I love making charcuterie and cheese boards. It’s a total artistic expression for me to combine colors, textures and create surprising flavor combinations! Here are some tips for creating an impressive out-of-the-box board for the holidays, or anytime. I always have a bit of cheese, cured meat, pickles, jams and crackers on hand for last minute entertaining. A good rule of thumb for serving charcuterie is to have 2 ounces of meat and cheese per person if it’s being served as an appetizer at a cocktail party. If it’s the main meal, aim for 4 ounces!
Usual suspects: Prosciutto, salami, cheese cubes, gouda, goat cheese, and brie are always crowd favorites and easy to find at any grocery. Start with a few of these as a foundation, but don’t settle for just the basics, experiment with the following components to make something special! If you’re picking just one, my signature pick is prosciutto and a triple creme Brie.
Creative co-hosts: Once you have your familiar staples on the board, you can get a bit more creative with your cheeses and meats. Introduce your guests to a bold bleu, nutty mimolette, a stilton studded with fruit, or herbed goat cheese. For fun meat, I love Texas Iberico for lomo, cured pork tenderloin or Visca’s fennel and orange salami. My signature for a fun cheese for your board is definitely a truffled pecorino.
Bold and briny: Olives, cornichon, caperberries, artichoke hearts, pipparas and cherry peppers give your board some acid. Buy them in jars if you entertain often, or pick some up at your local grocery’s olive bar. When picking olives and peppers, go for a variety of shapes and sizes to create different shapes and textures around your board. My signature in this bold and briny category is sweety drop peppers, I love their size and shape and the bright red pop they bring.
Color and crunch: Adding crudités is always a welcome addition. Think colorful and unique! Watermelon and breakfast radishes, multi-colored baby carrots, and bright mini heirloom tomatoes. I love including snap peas and squash blossoms in the summertime. They create variety and look beautiful on a board. Purple and yellow baby cauliflower, are my signature picks for vegetables on your board.
Sweet and spicy: I love pushing surprising pairings on my guests, and some of my signature inclusions are spicy things like candied jalapeños, chile-dusted pecans, and chile pequin jam. For sweet, I love dried cranberries, apricots and dates on a board. When choosing fresh fruit, figs and grapes are wonderful. Use a surprising grape for your board like Moondrop or Champagne if you can find them! In the summertime, berries are a great bet for your board as well. I like to include a jam or spread! I’ll usually pick one citrus-based jam or preserve, and one berry jam to include both sweet and sour profiles. Also, you’ll always, always find honeycomb on my board. That’s definitely my signature ingredient.
Garnish and glitter: Edible flowers, thyme, rosemary and sage are great garnishes. Include whole bunches tucked behind your cheeses, or chop or strip off leaves and petals to create texture and color around your board. My signature here is… edible glitter! I love the way a little sparkle looks on a berry or glob of honeycomb.
Amazing accompaniments: I like serving bread and crackers. While Ritz and water crackers are classic, and perfectly fine, I think they can be a little basic! I prefer including crackers infused with herbs or even fruit. For gluten-free guests these rice crackers by Nufs are absolutely wonderful, and your other guests won’t know the difference! My signature accompaniment would have to be The Sourdough Project’s sourdough crackers.
