Thank you Castello Cheese for sponsoring this post. Castello Cheese makes entertaining easy with its range of flavors.
I love charcuterie boards, or as they’re sometimes called, grazing boards. Grazing boards are the perfect relaxed start to a meal that everyone will love. Gone are the days of the simple meat and cheese tray offerings! These over the top grazing boards now are offered with several dips, toppings, and extra goodies that are sure to please every palate. I’ve even seen some as long as tables for wedding guests during the cocktail hour!
Today’s grazing board is all about Thanksgiving! This board may look difficult to put together, but it really isn’t! This charcuterie offering is a simple arrangement of meats, cheese, dips, and accoutrements and is oh so delicious!
Here’s a few tips on how to put yours together…
Serving Platter
Finding the right size platter is where it all begins. You’ll want to start by getting a platter that is large enough for your party size. The perfect board is going to be oversized and leave plenty of room for all of the goodies you’re about to put on it. If you don’t have an oversized board, you can always use multiple boards side by side.
For this Thanksgiving, I opted for a wooden board because I like the earthy look for our dinner table.
Meats
Since we’re doing a Thanksgiving and fall inspired grazing board, you just have to have some turkey on the platter. Add to it a couple other variations of cured meats, like prosciutto or salami.
Cheeses
Since weather isn’t an issue this time of year, you can have all the cheeses you want! Aged, semi-hard, hard and soft cheeses are always crowd pleasers and stand up to the test of sitting out for hours on end. Each cheese should be different in color, shape, and flavor.
I’ve chosen to use an array of flavor profiles – Creamy Havarti, Traditional Danish Blue, and Smoked Gouda from Castello. Castello Cheese has more than 40 cheeses with distinct tastes and a wide arrange of flavors, so holiday entertaining has never been easier! And they make the process of finding the perfect cheese easy for everyone with understandable descriptions on their packaging and flavor strength indicators.To find Castello Cheese near you, simply look on the specialty cheese aisle at your local supermarket or visit their store locator here.
Dips
Bowls of dips and spreads are always a visual and delicious addition to any board. My favorite dips are fresh honeycomb, pesto, and fig spread.
Accoutrements
Seasonal fruits and colors go great with a board. Think cranberries, almonds, apples, figs, dried apricots, candied pecans, tomatoes, olives, cornichon, radishes, grapes, cauliflower, pomegranate, pistachios, blueberries, pears, orange slices, snap peas, dried prunes, and pine nuts. Any combination of these would be delicious.
Crackers
Choose two different crackers to add to the board. Make sure to use sturdy options, as these are the base of the perfect bites you and your guests will enjoy. Nut and fruit crisps and rustic flatbreads to add shape and texture.
Putting it All Together
The first thing you’ll want to do is make sure everything is cut and ready to eat (for the meats and hard cheeses at least). Pieces should be one or two bites in size at most. Charcuterie and cheese boards have cheese knives, but grazing boards have everything ready to eat and graze on. If you’re having trouble with the cheeses, make sure they’re cold – cheeses slice better (more cleanly) when they’re cold.
Don’t overthink it! Think of it as a blank canvas for swirling, layering, and swooping flavors, colors, textures and making a visually appealing presentation. Visually divide the platter into two or three segments, then select an area for each cheese. Fan the slices in artful, overlapping half-moons.
For the meats, select spaces on either side of the board to arrange each charcuterie. Try rolling or folding the meat too, for an interesting presentation. Slice the salami thinly.
Swirl or stack the crackers into remaining empty spaces. Give them a semblance of order to keep the board looking neat. Tuck the fruits and veggies and nuts into the crevices between the items. For an extra-beautiful finishing touch, add herbs from the garden.
For some added inspiration, be sure to check out Castello Cheese on Pinterest!
If you’d like to see more tips like this, follow me on Pinterest!
