It’s a cheeseboard, but it’s so much more.
The first rule about charcuterie boards is: there are no rules. Repeat after me, no rules! If people are eating cheese, meats, and crackers they will be happy no matter what. The key to stepping up your charcuterie board game is to present a colorful, inviting selection of finger foods in various amounts. This recipe is more about shopping than cooking, which means it’s all about the assembly technique. Just remember guests eat with their eyes first, so if you make it pretty, they will love it all. It never hurts to be thoughtful, so divide the board into sides. Keep all the smoked, salted, and delicious meats on one side for carnivores. Stack up veggies of every shape and size on the other for vegetarians and vegans. And finish with a signature of your own, something from your garden or gnome collection…just make it yours.
CHEESE (select one of each):
- A soft triple creme (Brie, Camembert, St. Andre)
- A goat or sheep (Chevre, Blue, Goat gouda, Pecorino, Feta)
- A hard cows milk (Manchego, Parmesan, Gouda)
MEATS (choose two)
- Hard Salami
- Soppressata
- Prosciutto
- Pepperoni
- Liver Pate or Terrine
- Cured Hard Sausage
NUTS (choose two)
- Cashews
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Macadamia nuts
- Meringue nuts
- Candied nuts
SWEETS (choose two)
- figs(dried or fresh)
- dates
- Asian pear sliced
- clementines
- candied orange peel
- Honeycomb
- Membrillo paste
- Fig Jam
- Cherry preserves
- Chutney
BREADS (choose two)
- Italian bread sticks
- Sliced baguette rubbed with garlic
- Crackers
- Cheese straws
VEGGIES (can be blanched for a minute or served raw)
- Carrots of many colors
- Radishes (trimmed)
- Olives (with pits)
- small sugar snaps peas
- Haricovert (French String beans)
- Peppers (red, yellow, orange)
- Jicama
- Cherry bomb peppers
- Pepperoncini
EXTRAS
- Grainy and Spicy Mustard
- Honey Mustard
- Horseradish Mustard
- Flaky Sea Salt
And since the charcuterie board is a thing of beauty, we pulled our favorite beautiful cheese plate accessories below.
