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What was the first thing you did in college when friends were coming over? Uncorked a bottle of cheap red wine and tossed some cubed cheddar, salami and crackers on a scratched-up cutting board. Your buddies loved it, and yours was instantly the party house.
But like you, boards have grown up. They’re still a go-to for gatherings, but now you have the skills and palate to build something a little more exciting using fresh, seasonal ingredients, higher-quality cured meats and, of course, wedges and wheels of gloriously stinky cheese.
A well-constructed board with all the trimmings — be it heaps of fresh and dried fruits, colorful pickled vegetables or seed-studded crackers — is perfect for entertaining, particularly during the holidays, because it requires little prep and almost no cooking. Cheeses are purchased. Meats are sliced. Spreads and dips (which you’ve made or bought) are displayed in canisters or bowls. And if you’re feeling really fancy, you can splurge on pate or caviar.
“Boards are versatile, work for large and small groups, and don’t have to cost a lot of time or money,” says Menlo Park’s Andrea Potischman, a chef-turned-blogger at Simmer + Sauce. You don’t even need a wooden board. A breakfast tray or disposable platter covered in parchment paper works just fine, Potischman says.
The secret to Potischman’s mouth-watering charcuterie boards — think hearty meats, like soppressata, Cantimpalo chorizo and hard black truffle salami for the holidays — is featuring a mix of flavors and textures, so you can create something beautiful that appeals to everyone.
“Unlike a straight cheese board, you can diversify these for all kinds of eaters, using meat and pickled vegetables, fruits and dips,” she says. “It’s a one-hit wonder appetizer.”
During fall and winter, she likes to accent her boards with figs, fresh rosemary and cranberries, and leave no space empty. “If it’s full and bountiful, people are more likely to indulge,” she says.
Kiri Fischer, owner of The Cheese School of San Francisco, is also a self-proclaimed maximalist. “I tend to put down all the stuff,” Fischer says of her stunning autumnal boards brimming with extra-special accompaniments, like bacon marmalade, cherry confit and truffle honey. “That’s what the holidays are for. The typical ‘let’s not fill up’ is not as pertinent.”
To keep guests grazing from afternoon to dinner time, Fischer recommends building around a single statement cheese — say, a soft-ripened French triple-cream — for a group of four, and three cheeses of varying milk types and textures — a manchego, a goat’s milk and a Stilton, perhaps — for eight. Be sure to slice or initiate cuts.
“It tells people the appropriate amount to take,” she says.
Fischer likes to offer an array of cheese vehicles, from sliced baguettes and fruit-and-nut crisps to fanned-out apple and pear slices. Her current favorite: Dardimans delicate dehydrated orange slices, which are gluten-free and double as decor. And she prefers accessories that are natural.
“I like to forage for things, like leaves from a lemon tree, or a few pieces of kale from the garden,” she says. “Put those down first to create layers and contrast, then put down your cheeses.”
The staff at Market Hall Foods in Oakland shares that preference for au naturel — and sources all board components from within the marketplace. “I like having everything on the board be fresh, edible and somehow connected,” explains Jana Werner, grocery buyer for Market Hall Foods. “We love finding flavor combinations and helping people create small bites.”
Seafood may not immediately come to mind when building a board, but it’s a healthy and on-trend option. It’s also deceptively easy. Hapuku Fish Shop, which is located inside Market Hall, churns out gorgeous, flavorful small bites with help from Market Hall Caterers.
The staff makes one board using IASA spicy anchovies straight from the jar, served with crostini, high-quality butter and pickled goodies, including Market Hall’s Good Food Award-winning mixed Pickled Vegetables. The butter and anchovy makes a classic Italian starter, and the assortment of slightly spicy pickled items helps cleanse the palate after every salty, umami-filled bite.
“The most important thing to remember is to let the fish or seafood flavors shine,” says Terry Betts, manager of Market Hall Caterers. “Don’t overpower them with accompaniments. Fattier fish, like anchovies, pair well with other fats like butter along with something bright or clean.”
All of their presentations are modern and minimalist — yup, they embrace empty space. On a bagel board, the bold black of slate contrasts against a deliberate smear of cream cheese, and slices of Hapuku’s impossibly-rich, beet-cured, ombre-hued horseradish gravlax are piled alongside bagel halves. Chip and dip get an upgrade on another slate board with Sal de Ibiza white truffle potato chips, Bellwether Farms’ creme fraiche and Tsar Nicoulai’s jet-black caviar.
Want to wow them on New Year’s Eve? Vancouver food stylist and writer Lisa Dawn Bolton’s luxurious caviar board, dubbed Happy New Year!, features three types of caviar — salmon, sturgeon and red lumpfish — surrounded by bowls of capers, minced red onion, creme fraiche and sliced English cucumber, so you can casually host in style without missing the midnight toast.
The board is one of 50 approachable ideas in her new book, “On Boards: Simple & Inspiring Recipe Ideas to Share at Every Gathering” (Appetite by Random House, $20). Like most board “recipes,” Bolton lists components, rather than measured ingredients, followed by short, simple prep information instead of step-by-step instructions.
These are suggestions. Prefer crostini over mini toasts? Want to feature one show-stopper beluga instead of three mid-priced caviars? Go for it. The point is to offer something easy, beautiful and crowd-pleasing, so you can celebrate with your guests instead of fussing over a dish in the kitchen.
“Boards are really about the people sitting around them,” Bolton says, “and give you a chance to eat, share and connect with those you love.”
