How to build a simple, yet amazing cheese board. It’s perfect, impressive and easy to throw together!
First full week of December–LET’S DO THIS.
I’ve been listening to a variety of holiday music over the past week. I’ve had an old curated (circa 2010) Pandora holiday station going in the living room while cooking/baking/shooting/cleaning. And pretty much all of the holiday stations on Spotify while working up in my office. I just heard Sam Smith on the spotify station “Happy Holidays” with “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and it was so lovely. Must search for more Sam Smith holiday songs…
Oh, do you know who else I can’t get enough of during the holidays? Michael Bublé. I just love his holiday music. Oh oh, another lovely one: “Winter Song”, by Head and the Heart. Not traditional holiday or Christmas music but a nice little change. Oh and yet another song titled “Winter Song”, by Sara Bareilles. Has anyone else heard that one? I love it.
Do you have a favorite holiday song? I think mine might just have to be The Christmas Song. I know I know, so original. But it’s a must for the holiday season 🙂
AS IS CHEESE. On a board. With meat and fruit and crackers…
Yes, a cheese board. That thing you fill up on at parties before the real meal even starts 😀 I am pretty sure I lived off of cheese and crackers at one point in my life. During those days of my picky eating, I probably ate an entire plate of cheese and crackers at our family Christmas parties and called it dinner. Actually, for my family’s big Christmas parties, everyone brings more of an appetizer or side dish (I think my parents typically bring cheesy potatoes though.. or mac and cheese… or slow cooker queso now that I think about it. Okay, yes clearly I come from a family of cheese lovers).
Anyways THIS CHEESE BOARD. Perfect for gatherings of all kinds, and especially fun for all of those holiday parties planned. You can customize the cheese board to your and your guests liking, offering a wide variety of different flavors, textures, saltiness and sweetness.
So how do you build an amazing simple cheese board?
The hard part is figuring out exactly what kinds of cheeses, meats, fruits, etc. to offer. But obviously I have some ideas for you!
CHEESE I love having a soft cheese on a cheese board, so naturally we’re adding CHEVOO to the mix. I think some people tend to shy away from plain goat cheese because they don’t care for the flavor that comes through. However with CHEVOO there is no need to worry about that. Their goat cheese is marinated in extra virgin olive oil and infused with a blend of spices for a unique flavor. You can also add brie or even whipped feta. On this board I also added a chipotle cheddar and an espresso hard cheese, both amazing. It is also a good idea to offer more of a “standard” cheese, for a mix of both strong and subtle flavors.
MEAT cured meats like salami, or even chorizo, prosciutto or ham make for a great pairing with the cheese offerings.
FRUIT grapes are great for adding color and depth to a cheese board. And the sweetness balances out all the savory offerings. Thinly sliced pears or apples are a nice addition. You could even offer a little marmalade spread! Also throwing on some dried fruits like cranberries or apricots add a nice texture.
CRACKERS or breads! A mix of little french bread rounds, rice crackers, toasties etc. so you can layer on all that goodness the cheese board has to offer.
The best thing is you don’t even really need to try to make it look pretty. Just start layering different cheese on, add meats, fruits, crackers, and fill in with some nuts or seeds. The rustic look is where it’s at!
CHEVOO TIP
Transfer the olive oil into a dish for dipping breads into!
Anyone gearing up for holiday parties already? We’ll have our first family Christmas coming up this weekend!
What’s your favorite part about the cheese board?
Favorite cheese?
don’t forget to pin it for later
Erin @ Erin's Inside Job says
Frank Sinatra is my boyfriend and I love him forever. I haven’t started playing Christmas music yet though…eek!