By Halloween. Sofia's first real Halloween — last year she was one and didn't understand what was happening, which frankly is the correct response to a holiday where strangers give children sugar in exchange for looking at their costumes. This year she's two and she understands candy, which is the only part of Halloween that matters at this age.
Jessica found a costume online: a tiny firefighter outfit, complete with helmet, jacket, and plastic axe. The irony of dressing our daughter as her father's profession was not lost on me. The sweetness of it, however, hit harder than I expected. Sofia put on the helmet and it fell over her eyes and she stood in the hallway, blind and determined, and said "I'm Dada" and I had to leave the room for a minute because there was something in my eye that was definitely not tears.
We trick-or-treated in the Maryvale neighborhood — our block and my parents' block, which are close enough to walk between. Sofia held my hand and toddled up to each door and held out her pumpkin bucket and said "tee-teet" which is close enough to trick-or-treat for a two-year-old and which melted every homeowner on the street. She collected an absurd amount of candy for someone who can't eat most of it. Marcus's tax: anything chocolate. Jessica's tax: anything sour. Sofia's take: whatever's left.
At my parents' house, my mom had made calaveras de azúcar — sugar skulls — decorated with colored frosting, the way she does every year for Día de los Muertos, which technically is tomorrow and the day after, but Elena Rivera doesn't distinguish between Halloween and the Day of the Dead because in her view, they're the same energy: honoring the people we've lost by remembering them with sweetness. She'd set up a small ofrenda on the hall table — photos of Abuela Rosa and Abuelo Miguel, marigolds from the garden, a plate of Roberto's carne asada, a glass of horchata. Sofia stared at the ofrenda with the solemnity of a child who senses something important without understanding it.
I grilled hot dogs for the neighborhood kids — the simplest thing, just a grill on the driveway with a cooler of dogs and buns and ketchup and mustard. Twenty kids came through in two hours. Some of their parents stayed and ate too. A woman I'd never met thanked me and said "this is what a neighborhood should be" and I thought about my dad, who's been doing exactly this — feeding the neighborhood — for thirty years. I'm just continuing the tradition. I'm just showing up.
Standing at that grill, watching neighbor kids pile onto my driveway, I felt something click into place — that feeding people doesn’t have to be complicated to mean something. The hot dogs were gone in minutes, and the whole week I kept thinking about that simplicity, that ease, the way a humble thing handed to someone can say everything words can’t. So this week I leaned into that spirit and made something just as crowd-pleasing but with a little more to it — the kind of wrap you throw together fast on a weeknight and still feel proud to set in front of people. Here’s how I made it.
Loaded Cheeseburger Wraps (Big Mac Style)
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 4 large flour tortillas (burrito size)
- 4 slices American cheese
- 1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1/2 cup diced white onion
- 1/2 cup dill pickle slices
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Make the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, white wine vinegar, and sugar until smooth. Set aside — this is your Big Mac–style special sauce.
- Brown the beef. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and break it apart with a spatula. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook 8–10 minutes until browned and cooked through. Drain excess fat.
- Melt the cheese. Reduce heat to low. Lay a slice of American cheese over the beef in the pan (or divide it across four portions), cover with a lid for 1 minute until melted.
- Warm the tortillas. Heat tortillas one at a time in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 20 seconds per side, or wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds.
- Build the wraps. Spread a generous spoonful of special sauce down the center of each tortilla. Layer on seasoned beef, shredded lettuce, diced onion, pickles, and tomatoes.
- Wrap and serve. Fold in the sides of the tortilla, then roll tightly from the bottom up. Slice in half on a diagonal and serve immediately with extra sauce on the side.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 540 | Protein: 31g | Fat: 28g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 890mg