy, and do a good deed, your excess mini 3 Musketeers, Raisinets and Starbursts can find their way to troops overseas. Both Operation Gratitude and Operation Shoebox will send the candy to U.S. troops. Local food banks are generally glad to accept your candy, too. Make a mosaic Maybe you don’t want to be the world’s most charitable candy donor. Perhaps you want to be the person who makes the world’s largest candy mosaic. If so, you’ve got your work cut out for you. The current Guinness world record, set in 2010 in Shanghai, is a 516-square-foot mural comprised of Jelly Belly jelly beans. It weighed in at 1540 pounds. So hopefully you have a lot of leftover candy. More from Food & Wine: America’s Haunted Restaurants and Hotels Best Fried Chicken in the U.S. Turkey Recipes Best Pizza Places in the U.S. Best Burgers in the U.S.

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Candy is dandy, but what to do with the extra?

The first victim on a violent Monday night in the District was a 16-year-old who was walking down Florida Avenue NE at 8:15 p.m. when, he told police, someone in a ski mask hopped out of a green sport-utility vehicle and fired a single shot. Over the next few hours, four more teens were shot, including a 17-year-old on M Street NW in Georgetown at the height of one of the city’s largest Halloween celebrations. None of the shootings was fatal. Read full article > >

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Six shot on violent Halloween night in D.C.

In four separate Halloween night incidents.

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2 Dead, 13 Injured In NOLA Shootings

When “Dancing With the Stars” falls on Halloween night, that means the band is dressed like there’s a zombie apocalypse in the works, and everyone uses more dance-themed puns than usual — even co-host Tom Bergeron makes a crack about “things that go bump and grind in the night.” The show is only 90 minutes tonight, but we’re guessing it will seem much longer. Read full article > >

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‘Dancing With the Stars’ gets scarier on Halloween

By the time the great snowstorm of October 2011 finally ended early Sunday, more than three million customers would find themselves without power.

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October Snowstorm Sows Havoc on Northeastern States

Three masked people who approached a car at a stoplight in the Petworth area of the District of Columbia and yelled “trick or treat” were no innocent Halloween revelers, police said. It was about 7:45 p.m. Saturday when a motorist stopped for a traffic signal at 13th Street and Arkansas Avenue NW, and three people in masks came up to the car, police said. Read full article > >

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“Trick or treat” robbers try to steal car in DC

Three masked people who approached a car at a stoplight in the Petworth area of the District of Columbia and yelled “trick or treat” were no innocent Halloween revelers, police said. It was about 7:45 p.m. Saturday when a motorist stopped for a traffic signal at 13th Street and Arkansas Avenue NW, and three people in masks came up to the car, police said. Read full article > >

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“Trick or treat” robbers try to steal car in DC

YEKATERINBURG, Russia — Last Halloween, the opposition here put together a daring demonstration , portraying Vladimir Putin as Count Dracula and President Dmitry Medvedev as Frankenstein. Lesser officials were turned into a collection of werewolves and mummies, and licking their lips they boiled and drank the people’s blood — in the form of cranberry juice. Read full article > >

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Russia clamps down on opposition before elections

Every week, we round up our list of the best events this weekend . Here are some highlights: Officially, Halloween isn’t until Monday, but two of the area’s best costume contests are this weekend. DC 101’s Eliot in the Morning takes over Clarendon Ballroom for a Monster Bash of rock covers by Junkfood and music spun by DJs. Up for grabs in the costume contest is a $3,000 prize. Read full article > >

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Plan your weekend: Costume contests, ‘Destroyed’

With the holidays looming and the economy still sputtering, we know you’re probably watching every penny. So your friends here at Weekend and the Going Out Guide have come up with 20 things to do that cost zilch, zip, nada. From Halloween spooks and off-the-Mall museums to visit with out-of-towners to zenful breaks from the seasonal bustle, we have you and your wallet covered. Read full article > >

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Going Out Guide: Free events to round out the year

Many of us, though now old enough to scare half the breathing population even without a costume, continue to dress up for Halloween parties, where the primary trick is apparently to prove that you possess the same basic IQ as pastry cream .Some of us will even assume the persona of food or drink for the night. Read full article > >

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Halloween costumes good enough to eat

PERUGIA, Italy — Meredith Kercher would have been 25. The British student would have finished her degree at Leeds University and perhaps been preparing for another Halloween, a day she loved. Instead, her family awaits an appeals verdict expected Monday against former roommate Amanda Knox, of Seattle, who was convicted along with her Italian ex-boyfriend of murdering Kercher in 2007. Read full article > >

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Meredith Kercher’s family remembers beloved daughter as Knox appeal reaches end

NEW YORK — Northeastern states are facing a jack-o’-lantern shortage this Halloween after Hurricane Irene destroyed hundreds of pumpkin patches across the region, farmers say. Wholesale prices have doubled in some places as farmers nurse their surviving pumpkin plants toward a late harvest. Some farmers are trying to buy pumpkins from other regions to cover orders. Read full article > >

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Northeast farmers warn of Halloween pumpkin shortage after rains from Irene devastate crops

We’ve been hearing rumblings for awhile now, but word has come down and it’s now official: Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be playing a major role in The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan’s third (and final) installment in his Batman trilogy. So will Gordon-Levitt be playing The Riddler or Joker? Nope, according to Variety – and as previously rumored – the Inception actor will tackle the role of gangster Alberto Falcone, aka The Holiday Killer. Falcone is the son of mafia kingpin Carmine Falcone, played by Tom Wilkinson in Batman Begins. Including the character – who made an appearance in the graphic novel The Long Halloween, where he was behind a series of murders committed against other criminals – seems like a good choice as it brings… Read More Read Comments

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt Officially Joins ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ As …

Albert Einstein made many contributions to modern science, but it’s the videos, bobblehead dolls and Halloween masks using his image that continue to generate millions of dollars long after his death.

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Einstein granddaughter wants a share