Friends, Family, and Charcuterie

This year, we’re going to gather our closest friends and family into our homes and celebrate together. Now, what does every good gathering need? Plenty of laughter, warm lighting, and a charcuterie cheese board that is as delicious as it is beautiful. The holidays are the best time to show off your creativity! Let’s talk about the elements that make for a show stopping combination, starting with the main attraction: the cheese. I try to include as many different kinds as I can and the more they vary in taste, texture, and appearance, the better. As an example, when you have a tart, peppery and soft goat cheese add a hard, smoky yet mild gouda to the mix for a tasty contrast! Adding slices of preserved meats add an element of salty umami to your board in the form of thinly sliced prosciutto, salami or a spicy pepperoni. Folding the pieces into small triangles makes for perfect presentation and easy to layer on crackers. The elements to play with are the nuts and fruits, don’t be afraid to really work with the seasonal flavors, such as a winter fig spread with nutmeg spiced nuts. The final element you don’t want to forget is a special Zing! There's no other way to describe this category. This is where I recommend putting strongly flavored tidbits on your board. Anything from mixed olive tapenade to homemade pickles. You need something with a serious flavor pop! What makes a charcuterie cheese board so enticing are the different elements and flavors coming together in harmony, salt, fat, acid, heat and just a little bit of sweetness. Keep this in mind when building your board! My favorite way to spruce up a charcuterie is adding flora and fauna, sprigs of lavender add a special pop of color and a sweet scent to the presentation. Roses, edible pansies, rosemary, or festive holly give any cheese board a wow-factor (not to mention a pretty pop of color). They say we eat with our eyes first! This is such a satisfying dish to create and share with the ones you love, just don't forget the fancy crackers.