Warning: The following recipe may forever change your relationship with deli meat.

Perhaps you can relate. With Thanksgiving just a few weeks out, I felt a restless need to jump start my turkey game. Plus, I’ve always wanted to try Samin Nosrat’s recipe for Buttermilk-Brined Turkey, a method featured in The New York Times a while back. The acid in buttermilk helps tenderize the meat, Nosrat explains, and the sugars help create a deeply flavored golden brown skin.

In this recipe, the sweet potatoes are halved first, so the flat sides sear in the hot pan, developing a caramelized edge. After thinly slicing the potatoes (a soothing, Zen-like task), they’re coated with olive oil and seasoned with Thundering Longhorn, a robust, peppery blend that balances the sweetness. Finally, the potatoes are grill-roasted over a charcoal fire, alongside a head of garlic, fresh sage and butter. For the deepest flavor, you’ll want to baste the potatoes every 10 or so minutes, so the smoky garlic and sage butter slips into all the slices, flavoring every bite. You’ll want to have crusty bread on hand for the tender, caramelized garlic cloves and buttery pan drippings.

Paula: Hello Stranger. You’ve been spending a lot of time on the road these days. Clocking endless miles on your odometer while scanning the McRib Locator for sightings of your elusive object of desire. Your family misses you, and it’s increasingly difficult to explain your absence at work. So, share this recipe, a spot-on copycat version of McDonald’s McRib sandwich, as an intervention, of sorts. No joke! It’s easier than you think to master the infamous salty pork patties (lovingly shaped to resemble fake ribs) that are dunked in tangy barbecue sauce and served on a hoagie roll with pickles and onions. Imagine this feast in your own backyard!

At long last, fall temperatures have arrived in Texas. Which means I want to spend every minute of daylight, and then some, outdoors. So, it’s also the time of year that I work my grill as an oven so I can do just that. Whether I’m roasting a chicken, a skillet of vegetables, or a casserole, roasted foods in a closed grill (vented for smoking to maintain steady airflow) produces the best results of oven-roasting (browned, crispy textures created by ambient heat) plus the distinct flavor of a charcoal fire.