SAY CHEESE! – MY FAVORITE CHEESE BOARDS –

Cheese is my favorite food group! I love ALL cheeses….soft, hard, gooey, mild & stinky. If I didn’t do Estate Sales, I would be a cheesemonger.  When I go into a cheese shop I obsess over which cheeses to buy.  I wish there was a store like Costco just for cheese so I could sample everything! 

Presentation is all smoke and mirrors but it has to look amazing. Great cheese boards need to be inviting to make guests want to gather and graze.  Think out of the box.  There are no rules and you can’t mess it up. Be creative and  have fun.  

Go for color and variety.  Grapes, blueberries, honeycomb, chèvre, Spanish drunken goat cheese with purple casing, dates, figs, cashews, roasted red bell peppers and salami create an impressive board.

This isn’t really a cheese board, but you get the idea. Gather long rosemary stems.  Remove the sprigs from the bottom two thirds.  Skewer cherry tomatoes and small mozzarella balls.  I like to marinate my mozzarella in aged Balsamic vinegar.  It gives them a sweet taste. This takes about 10 minutes and it’s colorful like an Italian Flag. 

Keep it simple!  We needed a quick cheese board for a party in a friend’s retail store last year. Trader Joe’s to the rescue! Everything was pre-packaged and ready to go. We used plates from the store’s kitchen and garnished them with colorful pears, persimmons and rosemary picked from a bush outside.

TIPS FOR CREATING A GREAT CHEESE BOARD

• Presentation matters! Choose a great cutting board, a piece of marble, a piece of slate, an interesting plate, a mirror, a tray a or a piece of wood – think out of the box and get creative.
• Visit a store that sells high end cheeses.  Taste a few before you buy and listen to the recommendations of the cheese experts who work there.  
• Some of my favorite cheeses:  Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese, French Triple Cream Brie, Manchego, Dutch Smoked Gouda, any type of Chevre (soft goat cheese), Black Truffle Sheep’s Milk Cheese, White English Cheddar, Parmesano Reggiano, any Bleu Cheese, Fontinella, Greek Feta.  For me….the more exotic the better.  If you like it, your friends who are cheese lovers will like it and appreciate the attention to detail and thought you’ve put into your cheese board.
• You can do an outstanding cheese board without spending a lot. Trader Joe’s and Costco have some amazing cheeses, nuts, olives, peppers, fruits and garnishes. Here’s a great post about which cheeses to look for at Trader Joe’s as well. Food52.com/traderjoes cheese
• Some things I always have on a cheese board:  soft cheese, hard cheese, some kind of meat, something sweet (honeycomb is my favorite), something tangy like olives or peppers, dried or fresh fruit, grapes or nuts.
• Add pops of color with rosemary, basil, whole fruits, colorful vegetables or edible flowers.

It doesn’t even have to be a cheese board…it can be a dessert board.  Above is one of my favorites: caramel sea salt popcorn, meringues, Linzer cookies, vanilla cookies, gummies and chocolate covered almonds.  You could use mini cookies, chocolates, donut holes, M&M’s, Reese’s or anything else.  Maybe you should have saved that Halloween candy.

Go to Estate Sales, garage sales or thrift stores and buy one of a kind things to make your board interesting.  Dig through your closets. Everything above came from a thrift store…the 80’s “Disco” wine glass, a vintage owl candle, marble vase, 70’s Mexican blown glass bowl and the gold tray.  Get creative. (Disclaimer here…the grapes are plastic).

Seasonal is the best.  Chop, slice, arrange, add some cheese and it’s a stunning board. Thinly slice and bake potatoes, add any cheese & broil.  Garnish with something green like fresh dill or rosemary. Done!

MORE TIPS

• Layer your cheese boards.  Place the cheese then add fruits, olives, meats and nuts for color and variety.
• Put small bowls on the cheese tray and fill with nuts, olives, honey, preserves or dips like pimiento cheese, onion dip or hummus.
• Crackers DO matter.  Buy really flavorful crackers and have a variety.  When you find the perfect cracker, use it all the time.  There’s nothing worse than ruining good cheese with bad and boring crackers.
• Or slice a baguette, slather with butter or olive oil and broil until the edges are brown.  It’s a little more work but your guests will appreciate it and they won’t forget.

My daughters gave me this book for Mother’s Day and I love it.  It is a guide to the perfect cheese board with exact instructions on how to put it together.  I’m promoting this because I love it!  The ABC’s of staging a cheese board. https://www.thatcheeseplate.com/home

Let me know your favorite cheeses.  I’ll try them. I’ve just scratched the surface.  Pix and great ideas wanted!

XO, Janelle