When I entertain, charcuterie boards are one of my favorite ways to create an impressive looking spread. They look fancy and complicated, but all it really comes down to is a thought-out presentation of all the appetizers you planned to eat anyways!
One reason I love to do a charcuterie presentation for apps is because I already have all the essentials on-hand. All you need is one main serving platter (think cheese stone, butcher’s board), a cheese knife set, and maybe a few small ramekins for containing some of your goodies. If you have those essentials, you can re-make this spread a million times over without having to purchase anything other than the food, and the fun thing is it will look different every time based on the food you buy and how you arrange it!
The other thing I love so much about using a charcuterie board when entertaining is that you can make it seasonal with the addition of very few specific items. For Christmas I might add some frosted Christmas cookies, any maybe a few cranberries and sprigs of pine. For this fall one, all I had on-hand was a single pumpkin, some apples, and pumpkin seeds, and I was still able to accomplish a fall look!
If you are interested in re-creating a fall carcuterie platter just like mine in these photos, here is what I used:
-log of goat cheese sprinkled with pumpkin and sunflower seeds
-dried cranberries (sprinkled with seeds)
-small decor pumpkin
-sliced gala apples
-wedge of brie
-cherry preserves
-green olives
-cherry/chocolate bites rolled in nuts
-smoked salmon
The main reason this worked with almost absolutely no fall decor was because of the seasonal colors! The apples, jam, crackers, salmon, all have warm colors. The olives added some green without being too bright. I should have drizzled some honey over my goat cheese but was trying to deter my child from eating more sugar and left it off. An addition of some handfulls of almonds or other nuts would have been nice. Another gourd or two would have been fun, but that was all I had to work with and think it turned out nicely!
So, what do you think of this idea? Does it give you fall vibes too? Also, I would be curious to see how often you make cheese/meat spreads like this in your home? I love doing them!
X.O. – Abbey Co.
This chef’s board is the exact one I use in my kitchen, and I put it to work absolutely all the time. Not only is it a beautiful cutting board, but it presents so nicely! An alternative would be a slate cheese plate, which can be fun because you can write on them with chalk!
Ironwood Gourmet 28218 Square Charleston End Grain Chef’s Board , Acacia Wood
My other essential is this set of cheese knives – they were like $10 and I use them ALL THE TIME! If I want to make anything look fancy on my table I just bust these out and they are such a nice easy touch. I secretly have some other seasonal cheese knives too because yes I am that crazy about my kitchen stuff!
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