The holidays bring a wide variety of foods. With gatherings, large or small, appetizers are a perfect option. Take it a step further towards perfection and you have yourself a cheeseboard! There you can combine all sorts of tasty sensations giving family, friends, and guests the thrill of picking and choosing their favorites.
Since the cheese board choices are endless you have come to a great place to get started on creating the best in ultimate, impressive appetizers!
Change With the Seasons
As you get started, think of adjusting your filler ingredients to fit any holiday or occasion. For example, go green and red for Christmas with sprigs of rosemary to fill in the gaps. Mini pumpkins and candied cranberries work great for fall and Thanksgiving. Fresh berries with a red, white, and blue theme make summer boards festive. Red grape tomatoes and white cheeses will melt hearts on Valentine’s Day. Popcorn and M&M’s add a tasty touch to a movie night theme. There are many delicious sidekick choices to make your cheese board fitting for any occasion.
Picture It then Plan It
Your theme is chosen, now picture what you want your board to look like and determine how many you will serve. Of course, you’ll want cheese because, after all, it is a cheese board!
Here are a few good rules of thumb to add balance, assortment and great looks:
- Go with three cheeses of different types. One sharp, one mild, and one soft are perfect choices.
- A different array of colors adds depth.
- Most everyone loves the melting effect inside Brie cheese, so that is an excellent option to build around.
- Next, add three meats to once again give choice and variety. Trader Joe’s offers a three-pack already put together if you are undecided.
- Next up are crackers which is a match made in heaven for cheese.
- Be sure to offer 3-4 different varieties from plain, sweet, seeded, and something in a festive shape to fit the occasion.
- Another touch of sweetness that pairs nicely are dried or candied fruits.
- Be sure to vary the colors and add fresh fruit slices and grapes as well.
- Small jars of preserves spread easily and combine well with cheese and crackers to give a totally different texture and a pop of that “something ” extra!
- Finish off the beautiful combo with nuts like smoked almonds, cashews, salted Brazil nuts, and any chocolate-covered variety!
Arrangement Creates Awesome
Start with small glass bowls and jars, scattering them randomly on the board. These will hold dips and sauces. Use a clean, pretty board for your final serving presentation and prep and chop on another. Keep the Brie cheese whole and slice or cube the others. Slicing cheese in triangles, then stacking vertically will give an eye-catching zig zag effect while other shapes add interest as well. Roll meat into tubes, then cut in half for a shorter version that will stand up vertically while pinching others into flower shapes. Wind the meat around the board as if making a stream. Place cheese snugly against the meat. Be sure all fruits are washed and somewhat dried, leaving grapes as small clusters to stand higher for a dimensional effect. Add mounds of dried fruits and nuts, distributing different colors in an attractive manner. Anchor everything securely with orange and apple slices as fans or seashells. Make a small “well” in the brie for holding jams or preserves. Complete your board by filling in any gaps with herbs such as fresh rosemary, which resembles evergreen branches. These final touches are the most fun, allowing you to “decorate” your board just as you would your table or Christmas tree.
Which Cheese Should You Cut?
Some might say none, but this is a cheese board we are talking about! 😉 The flat, packaged kind from childhood has exploded into cheeses from around the world, even in local supermarkets, so how do you choose? Do your homework by googling or reading labels to learn more about your preferences, but to get you started remember…go for a variety of colors! Dark orange, like the cheddar family, is consistently a safe, likable choice for everyone as the color most often comes from mild, tasteless annatto and paprika as no cheese is naturally orange. Red is likely bold with slightly sweet or nutty notes, such as Trader Joe’s Rutland Red Leicester. White, like Brie, will be creamy and a festive touch for any board. An added pop of color can be found in a sweet, blueberry, or cranberry goat cheese!
In Conclusion
Why choose a cheeseboard? Because it is versatile. It is affordable. It is filled with the right ingredients. It provides choices, even for picky eaters and allergy issues. It can be customized to fit any occasion or holiday. It is impressive. Clean-up is easy and prep is fun. And most of all, the options are endless! Beginning with cheese of course, simply add your favorites including olives, pickles, artichokes, tapenades, nuts, fruits, spicy mustards, chocolate, crackers, and anything appealing to your eyes and taste buds. A cheese board is the best thing since sliced bread…so, hey, don’t forget to add that, too!
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