When the Dining Season begins.

For me, the dining season really begins in October.

Fall arrives, the leaves change, evenings grow cooler, and almost without notice, the holidays begin lining up behind it. October becomes November, Thanksgiving appears on the calendar, and suddenly Christmas does not seem very far away.

Recently, I came across the Food & Wine Thanksgiving Issue from 2024, with its promise of “33 recipes for your holiday table and beyond.” As I flipped through the pages, one idea immediately caught my attention: taming the Thanksgiving turkey.

Dry-brine it. Spatchcock it. And roast it right.

That was enough to inspire this year’s Thanksgiving bird.

Traveling home from Omaha for Thanksgiving, I wanted to bring something new to the family table while still keeping the traditions that make Thanksgiving feel like Thanksgiving. The turkey would be familiar, but the method would change.

And as for roasting it in the oven?

Not this year. Time for the barbecue.

Dry-brining gives the turkey time to season deeply, while spatchcocking creates a flatter bird that can cook more evenly. Moving the whole operation outside to the barbecue adds another dimension, along with the simple pleasure of gathering around the grill on a cool Thanksgiving day.

But some traditions are not open for negotiation.

Mashed potatoes?

Absolutely.

Chef G’s world-famous make-ahead mashed potatoes.

Because experimenting with Thanksgiving dinner is part of the fun, but knowing when to leave a good thing alone might be the greater culinary wisdom.

This is what I enjoy about the dining season. Old traditions do not have to disappear to make room for something new. Sometimes the best holiday table is a mixture of both: a new way of cooking the turkey beside the potatoes everyone already knows are coming.

And after another year of traveling between Omaha and Denver, perhaps that is what Thanksgiving is really about.

Finding your way back to the familiar table, bringing a little something new with you, and being grateful for the people waiting around it.