My 1st Charcuterie Board

Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson

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Easter may have passed but there is ALWAYS a reason to serve a charcuterie board, even it is just for yourself and your family!  Plan ahead for a night in with your family/friends or plan ahead for the next time that you host a get together at your home...a delicious charcuterie board is always a crowd pleaser!  And if I am being honest...I have made mini boards for myself recently too, ha...it is just too good!

Although I've enjoyed many charcuterie boards over the last several years, I have never made one at home until recently.  As I planned for Easter, a charcuterie board was part of my menu.  I knew what I've seen and enjoyed on other boards that I have tried so at least I had a slight idea of where to start.  And as much as I love cheese, I don't know much about specialty cheeses so I had to ask for a little help.  Luckily my friend Madi helped guide me with advice on what cheeses and meats to buy!

I shopped at Whole Foods for all of the yummy goodies to create this beautiful and flavorful charcuterie board.  They had everything that I was looking for and so much more more!  You can build and build and build your charcuterie board but sometimes sticking with some classic flavors and crowd favorites is best.

So let's talk about what all I used to build my 1st charcuterie board...

Cheeses:

Robusto Gouda

Manchego (3 months)

Humboldt Fog

Meats:

Pepperoni

Salami

Prosciutto

Fruit:

Strawberries

Green seedless grapes

Gala Apples

Other goodies:

Marcona Almonds

Fig Jam

Raspberry Jam

Flatbread crackers

Crostini

Peppadews 

Honey

Arranging your charcuterie board is simple and fun...it's like a little piece of artwork!  You start with your cheese and meats and then you place your fruit, peppadews, nuts, etc around them and to fill in the space on your board.  We wrapped our apples with prosciutto as well.  My board wasn't large enough to place the two jams on it so we set it over to the side of the board along with the flatbread crackers and crostini.

For my 1st charcuterie board, I was so pleased with the way it turned out and with all of the flavors...the cheese/meat selections were the perfect pairings and the fruit, jam, peppadews and nuts complimented them so nicely.

I'm sure many of you have made a charcuterie board before!  I'd love to hear from you...leave a comment below and let me know what you include on your board!  Maybe you include a cheese that I didn't think of or something else that is a nice compliment to the meat.

Charcuterie boards are one of my new favorite ways to dine and enjoy others company...I will be making many of these in the future!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a great day! 

Sweet & Savory Roasted Grape Holiday Appetizer

Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson

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H O L I D A Y   R E C I P E 

ROASTED GRAPE GOAT CHEESE CROSTINI 

I'm excited to share one of my favorite holiday recipes with you all!  Several years back I stumbled upon a roasted grape & goat cheese dip, served with crackers, and I decided to tweak it a bit and create an easy DELICIOUS appetizer.  This roasted grape and goat cheese crostini recipe is simple to make and is a crowd pleaser!  A touch of rosemary creates a perfect holiday appetizer too.

I N G R E D I E N T S

• red seedless grapes (roast as many as you think you'll need based on the number of people being served)
• Italian loaf of bread (2 loafs if serving a larger group)
• goat cheese log (if available, I purchase honey goat cheese, regular goat cheese will do as well)
• chopped pecans
• light olive oil
• balsamic vinegar glaze 
• pepper
• rosemary sprigs 
• honey

D I R E C T I O N S

• preheat ove to 350
• wash grapes and remove stems
• mix approximately 2 tablespoons of olive oil with 1 tablespoon balsamic glaze (whisk together and add some fresh pepper into the mixture)
• chop some fresh rosemary and add it to the olive oil, balsamic glaze, & pepper mixture and stir it all together
• in a bowl, mix grapes with olive oil mixture and stir together to ensure that the grapes are coated
• transfer to a baking dish and roast the grapes for approximately 45-60 minutes (grapes should appear soft and somewhat wilted)
• while roasting, prepare your crostini by brushing a little bit of olive oil on each piece (I also let the goat cheese sit out for a bit to soften)
• after roasting the grapes, toast your crostini until lightly toasted & golden (you don't want your crostini to be too crispy)
• spread goat cheese on toasted crostini and then spoon on the roasted grape mixture
• sprinkle chopped pecans on the toasted crostini and then drizzle honey over top
• serve while warm

E A T  &  E N J O Y