Spring is officially here. That means longer days, warmer weather and more entertaining! But wait – does the thought of entertaining people give you a sinking feeling of stress in your stomach? No need! Here’s how you can assemble a hearty and impressive charcuterie and cheese platter with about 10 minutes of prep time – and no cooking!
Less prep time before your guests arrive mean more energy to enjoy the time when your guests are there! Below are the elements and my general guidelines when assembling a meat and cheese board – but feel free to improvise.
Charcuterie and Cheese Board
Cheese: Choose 3-4 cheeses across a variety of flavors, textures and countries of origin. It’s fun to cover the world with your cheeses!
- Soft cheese – Brie, chevre (goat cheese), or my favorite – camembert are all excellent cheeses.
- Medium cheese – Gouda (or smoked gouda if you’re feeling crazy!), Cheddar or Swiss are all crowd-pleasing favorites.
- Hard cheese – My favorite is Manchego – a Spanish sheep’s milk cheese that’s nutty and versatile. Other great options are Roncal, Idiazabal, or Asiago.
- Something smelly – if you know your guests will be on board to take the plunge with you into the world of smelly cheese – why not have fun here! As the wedding adage goes, add something ‘blue’ into your cheese plate – blue cheese that is! Let your nose lead you – you can’t go wrong with Gorgonzola, Stilton, or Maytag.
Meat: The key to choosing your meats (or charcuterie) is again, variety! From mild to spicy, from more to less fatty – select a few different meats to please all palates!
- Prosciutto – most people will recognize it and there are many varieties. Prosciutto di Parma is a sweet, mild variety
- Ham – Jamon (Spanish) Serrano and Jambon (Basque) de Bayonne will pack a bit more of a kick.
- Salami – go with a more spicy salami like Soppressata
- Something soft – pate, terrine or try a spreadable variety of sausage like ‘Nduja.
Carbs: Not just a transport vehicle for your delicious meats and cheeses, great bread or crackers can enhance your board!
- Crackers – artisanal crackers are everywhere now – flecked with things like sea salt, rosemary and other herbs – your crackers can take flavor of their own!
- Bread – Grab a crusty baguette or two and slice away!
Sweet Element: something sweet – like pears, apricots or grapes balance out the other rich components on your board.
Basically all you have to do is cut up your cheese and then artfully arrange your items on a large cutting board, platter, or even a pizza peel! Serve with wine or cocktail of your choice and enjoy as this social food brings you and your guests together!
- 1 block firm cheese like Manchego
- 1 block medium-firm cheese like Aged Cheddar
- 1 small round of soft cheese like Camembert
- ¼-1/3 pound sliced Prosciutto
- ¼-1/3 pound sliced Salami
- ¼-1/3 pound sliced cured Ham
- Fruit like grapes, melons or dried apricots
- Wash any fresh fruit.
- Slice the blocks of cheese halfway.
- Remove the charcuterie (meat) from their packages and slice any that require it.
- Assemble on your cutting board or platter.
- Serve and enjoy!
The exact plate has been a staple of my parties for a over 3 decades. The only difference is that I add some nut (walnuts, almonds, cashews, etc.) and of course a full bar!!!!
Like Fred, this is our “go to” platter for planned AND impromptu gatherings. Also like Fred, we add nuts – sometimes in their shells with a nutcracker so there is a fun element to it. (it’s nice for people to know what their nuts look like im shells!) Sometimes, we will make up a board like this for lunch. xox, David
All that cheese has me drooling! Pinning 🙂
Mission accomplished! 😛