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Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
5 from 6 votes

Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board

A bounteous and beautiful holiday board! Made with a generous amount of flavorful cheeses, vibrantly colorful fresh fruit, crunchy nuts, bite size salami coins, and rich Italian olives.  It's an ideal starter for large holiday gatherings.

Prep Time
45 mins
Total Time
45 mins
Servings: 14
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs. green grapes
  • 6 long rosemary sprigs
  • 8 oz. red grape
  • 1/2 cup pecans or plain pecans, candied
  • 5 (8 oz) blocks of various white cheeses, such as havarti, manchengo, fontina, sharp white cheddar etc.
  • 14 oz salami I used spicy and fennel flavored, nuggets
  • 5 kiwi peeled, halved thought he length and sliced, ripe
  • 6 oz. raspberries or 9 oz cherry infused Craisins, fresh
  • 5 oz. pistachios or pumpkin seeds (I used raw for greener color, salted roasted
  • 1 (10 oz) jar Castelvetrano olives drained
  • 6 oz water cracker

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Cut two blocks of the cheeses into small cubes and two blocks into wedges. Cut the last block into a star using a star cookie cutter, cut scraps into cubes. Keep cheeses chilled until ready to use.
  2. To assemble tree you'll need a very large area (about 28 by 20-inches, I just did it directly on the clean marble tabletop), you can use white parchment paper underneath if desired.
  3. Start by forming the bottom of the "Christmas tree" using the green grapes cut into separate long stems. Top those with rosemary sprigs and dot with red grapes. Leave a space between the grapes in the bottom middle area and add the pecans there for the "stump" of the tree.
  4. Next add a layer of cheeses, using half of the wedges shapes and 2/3 of the cheese cubes.
  5. Then add a layer of half of 2/3 of the salami placed above the cheese layer.
  6. Next add the sliced kiwi followed by a layer of raspberries.
  7. After those layers add another layer of cheeses, 1/3 of the remaining cubes and over the top of those cubes and the remaining 1/2 of the wedges.
  8. Add a layer of pistachios or pumpkin seeds followed by the olives for the top piont of the "tree".
  9. Last add the star atop and finish with a "ground" of crackers spread beneath the tree. Serve shortly after assembling as ingredients shouldn't sit at room temperature longer than 2 hours.

Notes

  • SUBSTITUTES
  • Greens: Small cucumbers sliced, baby dill pickles, celery sticks, green apples thin sliced
  • Reds: Strawberries halved, cherry infused Craisins, fresh cherries, grape tomatoes, red apples thin sliced, pomegranate arils
  • Meats: Capocollo, proscuitto, pepperoni, or larger salami
  • "Trunk": Pretzel sticks or chocolate sticks