Charcuterie boards are about easy-breezy grazing and creativity. There are no hard and fast rules, but a few tips can help make your board pop.
In this how-to, Castro Valley’s Karla Ahmed of Brie Grazing Boards suggests starting with greenery as a base and working from the outside in, with cheeses followed by charcuterie, fruit and fillers, like nuts and chocolate. This winter-themed board uses quartered pomegranates, a whole orange, fresh figs and fresh cranberries, which you can dust with sugar, using a little local honey or simple syrup as an adhesive, Ahmed says.
Brie Grazing Board’s DIY Charcuterie Board
Serves about 4
Ingredients
1 bunch kale
1 orange, cut in half, then sliced
4 ounces Marin French Cheese mini brie
4 ounces Trader Joe’s Holiday Goat Cheese Log
4 to 6 ounces manchego
4 ounces Trader Joe’s Unexpected Cheddar Cheese
8 to 10 ounces charcuterie meats
1 bunch grapes
3 Persian cucumbers, cut in strips or coins
1 pomegranate, quartered, or apple, sliced but not separated
Handful of cranberries
4 figs
2 ounces dried apricots
Handful of nuts
Fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs to garnish
Local honey, like Gerard’Z Honeybees
Peanut butter pretzels
Dark chocolate
Extra treats, like chocolate-covered raisins or Pocky sticks
Crackers, like Rustic Bakery Rosemary & Olive Oil Flatbread, for serving
Directions
On a wooden slab, cutting board or tray, lay down large pieces of kale as a base, with leaves extending out to form a border. Arrange citrus around the edges.
Place the four cheeses evenly apart on the board. Place the charcuterie, fanning them out, rolling them or creating other interesting presentations.
Separate grapes into clusters and place them around the cheeses, along with the remaining fresh fruit and cucumber slices.
Fill in empty spaces with dried fruit, nuts, fresh herbs, chocolate and pretzels. Serve with plenty of crackers.
— Courtesy of Karla Ahmed, Brie Grazing Boards
