Dec 12, 2017

The Host with the Most: Holiday Inspired Cheese Board

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Use my tips for an epic holiday cheese board that will impress your guests this winter.
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This post is sponsored by Diamond of California Nuts.

Planning on entertaining for the holidays? Remove some of the stress from holiday hosting by serving an epic holiday cheese board as a starter. It is a great way to take care of the appetizers ahead of time so you don’t have to worry about it while you’re preparing the entrees.

The Host with the Most: Holiday Inspired Cheese Board

How to Prep the Board in Advance

I often set up my cheese board earlier in the morning or afternoon before an event and then wrap the board or platter in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until about an hour before I’m ready to serve it.

A tip from cheesemongers: you don’t want to serve cheese straight out of the fridge; cheese should be served at room temperature. This allows the flavor of the cheese to shine.

assorted crackers and breadsticks

How to Choose the Cheese

Don’t be afraid to pick a variety of different types of cheese – there are so many good ones out there! For my cheese board, I like to go with a soft bloomy cheese with a rind like Brie, a creamy goat, an aged Cheddar (I like sharp Cheddar), and a potent blue and a hard cheese like Parmesan. These are all good, basic options that can be found at any grocery store or cheese shop. Once you have established your favorite cheeses, you can start to explore other varieties.

While cheese can always shine alone, arranging the cheeses on the board with cured meats and other snacks in an aesthetically pleasing manner can become a work of art.

How to Arrange the Board

I like to start with the cheeses spread around the board by placing the cheeses in odd numbers, usually three or five for the most aesthetically pleasing cheese board. Place the variety of cheeses on various ares of the board.

Then I flesh out the board by arranging the charcuterie around them. It’s best to choose a few different kinds of cheese that contrast well – for example a creamy cheese, a hard cheese and a funky cheese.

I then fill in the rest of the board with nuts, fruit, crackers and slices of baguette. As you can see, I like to go “above and beyond” and when I do, it’s all about the accompaniments that fill in the gaps and are used to garnish the board.

I love to add a selection of three to five charcuterie options to my cheese boards. I always go with prosciutto – a crowd pleaser – and then I rotate my other selections of cured meats.

host with the most holiday cheese board herb goat cheese, brie parmesan with honeycomb marcona almonds and charcuterie

Choosing the Accoutrements

For the winter holidays I add some seasonal fruit like quartered pomegranates, some halved figs and dried fruit for people to snack on. Nuts make the perfect snack to accompany cheeses. Marcona almonds might be my favorite. This small, rounded variety of almonds is imported from Spain and is typically sold blanched, roasted and sprinkled with salt. In particular, I love Diamond Nuts of California Heritage Collection for my boards. Fruits and nuts are also great to make the board look more full.

Some great serving ideas:

  • Pomegranates, cut into sections
  • Figs, cut in half
  • Slices of dried fruit (like apples or citrus)
  • Dried fruit like cranberries or raisins (golden raisins look great!)
  • Diamond Nuts Marcona almonds
  • Diamond Nuts walnuts (try candying the nuts!)
  • Garnish with fresh herbs like sprigs of rosemary or oregano

Tips for Cheese Boards

Trying to decide how much cheese to buy can be stressful. When I am planning my shopping list I typically allot 2 ounces of cheese and 1 ounce of charcuterie per person – this board serves 10 to 15 people. I usually opt to buy a little extra just to be safe – I would always rather have leftovers then run out of food!

If I am serving a large party (over 20 people) I will buy a few backup cheeses to replenish when they run out. Then the board isn’t overwhelmed by a ton of different cheese selections and the cheese is always fresh.  

You can arrange your cheeses simply on a cutting board though I like using a marble board or slate especially for holiday entertaining. Use these tips for the most epic holiday cheese board!

host with the most holiday cheese board closeup parmesan and honeycomb

Other Recipes to Try

If you enjoy this recipe, I recommend checking out these:

host with the most holiday cheese board

The Host with the Most: Holiday Inspired Cheese Board

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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Serves 10

Ingredients:

  • 6 ounces chèvre (goat cheese)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped thyme
  • 6 ounces sharp Cheddar, thinly sliced
  • 8 ounces double cream Brie
  • 4 ounces Parmesan, roughly chopped into chunks
  • 6 ounces blue cheese, (I chose a mild Saint Agur)
  • 6 ounces prosciutto
  • 4 ounces Calabrese salami
  • 4 ounces Coppa
  • ½ cup marcona almonds (I use Diamond Nuts of California)
  • ¼ cup walnuts (I use Diamond Nuts of California)
  • 1 medium pomegranate, quartered
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries
  • 1 small honeycomb
  • 10 medium cornichons
  • 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
  • Baguette, sliced and grilled
  • Assorted crackers, as needed
  • Breadsticks, as needed
  • Rosemary sprigs, for garnish

Instructions:

  • Gently roll the goat cheese in the thyme so that it is evenly coated. Set aside.
  • Arrange the cheeses on a large cheese board then arrange charcuterie around the cheese. Fill in the board with the almonds, walnuts, pomegranates, cranberries and honeycomb.
  • Add the mustard and cornichons to small bowls and arrange on the board. Serve with the bread, crackers and breadsticks. Garnish the board with sprigs of rosemary.

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 This post is sponsored by Diamond of California Nuts – all opinions expressed are my own. 

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