THE STUFF
- Base– Choose a platter, cutting board, cheese board, butcher paper or craft paper to serve as your base. I love using white platters because it allows the colors from your foods to pop. To make for easy cleanup, you can even create a runner or “board” from brown butcher paper or black craft paper. Black craft paper works great with chalk or a metallic sharpie to label your items.
- Cheese– Select a few kinds of cheese. Your local deli counter can help you in selecting your cheeses but I recommend having a soft cheese, an aged cheese, a firm cheese and a blue cheese.
- Labels– You can use cheese markers or write on your butcher paper. This is optional but it’s especially nice to label your cheeses.
- Meats- Decide on a few types of cured meats. Think salami, prosciutto, pepperoni or sausage.
- Fruits- I like the option of having a few fresh and dried fruit options. Fresh as in pears, apples, figs, olives, berries, grapes or melons. For dried, you can use apricots, raisins, cranberries or banana chips.
- Nuts- I like including something savory such as almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans or walnuts.
- Crackers or bread- There are a lot of options here. You can use pretzel chips, pita chips, slices of naan bread, crackers, a baguette loaf, or thin breadsticks.
- Spread- To accompany your crackers or bread, it’s nice to have honey, hummus, jam, olive oil or a dip of some kind.
- Serving– It’s nice to have small spoons, food picks, and small spreader knives
- Garnish- Again this is totally optional but a sprig of rosemary, mint, basil or thyme looks so pretty tucked in among your spread. If it’s a holiday platter, you can even add some non-edible decorative garnishes like gourds, pine cones, or evergreen clippings for a festive look.
If I’m assembling a platter for entertaining, I like to have everything pre-sliced beforehand so it’s ready to arrange when it’s party time.
Depending on what cheeses you select, plan to take them out of the refrigerator and allow one hour at room temp before serving.
Have some baggies or food storage containers ready for leftovers. If your guests like charcuterie boards as much as we do, there may not be leftovers but it’s nice to have them ready and it makes cleanup a breeze. Remember, I am all about keeping things easy!
LET’S TALK SERVING PIECES
VISUAL INSPIRATION
Here are some charcuterie boards that have me totally inspired!