First, you’ll need to pick a nice board.
Throwing cheese on a plate will not create a French atmosphere for your romantic dinner and it won’t impress anybody at your party.
So please be creative when trying to impress, ok?
I used a bamboo cheese board for the sake of this post, but you can replace it with other platters or boards, as long as they look nice. Here are some of the most popular:
* Wooden boards (most popular)
* Slate boards
* Marble boards
If you have a nice wooden cutting board in your kitchen, you can also use that.
Next, you’ll need to pick the right cheese.
When picking the best cheeses for your platter, you need to think about what you like but more importantly about what your guests like.
Remember! Cheese may come in totally different flavors. What goes for you doesn’t mean will go for other people. If you are unsure about what their preferences, then it may be wise to pick more types and rest assured that you’ve got everybody covered.
It’s worth saying that the same principle applies whenever you’re trying to impress guests. Think more about what they like and less about what you like.
The cheeses in this recipe are very common in most supermarkets. However, if you still can’t find it locally, head over to Amazon or any other large online grocery store, and search for them there.
And these are some of the most popular types:
* Soft: Goat cheese, Feta, Brie, Mozzarella, burrata, Humboldt fog, Camembert, Champignon
* Semi-soft: Gorgonzola, Blue cheese (Roquefort and Stilton), Fontina, Morbier
* Semi-Hard: Gruyère, Emmental, Manchego, provolone, Comte, Swiss
* Hard: Parmesan, Cheddar, Gouda, Pecorino
Next, you need to think about what else you could serve with it because colorful, rich platters look a lot better.
What to serve with a cheese board
Here, you’ll need to find the perfect combination of sweet, salty and sour. Hence, fruits (fresh or dried) are always a good choice. Here are some of the most popular sides that you can include:
Crackers or toasted bread: multigrain crackers, ciabatta, crostini.
Fruits (fresh or dried): Grapes, apricots, raspberries, pears.
Nuts: Pecans, Cashew, Almonds.
Olives. Green olives are usually best. Here, I would recommend Nocellara (Sicilian olives) or Spanish greens.
Charcuterie. If you really want to impress try to find some authentic French Saucisson or Spanish Jamon Iberico de Bellota. But these are not easy to find, so instead, you can try a selection of Italian, French or Spanish salami that you can get from your local grocery store.
Spreads: Chutney, Honey, fig jam, mustard.
Finally, you need to pick a good wine. This step is very important, especially if you make this cheese board for Valentine’s Day or any other romantic occasion. So guys, take notes!
I suggest going for a rich and mature red wine. This will enhance each flavor and will delight your palate. Here is an in-depth article on how to pair wine and cheese.
Now it’s time to put our skills into practice and make the ultimate cheese board. Just follow the recipe and video below and you will make it in no-time.
Easy Cheese Board Recipe
Ingredients:
* 50g / 2 oz. red Leicester cheese
* 50g / 2oz. Abondance cheese
* 30g / 1oz. Parmesan Reggiano DOP
* 40g / 1.5oz. Blue Stilton
* 70g / 2.5oz. Camembert
* 100g / 3.5 oz. Grapes
* a handful of pecans, raw or roasted
* a handful of dried soft apricots
* 4-6 Oatmeal crackers
Instructions:
# Start with arranging the pieces of cheese, then the grapes, apricot, pecans, and crackers. You can do it exactly like I did in the video above, or you can be creative and give it a shape that looks more appealing to you. Some prefer to arrange the cheese clockwise, from soft to hard.
# Whichever way you choose to go for, make sure there are no empty spaces left (rich boards look a lot better)
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