A party essential? A charcuterie board of course! I love building these for all gatherings, large or small! Hey, sometimes I make a mini version for just the 5 of us! Sharing all my tips on creating the ultimate charcuterie board for your next party or gathering!
First, select your board! I love using a large round board but you can really use any shape or style you would like. You want to make sure your board is big enough to pile on all the goods! TIP: If your board is painted or hand wash only, lay a piece of parchment paper on top first before you build your board. It makes it so much easier to clean! Also, its great to have on hand small dishes to place on your board, cheese knives and smaller spoons.
Next, pick 4 cheeses. You want a soft cheese such as Brie, a semi soft cheese such as Gouda or blue cheese, a semi hard cheese such as manchengo or gruyere and a hard cheese such as aged cheddar. All the cheeses can be placed right on the board except for the aged cheddar which I like to slice before hand.
Then, pick 2 meats such as prosciutto, salami or aged sausage.
Next, pick 2 types of crackers.
Now the fun part! Fruits, spreads, fillers and garnishes. What I like to call, the extras! To me, these all take the board up a notch! For fruits, I like to use red grapes but you can also use strawberries or sliced apples. Then add in spreads such as honey or fig preserves. This is where the small dishes come in hand. Add in extras such as mixed nuts, olives and dried apricots or figs. Lastly, I love to garnish the top with a sprig of rosemary tucked in a few places.
Serve and Enjoy!
**TIP: Trader Joe’s truly is the best when it comes to shopping for the items for your charcuterie board. All the items in my photo above were from TJ’s. The best part…it is super affordable! The board pictured cost around $50!
