Ham and Cheese Soufflé Recipe – Easy & Elegant

Homemade ham and cheese soufflé baked until golden and fluffy

Few dishes are as elegant, or as surprisingly easy, as a soufflé. This ham and cheese soufflé recipe combines fluffy eggs, savory ham, and melted Cheddar or Swiss cheese in a beautifully risen dish that’s equally at home at breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner. I adapted it from a recipe in Craig Claiborne’s The New York Times Cookbook, the first cookbook I ever owned and still one of the best.

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Taittinger Prestige Rosé Review

Taittinger Prestige Rosé NV.
Taittinger Prestige Rosé NV. Click here for tasting notes.

Taittinger Prestige Rosé NV

Few Champagne houses combine elegance, history, and consistency as successfully as Taittinger. Among the Grandes Marques, it has long stood apart for one defining reason: its unusually high proportion of Chardonnay, which gives virtually every wine in its portfolio a lighter, finer, and more graceful personality than many competitors. If Bollinger is muscular, Krug profound, and Pol Roger aristocratic, Taittinger is often described as the most elegant and refined of the major houses.

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Louis Roederer Rosé 2016 Review

Louis Roederer Champagne Rosé 2016. <a href="#taste">Click here for tasting notes.</a>
Louis Roederer Champagne Rosé. Click here for tasting notes.

Louis Roederer Champagne Rosé 

Louis Roederer [Road-ur-ur], a distinguished champagne producer situated in Reims, France, traces its origins back to 1776, when it began as Dubois Père & Fils. While its early days were marked by still wine production, the focus soon evolved to embrace the art of crafting fine champagnes. The business underwent a transformation under the stewardship of Louis Roederer in 1833 when he not only inherited but also renamed the company for himself.  He boldly ventured into international markets, focusing particularly on Russia. This endeavor gained him immense recognition, including from Tsar Nicolas II, who appointed Louis Roederer as the official wine provider to the Imperial Court of Russia.

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Charpentier Champagne Review

Charpentier Champagne Tradition Brut.
Charpentier Champagne Tradition Brut. Click here for tasting notes.

Charpentier Tradition Brut Champagne

For one hundred and fifty years, the Charpentiers have been cultivating their vineyards in the Champagne region on the south hillsides of the Marne valley.  Léonidas Charpentier ran a farm at Saulchery, a village near to Charly sur Marne. His business flourished very well, because his most important customers were the coach drivers who pulled their boats with the help of horses along the river La Marne to bring their goods to Paris. This is the reason why the carriage became the house logo. The coach is driving through the gate of Time, from the past into the future, from tradition to modernity.

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Louis Roederer Champagne 2015 Review

Louis Roederer Champagne. <a href="#taste">Click here for tasting notes.</a>
Louis Roederer Champagne. Click here for tasting notes.

Louis Roederer Champagne 

Louis Roederer [Road-ur-ur], a distinguished champagne producer situated in Reims, France, traces its origins back to 1776, when it began as Dubois Père & Fils. While its early days were marked by still wine production, the focus soon evolved to embrace the art of crafting fine champagnes. The business underwent a transformation under the stewardship of Louis Roederer in 1833 when he not only inherited but also renamed the company for himself.  He boldly ventured into international markets, focusing particularly on Russia. This endeavor gained him immense recognition, including from Tsar Nicolas II, who appointed Louis Roederer as the official wine provider to the Imperial Court of Russia.

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Roederer Collection 242 Champagne Review

Louis Roederer Collection 242 Champagne.
Louis Roederer Collection 242 Champagne. Click here for tasting notes.

Louis Roederer Collection 242 Champagne

Louis Roederer [Road-ur-ur], a distinguished champagne producer situated in Reims, France, traces its origins back to 1776, when it began as Dubois Père & Fils. While its early days were marked by still wine production, the focus soon evolved to embrace the art of crafting fine champagnes. The business underwent a transformation under the stewardship of Louis Roederer in 1833 when he not only inherited but also renamed the company for himself.  He boldly ventured into international markets, focusing particularly on Russia. This endeavor gained him immense recognition, including from Tsar Nicolas II, who appointed Louis Roederer as the official wine provider to the Imperial Court of Russia.

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Buena Vista Champagne Review

Buena Vista La Victoire Champagne.
Buena Vista La Victoire Champagne. Click here for tasting notes.

There are a number of French champagne producers who have operations in California, such as Roederer (whose California wine I prefer over the French, and it’s half the price).  But here’s a twist: a California winery with a genuine French champagne, Buena Vista La Victoire Champagne.  And this isn’t just any winery; Buena Vista is the second oldest in the state. (The first was D’Agostini winery, established in 1856 by a Swiss immigrant.  Buena Vista calls itself the first “premium” winery in California, but that seems to be based more on aspiration than fact.)

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