I had this crustless quiche recently at a ladies weekend (you know, the kind where husbands and kids are left to fend on their own and the gals take a well deserved break from the regular chaos) and couldn't wait to try it when I got home. It is pretty rich. In my trial run I substituted some (gasp!) low fat version of cream cheese, and was promptly reminded by my mother that they make up for the fat with carb-loaded filler. I also just used my substitutions as an excuse to eat more. So now I'm sticking with the original full octane approach. Before putting the quiche in the oven I sprinkled it with green onions, bacon, and cherry tomatoes. This is a pretty flexible recipe, you can add whatever additions you want - herbs, mushrooms (dry sauté them first to get out the excess moisture), sausage, etc.Thanks to Cindy for this great recipe!

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 stick of butter (1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups

Have you ever attempted to make a soufflé and it just didn't live up to your expectations? That's when it pays to have friends who actually know what they are doing. After trying unsuccessfully to recreate a fabulous soufflé I enjoyed at a brunch given by chef, and fellow food blogger, Brett of In Praise of Sardines I broke down and asked him for help. Thank goodness for talented friends who are generous with their advice!

Here is what Brett had to say when I asked him for some tips to making my soufflé light and fluffy:

1. Butter the ramekins thoroughly, then coat with very fine breadcrumbs.
2. Use cake flour instead of all purpose in the bechamel.
3. Use extra egg whites. Whip them to soft peaks that are dancing on the edge of becoming stiff peaks.
4. Work quickly and fold with a light touch.

Brett also shared his soufflé recipe (see his butternut squash pudding soufflé) with me which I fiddled with a bit, incorporating some ideas that seemed to work from my other

On vacation, 5 o'clock pm, having too much fun to realize that nothing has been planned for dinner, fridge mostly empty, remembering that uh oh, I'm the one in charge of feeding my friend's children that night. Oops! Open the refrigerator door, see half a dozen eggs, half a carton of milk, some cheddar cheese, leftover sausage from biscuits and gravy the day before, a little broccoli, a leftover ear of corn (cooked). Open the freezer and see half a loaf of sliced bread. Saved. Whew. The kids will not have boxed Mac-n-cheese for dinner.

Have you ever made a breakfast casserole? The basic ingredients are eggs, cheese, milk, and bread. It's the easiest thing in the world to put together. We have a sausage breakfast casserole on the site that is one of my favorites. The great thing about a breakfast casserole is that you can add almost anything you want to the base. Italian sausage is my all time favorite, but bacon or ham will do too. Or make it veggie, with zucchini, broccoli,

We are constantly trying out new recipes here at Casa Elise, and even jokingly refer to our kitchen as the "test kitchen". However, many recipes never make it to this site because often they just aren't good enough. In fact, some are downright awful. When we do find a good one, we declare it a "winner" and often make it again so I can get a good photo. This is one of those recipes. Not a big one for casseroles, I was surprised at how tasty this Potato, Spinach, and Sausage Casserole was. It comes from the charter issue of a new magazine put out by the folks at Cook's Illustrated, called Cook's Country, a magazine devoted to home cooking. Our changes were to make the casserole for four people instead of eight and to use both sweet and hot Italian sausage instead of the kind of sausage you slice. If you ever have a hard time convincing a family member to eat their spinach, this would be the recipe to use.

INGREDIENTS

• 1

Easy to make liver pate recipe, made with chicken livers and pork sausage, wrapped in bacon, well seasoned with herbs and spices. Also known as "pâté (pate) campagne".

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb chicken livers
• 1 lb lean pork
• 1 lb mild Italian sausage meat
• 1 Tbsp chopped chives or scallions
• 1 Tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 Tbsp fresh coarsely ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tbsp brandy
• 2 Tbsp dry sherry
• 10 slices bacon (uncooked)

METHOD

1 Grind all the meat (except the bacon) through a meat grinder twice. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

2 Line an 9x5x3 inch loaf pan with bacon strips and pack in the mixture. Cover with bacon strips. Place pan in a water bath, a larger pan that is filled halfway up the sides of the inner pan with water. Bake at 350°F for 2 1/2 hours.

3 Remove from heat. Cover with aluminum foil. Place a

Carnitas are the Mexican version of pulled pork. Braised first in a spicy sauce, pork shoulder is slow cooked until so tender the meat just shreds easily with a fork, then it's roasted at high heat to make crispy browned bits full of flavor. It's taco meat, burrito meat, or just stewy meat served with rice and beans. This version of carnitas, adapted from a Sunset recipe for braised pork, is cooked first in a braise of tomatilla salsa verde, or green salsa. It's delicious served with fresh corn tortillas and topped with a shredded cabbage slaw, Cotija cheese, avocado, and Mexican sour cream.

• Cook time: 3 hours, 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/2 pounds pork butt (pork shoulder)
• 2 cups salsa verde, bottled, canned, or homemade
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1 teas dried)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh

When it comes to the grill or barbecue, I defer to my colleague Hank, especially when it concerns meat. Here he shows us how to cook pork country ribs, slow and low. ~Elise

Country ribs. Big slabs of porky goodness cut from the shoulder of the hog. Sold boneless or bone-in, these are nothing like a rack of ribs. They are pork logs, laced with fat, and require slow, low-temperature cooking to become delicious. That's the downside: You can't do a fast country rib. The upside is that they are all meat, so you only need one to fill you up. In fact, I slice them in half because a full rib, which can weigh a pound, can be too much for some people.

The best way to cook country ribs is over a wood fire, but you can cook them on a charcoal or gas grill, or even in the oven. Just repeat after me: Slow and low.. slow and low…

You'll want to sauce these ribs with something. It can be as simple as cider vinegar, or you could use your favorite barbecue sauce. We chose to use a sweet

Leave it to my Germanic father to find yet another twist on pork and sauerkraut. Yes, we already have a perfectly good recipe for spare ribs and sauerkraut which we've been making for years. No, that's not enough to deter the siren call of something potentially even better. Dad found a recipe for spare ribs in The Niman Ranch Cookbook to which he incorporated a completely different way of cooking the sauerkraut, one that includes slow cooking cabbage and sauerkraut together with beer.

Okay, spare ribs, cabbage, sauerkraut, and now beer? No wonder he loves this recipe. It does take twice as long to make as our other recipe. But it really is amazingly good, and so worth it if you can make the time.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 to 3 1/2 pounds pork spare ribs, bone-in
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp caraway seeds
• 1 Tbsp cracked black pepper
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

• 1 32-ounce jar of