Charcuterie Made Easy: Make This Party Cheeseboard in a Flash!

[Updated on September 8, 2020] Don’t we all love those amazingly beautiful charcuterie boards and cheeseboards that flood our social media feeds?  And, possibly, because of that (the fact that they are, indeed, amazingly beautiful and seemingly unattainable), we never attempt to make them ourselves.  As we scroll through our feeds and are stopped dead in our tracks, questions run through our heads clouding our minds with uncertainty…

“Wow!  That’s an amazing charcuterie board!  I wonder how much time that took to make?”

“Honey, honey!  Look at this amazing cheeseboard!  How much do you think that cost to make?”

“OMG!  I wish I had the skill to make that stunning cheese board!  It looks pretty complicated.”

So, we pin it to Pinterest or share it on Facebook and forget about it until the next one pops up in our feed.  Then we drool over it and feel inadequate all over again.

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But, here’s the thing…by not learning the simple technique behind these amazing cheeseboards, we are missing an opportunity to create a fast and easy appetizer that comes together in minutes with items already on hand.  Learning this technique will help you out of a bind when family and friends have gathered for a meal and the main course isn’t ready (think Thanksgiving turkey), because something unexpected has gone awry, and it’s hours before you’ll be sitting down to dinner.

Has that ever happened to you?  Something gone awry with your holiday meal plans?

I hate to admit it, but it’s happened to me.  A few times.  Okay, maybe more than a few times.  And, it usually happens at either Thanksgiving or Christmas, and it usually involves turkey.

In our family, we eat our main Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners around 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon.  This tradition developed because many of us lived several hours away and couldn’t spend the night because we had to work the next day.  So, having our main meal in the early afternoon allowed us to gather together, some coming from a fair distance, have our meal together, and then the ones that needed to leave for home didn’t have to drive late into the night.

And, because of the early afternoon meal, it is rare that I make a pile of appetizers because I don’t want everyone to ruin their appetites!

Then one recent year, I made my mother’s recipe for foil-wrapped turkey and forgot to set the oven to the correct temperature.  When it was time to eat, everything was ready except the turkey, which was pretty much raw and needed a few more hours to cook!  So, not wanting to fill-up my Thanksgiving dinner guests with piles of snacks before the main event (i.e., turkey dinner with all the fixings), I made this easy party cheeseboard from the food I already had on hand.  I wanted something my guests could nibble on, that would quell the hunger pangs as their tummies started to growl, but was quick and easy because everyone was ready to eat!

So, I threw together this easy party cheeseboard in minutes and voila’, it was done and ready for the hungry crowd!

What Goes on a Cheeseboard?

A well-balanced cheese board has a nice balance of flavors, textures, variety, and color.  So, shoot for two or three different kinds of cheese with different textures and flavors.  Add one or two types of cured sausage that are pre-sliced (make it easy on your guests), add a dip or two, or a spread, and fill in with fresh or dried fruit, a few fresh veggies, maybe something salty like olives, and include crackers, bread, or both. Here’s what I scrounged from my pantry and refrigerator:

1. Crackers – three different kinds:  rice crackers, wheat crackers, and buttery crackers
2. Soft goat cheese smothered with fig jam (I know; a bit unusual, but that’s what I had!)
3. Mozzarella string cheese, cut into quarters and wrapped in Italian salami
4. Grape tomatoes
5. Parmesan cheese cut into nibbles
6. Pimento-stuffed green olives
7. Smoked Gouda sandwich slices cut into fourths
8. Leftover block of Swiss cheese cut into slices

Underneath it all?  Arugula leaves tucked in here-and-there.  All of these little nibbles and bits were arranged onto a small rectangular platter, which measures 14 inches by 7 inches, in a quickly thought-out design.  And, because my long narrow platter was a little small, I placed the crackers in a similar size divided dish with three separate sections.

I don’t own a specifically designed charcuterie board or cheese board; in fact, the long narrow platter that I used is plastic festooned with a turkey, so appropriate for our Thanksgiving celebration.  That’s the thing – you don’t have to have a specific type of charcuterie board to bring this cheeseboard together.  You can use any kind of platter (like a turkey platter), cutting board, serving tray, or even a sheet pan.  And it doesn’t need to be a rectangular design;  it can be round, square, heart-shaped, or even multiple dishes like I’ve done.

I think I nailed it for my first try in making a cheeseboard!  And, the other thing that I’m proud of is that it came together quickly AND I remembered to photograph it before the hungry mob descended!

Anyway, with the holidays fast approaching, by having this cheeseboard idea in your back pocket you won’t be facing the same dilemma, i.e., you won’t have to scrounge through your pantry and refrigerator at the last minute because you’ll have a few things already in stock.  After all, you’ll want to have easy finger food at the ready, but you don’t want it so tempting that you’ll ruin your guests’ appetites for the main meal that you slaved hours and hours over!

By the way, I’m not saying this cheeseboard isn’t delicious; it is.  And, it satisfied all – from the youngest toddler to the oldest elder!  A little sumthin, sumthin to hold everyone in check until dinner was on the table.

One other thing I have to tell you:  I bought an appetizer magazine at the grocery store the other day.  I’m a sucker for food magazines and cookbooks and can’t just walk away when I see a pretty and appealing cover.  Inside this magazine was a Q&A article asking caterers for info and advice.  One of the questions asked was how many appetizers should one make for a dinner party (i.e., to serve before a full sit-down dinner) and how many to make if your party serves appetizers only.

Ready for the answer?  Wait for it, wait for it…

The answer was:

• 4 different appetizers with 6 to 8 servings per person for the dinner, and
• 6 different appetizers with 12 to 15 servings per person for the appetizer-only party!

I was shocked!  Do you realize for a party with 10 guests, that would mean a 60 to 80 individual appetizer servings for a dinner party that included a meal and 120 to 150 for an appetizer-only party?  Who does that?  Not in my world. Maybe the “professionals” for corporate parties, but I can tell you this – if you follow this rule of thumb, you will have a boatload of leftovers!

Will you do me a favor?  Would you share my post on social media?  The pinnable images scattered throughout this post are for your Pinterest boards so that you can bookmark this post and come back to it later.  Thanks for sharing!

Here’s the recipe for my Easy Party Cheeseboard:

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Tootles,

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