Quick Bite: Fall Favorites

Bake pie crust according to package instructions. Set aside to cool. Cook spinach according to package instructions and drain well. In a large bowl, combine spinach with the next six ingredients. Preheat oven to 350°F. With a fork, gently spread the hash evenly over the cooked pie shell. Spoon spinach mixture over hash. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle the cheese over the top. Bake another three to five minutes, or until cheese is hot and bubbly. Serve warm or cool.   Bite-Sized Bliss With a few adjustments, this quiche makes great finger food. Double the recipe and press pie crusts into a 9 x 12-inch foil pan. Prepare as directed. When cool, cut into two-inch squares and serve individually in cupcake wrappers.

In a small dish, mix all of the dry rub ingredients together. Rub the meat with three-fourths of the mixture and refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight. Reserve the remaining rub. When ready to cook, preheat a grill or smoker to 265°F and add hickory chips. Once it is smoking, place the shoulder indirectly over the heat source and smoke it for five to seven hours, or until the shoulder reaches an internal temperature of 185°F sliced, 190°F pulled. If using wood chips and a grill, the chips should be soaked and applied about every 40 minutes. When the meat reaches the desired temperature, remove and cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Slice in 1/8- to 1/16-inch strips and serve alone or in biscuits. Drizzle Carolina Barbecue Sauce (see below) over top. Carolina Barbecue Sauce Combine all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 30 to 40 minutes or until sauce thickens. Remove any foam that appears on the surface and discard. Remove neck bones or hocks and cool sauce to room temperature before serving. Southern Comfort Chef Barickman suggests serving this dish with Crackling Cream Biscuits and Spicy Yellow Corn. Visit charlestonhomemag.com/onthetable to get the recipes.

Melt the butter in a four-quart saucepan. Add the oil and warm two minutes. Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat until the onions soften and begin to color, about seven minutes. Increase heat and cook the onions until a light golden color, about two to three minutes more. Add the peppers and the celery. Cook five minutes. Add the bay leaf, salt, and shrimp stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer 15 minutes. (if preparing in advance, stop the recipe at this point and refrigerate overnight.) Remove bay leaf. Add the shrimp to the sauce and cover the pot and cook five to six minutes, or until the shrimp turn pink and begin to curl. Add the hot pepper sauce. Serve with white rice and a garnish of scallions.

Photograph by Peter Frank Edwards

Preheat oven to 400 °F. Spray a 9 1/2-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Heat the half and half and chicken stock in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the fresh herbs, garlic, dry mustard, and nutmeg and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat. Trim the turnips of any root ends, peel, cut into 1/8-inch slices and set aside. Peel the onion and cut into 1/4-inch slices, leaving rings intact. Layer bottom of the baking dish with half of the turnip slices, overlapping slightly. Lightly salt and pepper the first layer. Evenly layer all of the onion slices on top of the first layer of turnips. Lightly salt and pepper the onions. Layer the remaining turnip slices on top of the onions, overlapping slightly. Lightly salt and pepper them. Pour the cream and herb mixture over the layered vegetables in the pie plate. Stir together the parmesan and panko in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over top layer of turnips in baking dish. Cook for one to one and a half hours, until a knife easily penetrates vegetables, the top is browned, and most of the liquid is absorbed. (If your topping is browning too quickly, you can cover baking dish lightly with a greased sheet of foil.) Let gratin cool at least 10 minutes before slicing.