Items to include on your next Charcuterie board!
A friend recently asked for suggestions on what to buy for her charcuterie board she was making for a small gathering. She wanted to shop at Trader Joe’s, so I told her I would go and make a list of the favorites for me at TJ’s. I ended up making a note and taking pictures because for me, pictures of what the actual item is makes shopping tons easier! You want to make sure you have a balance of cheeses, fruit (adds great color and texture), meat options, nuts, optional spreads or honey, garnishes and assorted crackers. These pictures are just suggestions and in no way saying you can’t go off of this selection! It’s just a good rule of thumb no matter where you are shopping. If you have a TJ’s, they have a great selection of affordable cheeses and everything else for that matter! If you don’t shop where ever you like and just make sure you are buying a good assortment.
Fruit: Color and ease of picking up the fruit is paramount for me. Especially in the world of Covid, you want to make boards that are easy to access for everyone and use lots of spoons and/or small dishes to hold the item so they can be scooped out and put onto the plate.
Cheeses: A Good rule of thumb is to have a brie, a hard cheese, a cheddar a soft cheese like Boursin or Goat cheese log and a parmesan or Blue cheese. This variety offers something for everyone. I usually put a honey or fruit spread next to the goat cheese. Boursin is very flavorful and such a tasty, easy cheese to put on your board. I like Manchego for the hard cheese and a white cheddar (cubed with toothpicks nearby for ease of grabbing). For the Brie, I’m a triple cream kind of gal, but baked brie at the holidays is so delicious and festive! You can buy one already made or put one together using simple ingredients.
Meat: Salami, pepperoni, turkey pepperoni, prosciutto any of these are great. Fold them into little flowers and gather them in a few places to fill spaces, or lay them out. If you get the ones with meat wrapped around a cheese stick, these are a great filler and easy to grab and snack on.
Nuts: I love Marcona Almonds. Candied pecans or walnuts are a great sweet addition to a pungent cheese. Spicy is good too. You can put them in a small bowl with a small spoon or put them in several piles around the board to fill spaces.
Spreads: Honey, Fig Jam or spread, Sour Cherry Jam, anything that would add punch to your soft brie or goat cheese.
Garnishes: Any fresh herbs are beautiful on a board. You can use leaves off of a tree on the bottom of your board, you can use sprigs of rosemary or thyme to add greenery. I’ve used flowers before but you have to make sure they are not poisonous and touching your food!
Crackers: I like shaped crackers at the holidays and always a good assortment making sure to have a GF option for those who have an allergy. Placing crackers around to fill gaps an holes is a great final step to making sure your board is filled up and not showing the cutting board or platter you are using. You want to remember that people eat with their eyes first!
Bottom line is to not be intimidated. Get creative and have fun experimenting and finding your favorite cheeses and pairing them with different spreads and nuts. Enjoy the process and your friends and family will be very impressed!