Californians LOVE a charcuterie board. When I started going out with girlfriends after moving here from Chicago, and they’d casually say at the restaurant, “should we just do wine and a charcuterie board?” And I would be thinking…what the F is that?! These are not the cheddar cheese cubes and Wheat Thins from my day. These boards are bougie! But damn if they are not SO PRETTY. And tasty. I wanted to hate them but couldn’t. And while I’d still prefer a legit appetizer of say fried calamari while dining out, I wanted to recreate these boards in my own home because cheese makes everything better, no? Ok, that may be taking it too far but still- one of these is worth having on your table over the Holidays.
I knew Trader Joe’s was just the place to go to create my vision so today I wanted to share everything I used to make this! My goal was big impact with small cost and I achieved just that. I couldn’t link the exact items but you can literally print out this post and hand it to someone that works at TJ’s and have them help you locate everything. I’d love to know if you recreate something like this- tag me in a pic and I can share on my IG stories. As always, thank you so much for following along! xo
PS- a cheese board or mini knife set are great (and simple) gift ideas! Everyone could always use another pretty platter, am I right? Rounded up a few of my favorites for you here:
The Board– Size matters here. The bigger, the better. You could use any platter but since I didn’t have anything big enough, I used our large cutting board and loved how it turned out.
The Cheese
Le Gruyere
White Stilton with Cranberries (so yummy, pretty and festive!)
Chevre Fine Herbs Creamy Goat
Dubliner Irish
The Spreads
Fig Butter (in a little bowl)
Hummus (in a little bowl)- if you want to get really crazy, drizzle a little olive oil over it.
The Fruit/Veggies/Nuts/Meats
Small Peppers– took from this set and put in a little bowl (linked some above).
Volpi Sopressata Salame
Grapes- red or green
Sweetened Dried Orange Slices- these look SO PRETTY!
Manzanila Olives (in a little bowl)
Roasted and Salted Truffle Marcona Almonds (a BIG HIT- these are delish)
The Garnish- Fresh rosemary! Don’t forget this step! It’s worth the extra $2 and makes your board look so profesh.
The Crackers- The key here is to have a mixture of sizes, textures and type of crackers/bread.
Brioche Toasts
Italian Breadsticks with Olive Oil
Roasted Gorgonzola crackers
Fig and Olive Crisps
