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5.0 from 24 votes

Elements of an Easy Cheese Board

Create your own holiday cheese board for effortless entertaining. This is less of a recipe and more of a thought starter and guide to creating a beautiful cheese and appetizer spread.

Prep Time
30 mins
Total Time
30 mins
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

THOUGHT STARTERS: CHEESES
  • 1 medium wheel of double or triple creme brie
  • 1 medium wedge semi firm goat cheese I used wine soaked goat cheese
  • 1 medium wedge stilton, roquefort or other semi-soft blue cheese
  • 1 mini wheel of truffled brie cheese
  • 1 log soft goat cheese rolled in herbs or fruits
  • 1 block aged white cheddar
  • Marinated Cheeses like Feta
THOUGHT STARTERS: CHARCUTERIE
  • 1 log Peppered Genoa Salami thinly sliced
  • Prosciutto di Parma only use the real stuff -- and get it sliced very thinly and fresh in the deli. Roll into rosettes for easy access.
  • pepperoni thinly sliced
  • Sopressata thinly sliced
  • Country ham thinly sliced
  • 1 lice pâté duck, chicken liver, foie gras
THOUGHT STARTERS: SAVORIES
  • pistachios in their shells
  • cashews roasted, salted
  • dry roasted almonds
  • Oil Cured Olives preferably a mixture
  • Tapenade
  • Artichoke spread
  • Oil cured sun-dried tomatoes
  • marinated artichokes
  • cornichons
  • Giardinera
THOUGHT STARTERS: SWEETS
  • ripe pears thinly sliced
  • dried apricots
  • Assorted Grapes seedless
  • apples thinly sliced
  • pomegranate seeds
  • Pickled Cherries
  • Glazed or Sugared Nuts Like pecans, almonds, filberts, walnuts
  • Jarred Nuts & Fruit with Honey
  • Fruit Chutney
  • Specialty Honey
THOUGHT STARTERS: CRACKERS
  • Assorted Specialty Crackers Use 2-3 different types of crackers with herbs, peppered, with fruits
  • Grissini or Breadsticks
  • Toasted Pita Chips
  • Crostini/Bruschetta
  • Mini Biscuits

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Remove the cheeses from the refrigerator abour 30 to 45 minutes before serving so they can come to temperature.
  2. Start by assessing your ingredients. Anything runny or marinated should be in its own container on the board.
  3. Put olives, spreads, honeys in a small bowls and arrange them on the board.
  4. Add the cheeses. For a wheel of brie, slice one wedge in the wheel, but don't remove it. It just gives guests a guide as to how to proceed.
  5. For semi soft cheeses like a gorgonzola, place the wedge on the board (but not next to the other cheeses, and crumble a bit off the wedge, so it looks ready to dive into.
  6. Hard cheeses can be sliced or cubed for quick snatching.
  7. Fan or step sliced sausages in a wavy line, place blocks of pate near the edge of the board for easy access, and tuck prosciutto rosettes two and three at a time in between any open spaces.
  8. Fill in the rest of the space with dried fruits, sliced wedges of fresh fruit and bunches of berries, grapes or slices of seasonal fruit.
  9. Tuck greenery into any vacant space. Serve.