Create your own holiday cheese board for effortless entertaining. This is less of a recipe and more of a thought starter and guide to creating a beautiful cheese and appetizer spread.
platter or board to arrange cheese and accompaniments.
cheese knives
small appetizer plates
Ingredients
THOUGHT STARTERS: CHEESES
1 mediumwheel of double or triple creme brie
1medium wedgesemi firm goat cheeseI used wine soaked goat cheese
1medium wedgestilton, roquefort or other semi-soft blue cheese
1miniwheel of truffled brie cheese
1log soft goat cheese rolled in herbs or fruits
1blockaged white cheddar
Marinated Cheeses like Feta
THOUGHT STARTERS: CHARCUTERIE
1logPeppered Genoa Salamithinly sliced
Prosciutto di Parmaonly use the real stuff -- and get it sliced very thinly and fresh in the deli. Roll into rosettes for easy access.
Pepperonithinly sliced
Sopressatathinly sliced
Country Hamthinly sliced
1slice Pâtéduck, chicken liver, foie gras
THOUGHT STARTERS: SAVORIES
Pistachiosin their shells
Cashewsroasted, salted
Dry Roasted Almonds
Oil Cured Olivespreferably a mixture
Tapenade
Artichoke spread
Oil cured sun-dried tomatoes
Marinated Artichokes
Cornichons
Giardinera
THOUGHT STARTERS: SWEETS
Ripe Pearsthinly sliced
Dried Apricots
Assorted Grapesseedless
Applesthinly sliced
Pomegranate Seeds
Pickled Cherries
Glazed or Sugared NutsLike pecans, almonds, filberts, walnuts
Jarred Nuts & Fruit with Honey
Fruit Chutney
Specialty Honey
THOUGHT STARTERS: CRACKERS
Assorted Specialty CrackersUse 2-3 different types of crackers with herbs, peppered, with fruits
Grissini or Breadsticks
Toasted Pita Chips
Crostini/Bruschetta
Mini Biscuits
Instructions
Remove the cheeses from the refrigerator abour 30 to 45 minutes before serving so they can come to temperature.
Start by assessing your ingredients. Anything runny or marinated should be in its own container on the board.
Put olives, spreads, honeys in a small bowls and arrange them on the board.
Add the cheeses. For a wheel of brie, slice one wedge in the wheel, but don't remove it. It just gives guests a guide as to how to proceed.
For semi soft cheeses like a gorgonzola, place the wedge on the board (but not next to the other cheeses, and crumble a bit off the wedge, so it looks ready to dive into.
Hard cheeses can be sliced or cubed for quick snatching.
Fan or step sliced sausages in a wavy line, place blocks of pate near the edge of the board for easy access, and tuck prosciutto rosettes two and three at a time in between any open spaces.
Fill in the rest of the space with dried fruits, sliced wedges of fresh fruit and bunches of berries, grapes or slices of seasonal fruit.