festive holiday cheeseboard + tips

Pulling all the punches this Thanksgiving with a big, beautiful cheeseboard, and giving you some tips from my charcuterie well.

I love any excuse to create a cheeseboard, especially when that excuse isn’t extreme post long-run fatigue and instead due to the upcoming holidays. Much more fun that way. This Festive Holiday Cheeseboard is my creation for Thanksgiving and part of my menu and guide for the occasion. Can certainly be used for Christmas or honestly any time warranting a big appetizer spread.

On Thanksgiving we don’t cook up lunch, but always want plenty of snacks to tide us over before dinnertime. We don’t abide by the 3 pm Thanksgiving supper and instead eat at a normal dinner hour. Between breakfast and the big meal, finger foods and small bites dominate our countertop – and we usually make far too much for two (this year three) folks but excess is the essence of the occasion.

As with any board I share, the components are largely customizable depending on your skill with pairing meats and cheeses with wines or fruits or whathaveyou. I just go with what I think tastes good and try not to be totally off the wall about it.

This year, I’m really throwing a deadly curveball with the addition of Gingersnap Munch Mix, a highly addicting blend of crunchy sweetness that fills in the crevices between various cheese blocks and spreads. It’s ridiculously good and easy to create in high quantities. A flawless and hazardous addition to the holiday spread.

Step by Step to a Perfect Board

Below you’ll find a short gallery of how I assemble my cheeseboards. The order is usually the same: cheese is the centerpiece so the blocks go first, and everything else weaves around the selections.

My cheeses: Huntsman (a striped block of double gloucester and stilton), brie, and a pungent beer washed cheese that tastes incredible and smooth.

Any bowls of snacks or spreads. Here: mixed olives and fruit spread. And a wild persimmon.

Meats next: prosciutto, applewood smoked salami (for J), and smoked salmon

Fruits and crackers. Grapes, and a variety of organic crackers and Pistachio Pomegranate Crisps from Trader Joe’s.

Fill in the gaps with munch mix!

Cheeseboard Best Practices

#1. Slices the cheeses cold, but serve at room temperature. I like to leave my board out for 15-20 minutes to let the cheeses mellow.

#2. Choose products you enjoy. Don’t force your palate to undergo a blue cheese assault if you hate blue cheese. If you have guests, ask them what they don’t like so you know to avoid mass quantities of that type. Likewise, opt for any spreads that are tried-and-true, and fruits and veggies loved by the crowd.

#3. Invest in a pretty board and knives. Cheeseboards can be quite costly, so stick to your budget, but many retailers offer amazing boards for lower prices. Target, Homegoods, and Crate and Barrel are my favorite spots to browse boards and knife sets, too. Many are on sale currently!

#4. Decorate around the board. I used eucalyptus leaves, a nice towel, fairy lights, and a ramekin of additional munch mix to accentuate the board and make the components pop more. If you set your table like I recommend in my Thanksgiving Menu and Guide, this can be decoration enough.

#5: Buy multiple blocks of the same cheese. If you’re hosting a lot of guests, have duplicates of the cheeses you select on hand. That way, if you run out of one, it’s easily replaced without a massive you’re shit out of luck eat this cheese moment.

#6. Offer diet restrictive alternatives as necessary. If you know a guest is vegan or has some type of dietary restriction, get at least one main component that caters to such a preference. For instance, find out what vegan cheese is preferred or a brand of gluten-free cracker to shimmy into one corner. Additional appetizers will also fit the bill and ensure everyone has something to munch before dinner.

Cheeseboards can be as scientific or simple as you wish. If you know a sommelier or a fromager then enlist them for expert opinions if you wish, but I think charcuterie is fun to dream up on my own. I don’t think any of them would say “oh yes, you must have munch mix on your charcuterie board,” in fact they’d probably scream and become nuns.

Whether curated with help or with instinct, a cheeseboard really is a special piece to a holiday table. Pretty, functional, delicious. I do hope you give this one a go and let me know what’s on your list of go-to cheeseboard elements!

Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!