This back story made it to my October 2018 newsletter as I made this for a dear college friend to celebrate her 60th birthday, Lori Kuipers. And it took some time to research how to put a good cheese board together but after that, it was easy to assemble. So, I want to share my tips with you. First off, use any type of board or platter you have, or simply go buy one. And this is the easy breakdown… cheese, cured meats, nuts, something sweet, crackers and bread, and olives. My recipe for a cheese charcuterie board gives you the essentials for this fun appetizer.
This is a different recipe from me, but let’s break down putting a fun cheese charcuterie board together.
Number One: For the table, layout a couple fun placemats.
Number Two: Choose a platter and it can be a big board, tray or dish.
Number Three: Next is the cheese. I recommend choosing three. One soft like brie or a round of Boursin which sits beautifully in the middle. Next a firm, aged cheese like manchego or aged cheddar. And finally, a blue cheese like gorgonzola or Danish blue cheese. Cut these in small wedges.
Number Four: Cured meat. And have two or three of those like prosciutto, salami or pepperoni. And fold them in half to look nice.
Number Five: Nuts and have two. Some great ones are candied pecans or walnuts, salted marcona almonds, or pistachios.
Number Six: Crackers and Breads. I recommend doing a crostini in your broiler with just some olive oil on thin slices of baguette and simple crackers.
Number Seven: Something sweet and have two. You have a lot of latitude with this category as it can be dried sweet apricots, grapes, a jar of fig jam, honey and/or truffles.
Number Eight: Olives
Number Nine: Lay sprigs of fresh rosemary or your favorite herbs for flavor and presentation.
Number Ten: Paring with wine. You can do champagne, red or white wine. The new rule is that nothing has to pare with certain foods. It really is about what tastes good to you and your guests. Have fun with this and a toast to a fun occasion!
