I wanted to share the ultimate appetizer board with you, just in time for your New Year’s Eve celebrations! This cheese, fruit, jam, cracker, and nut board is a fun, easy-to-assemble, and show-stopping appetizer. There is no cooking involved and it makes for a convenient finger food centerpiece to share with your friends and family.
The essentials of a great appetizer board are:
- Cheeses: a variety of soft, hard, veined, domestic & imported, sliced or cut into wedges
- Olives: mixed, marinated, plain or stuffed
- Cold Cuts: salumi of your choice (salami, prosciutto, ham, sopressata, etc)
- Fruit: a combination of dried and seasonal fresh
- Nuts: salted and plain
- Spreads: jams, compotes, or honey
- Bread sticks, assorted crackers, and pita chips
Rather than arranging everything neatly and with spaces in between, I find that it is far more appealing to pile up each item in a rather messy way. This way, when certain items on the board are eaten, you are not left with big gaps. The closer everything is on the board, the better they all look together.
The contrasting colors of the accompaniments and the condiments is what adds interest to the board and brings everything together. The jams and honey enhance the flavor of the cheeses; the dried and fresh fruits act as palate cleansers in between the tastings of the cheeses and the meats.
Lastly, a dark wooden surface, charcoal slate, or, dark marble are great surfaces on which to display these appetizers. Good luck in assembling your ultimate appetizer boards, and please take a picture to show me what you came up with!
PICTURED IN THE PHOTO: Gorgonzola Dolce, Clementines, Roasted Macadamia Nuts, Chianti Red Wine Salami, Dried Apricots, Grayson Semi-Soft Cheese form Virginia, Snack Mix, Roasted Almonds and Dried Cranberries, Jam, Honey, Sliced Snap Dragon & Granny Smith Apples, Sea Salt Breadsticks, Fig & Olive Crisps, Mixed Marinated Olives, Smoked Virginia Ham, Whole Wheat Pita Chips, Striped Jack Layered Cheese from England, Pistachio Nuts from Greece, Dried Cherries, Asiago Crackers
HAPPY, HEALTHY & SAFE NEW YEAR!
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Marilena,
Thanks so much for this beautiful post –you’re a life saver! I am going to try to replicate it, to take to a New Year’s Eve party tonight. It would never have occurred to me to arrange the appetizers this way, and I love it –it is so much more inviting than a formal platter, with everything precisely separated.
Maybe you don’t realize it, Marilena, but each and every one of your posts teaches us something about presenting food –so beautifully displayed and photographed! Have you ever thought of becoming a professional food stylist? You should! Let’s hear it from the rest of your readers!
By the way, if anyone was having difficulty locating the Comment box, it is at the very bottom of the blog. Lately, I’ve had trouble finding it, but finally figured out that you just have to keep scrolling down.
Happy New Year, Marilena!
Thank you so much for your comment, I really appreciate it! I am glad this post is helpful and that you will try to replicate it tonight. Also, thank you for mentioning the location of the “Comments” area – at the end of each post.
Have a wonderful, healthy and happy New Year! ??
The “Striped Jack Layered Cheese from England” is called Five Counties! It’s my favourite, particularly at Christmas time. I’m in Germany at the moment and am missing this particular cheese from the UK, so it was quite a surprise to see the image pop up on FoodGawker! It looks like a beautiful cheese board, figs and red grapes would go nicely with it too! Thanks for sharing this post. 🙂
I am so glad you told me about the Five Counties cheese – I knew from when we lived in England that there was another name associated with it but could not remember what it was! Glad you found my blog via FoodGawker… Happy New Year to you!
This is a beautiful arrangement. Thanks for the idea. It catches my eye every time I scroll your blog.
Thank you so much and I am so glad you like it. I find that it is worth taking some time to arrange everything on the board, this way the result is more appealing!