Holiday Cheese Board time! Yep, the holidays are upon us and soon our house will be filled with the tantalizing aromas of Thanksgiving. An appetizer, like a cheese board, will be in tall order.
In our home, like many other homes, turkeys will be in the oven and pies already baked will be cooling, The savory herbal scents combine with sweet cinnamon and spices that make a home cozy and welcoming.
The Holiday Cheese Board serves many purposes
This is the time of year where family and friends gather to visit and share companionship and a meal. There is no better way to express love and gratitude than the sharing of food.
But while friends and family gather and enjoy the pleasant odors of yummy food cooking, soon tummies will start growling…then people start getting cranky…then, before you know it, said cranky, hungry people will be eating everything but the kitchen sink as they go on raiding missions for snacks.
No! The horrors! Don’t eat the carpet, George! Stop eating the cat food, Fred!
Just kidding!
This is where an appetizer is in needed to calm the hungry guests and what better way than a cheese board during the holiday? Our Holiday Cheese Board appetizer is a great way to keep the hunger at bay while the main meal cooks. It is also a good bonding time as people visit and snack. And it keeps little people (politically correct term for children) occupied as they try different combinations.
Our love affair with cheese and where it all began
We have always liked trying new cheeses.We used to go to a restaurant called Sweet Red https://www.sweetredwinebistro.com/ here in Albany that did a cheese tray, and we fell in love both with the idea and the presentation of the food. Now, we do our own cheese boards here at home.
If you are ever in Albany Oregon, then we highly recommend you check them out!
What kinds of cheeses go on a cheese board?
Our Holiday Cheese Board is perfect because it has a variety of tasty cheeses, dried fruits, textured crackers or even baguette slices, tantalizing mustards, and so on!
A good cheese tray needs to have the basics when it comes to the cheeses you choose. You will want to make sure you get one of each of these 4 types of cheese, however, you can choose any flavor or make of cheese in these categories! And, we admit, we did 5. Tanya has an unusual love for Bleu Cheese, so we have 2 of one category.
- A hard cheese, such as a nice Parmesan, or delightful Asiago. We used an aged Gouda this year!
- A firm cheese, such as a Cheddar, or a Swiss. We found a Horseradish Cheddar that is excellent!
- A Stinky cheese!! Limburger, Taleggio, or Roquefort! Tanya really likes the Gorgonzola.
- A soft cheese, say a Camembert, Brie, or a type of soft Goat cheese. Triple cream Brie won this year. AND, yes, we did a 2nd soft cheese. We absolutely adore Havarti! The flavor and texture is so amazing!
Want to know more about the basic types of cheese categories, or have questions? Then visit https://www.cheese.com.
What other things should you put on a cheese platter?
Once you have your cheeses picked, think about what to put with them. Dried apricots are amazing with cheese. Take an apricot, place a mild, or stinky cheese on it, and drizzle with honey! The sweetness of honey and fruit really accentuates the flavor of the cheeses, and especially compliments a bleu cheese. Fresh slices of apples are also a good choice as well as figs and grapes.
You will want some crackers or even some slices of baguette. It is nice to have a couple different types of crackers on your cheese board.
Olives, Sweet baby pickles, nuts, salami, or Summer Sausage all go well with a cheese tray.
You will need a dipping sauce. Honey is a wonderful companion to cheese and fruit. Don’t forget some type of mustard! We found an awesome Cranberry Honey Mustard this year and love it!
A few tips and ideas
Once you have your selected ingredients you want to have on your cheese tray then it is time to set up your board. You can decorate your cheese board however you want. We like to alternate items so one group -such as cheese- is not right next to each other.
You should have fun decorating your board and you may even have to rearrange it a little. We sure did! We also had a 5 year old helping decorate who had her own ideas where everything should be.
Don’t stress on this part! Breathe, all is well! Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect and the rows don’t need to aligned with a ruler. Have fun, be creative!
We usually have little side bowls for olives or pickles instead of trying to cram everything onto one platter. We like to have some toothpicks or cute little disposable forks and spoons for the guests and pretty napkins and small paper plates set up as well.
Remember, keep it fun and set up nicely but otherwise get out of the way of Fred and George lest they eat your carpet and cat food!!! Just joking!
On a more serious note
We know that this year has been a hard all around the world. Covid has taken more than its toll on families all around and changed many lives. Our way of life will never be the same. Even now, with the holidays approaching, many family and friends will not be able to get together.
We too are limited in our interactions with family and friends. Our Thanksgiving will be very small with only a couple of our family able to attend. It hurts and we live in turbulent times that make it hard to remember grace, to be grateful. To remember to be happy.
Yet we humans, as always, will persevere! Life will go on. It is up to each one of us to find happiness. Tanya and I find happiness by cooking and sharing. We made up this big cheese board for the blog and have been snacking on it ever since!
In reality, our appetizer and side dishes will be much smaller. And we are okay with that even though it hurts.
Find joy! Chase down that happiness! Look at what you have and be grateful for it is more than what others may have. Find your grace. Whatever you chose to do, just live!
And don’t forget the cheese!
We are grateful for your support!
Thank you
Love
The Morgan Sisters
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