Let me start by saying I am not one of those people who finished her Christmas shopping by Halloween. I had good intentions. I really did. . .but then life happened. Entertaining, however does not have to be time consuming, expensive or difficult. Whaaaat? That’s right. It’s true. My single favorite appetizer, this Easy Inexpensive Charcuterie Board requires only one trip to the store and not a single burner or oven. It’s fun, festive and has some serious wow factor going on too. All the meats and cheeses you see on this board are from ALDI ~ my favorite place for cheese. Truly if you aren’t an ALDI shopper (parent company of Trader Joe), you’re missing out. The one pictured below was for a small, pre-holiday gathering. I’ll bring out the big guns board for Christmas Eve and our larger gathering and fill it with even more deliciousness.
Tips. . .
- Invest in a wooden board you’ll use strictly for your charcuterie and cheese board. I have a couple of different size boards to accommodate different gatherings.
- Choose a variety of both soft and hard cheeses that pair well with your favorite red wines and whites (more below).
- Add color to your charcuterie board with fruit or olives. . .or fruit and olives. I get carried away.
- Include a jam (balsamic onion is really yummy or any fruit you like).
- Jazz it up with an appetizer within an appetizer. I like a small container of goat cheese topped with some jam or preserves and a some chopped pistachios for texture.
- Introduce a couple of meats, like Sopressata, Prosciutto or Chorizo.
- Skip non-edible garnishes. They just take up space. Let everything on your board be something deliciously edible.
- Add a nice baguette and/or a variety of crackers.
- Have fun creating ~ mix it up however you like!
Let’s break it down. . .
Some boards display the cheese whole. I cube it (or in the case of the Gorgonzola, some larger crumbles) because it makes it easy for guests to help themselves, keeps the flow of traffic at the board moving better and overall, just maintains the ‘pretty factor’ of the board.
Cheese and wine that play well together. . .
I found this really handy-dandy, informative chart on Pinterest. It makes it super easy to choose both wines and cheeses that play nicely together.
I have a few favorite wines ~ both red and white ~ and some change with the seasons. Come back later this week for my Top 5 Favorite Reasonably Priced Wines. I am by no means an expert (though practice does make perfect!). I’ll just let you know what I like and why. This list is subject to change because of course, it’s always a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, right?
Make this Easy Inexpensive Charcuterie Board a part of your holiday or any day festivities. It’s deliciously impressive. โฅ