At-Home Charcuterie (Meat & Cheese) Board

If you’re all about easy but impressive dishes, then this post is for you! I was giggling when I was working on the photo shoot and told my husband that I used to be super ambitious with recipes, but lately my motto has seriously been more “wow,” less work! 😉 My best friend and I have realized something about the magazine Real Simple over time: making things look simple and elegant and “effortless”…well, takes a lot of effort sometimes! But we don’t always have to do that. Sometimes, food or projects don’t have to be a ton of work to look elegant and fun! 

Bjorn and I went on a double-date with my parents back in May, right before the Billy Joel (still gushing over that!!!) concert. It was really sweet of them to take us out to supper as a way to spend time together and celebrate our first wedding anniversary. The restaurant was quite an upscale place, and our waiter that night knew his food. He didn’t just rattle off the dishes; he lovingly described the details of the ingredients involved and the special ways they were prepared. He took the time to stand there longer and really chat about the entrees! We felt like we were living inside the Food Network! 😉

Anyway, we started off the night with a couple unique, stunning appetizers…all of which were amazing, and one of which is the star of today’s post – the charcuterie board.

We instantly fell in love with the amazing plating – anything rolled out on a wooden cutting board automatically looks gorgeous. And to be offered a whole board of delicious meats, fancy cheeses, and other little sauces and crackers…it allowed for so much “customization” and flavor combinations! All in all, it was super fun. We realized we wanted to (and could!) recreate the charcuterie board at home or for a family get-together. And today, we’re bringing it home to you!

Gather:

– Make sure you have a clean wooden board of some sort (even a cutting board will suffice)

– 1-2 summer sausages (one of ours was pretty boring/generic, and the other had pepper jack cheese blended in)

– Dijon mustard or other “fancier” mustard (a real flavor enhancer! don’t skip this!)

– Smoked salmon (I like the drier version of this – although it’s still called smoked, it’s not slimy 😉 )

– Cheese!

Specifically, we bought: Roth Kase Buttermilk Blue, Henning’s Apple Cinnamon Cheddar, Henning’s Garlic & Dill (blended with a white natural cheddar), Italian Bel Paese, The Drunken Goat (semi-soft goat cheese bathed in red wine)

Cheese tip #1: Buy what they call cheese “orphans” – these are smaller cuts of cheese that were leftover from when they cut the larger pieces. That’s the size you see in the pics.

Cheese tip #2: Although we always want to shoot for food safety, apparently it is recommended to let the cheese sit for 30 minutes before guests arrive. That way, the cheese is still cool but is now that perfect softness!

– Mini baguette crackers or other artisan crackers

– Apples (optional)

– Wine or sparkling red grape juice (optional)

This board actually lasted us 2 separate meals! Having a charcuterie board to snack on at your next family gathering or party with friends is sure to be a hit!

Have you tried a charcuterie board before? This is the simple version – if you’ve tried something similar, what types of food have other restaurants offered you?