Say Cheese
Styling a cheeseboard
with the charcuterie queen!
These days, we’re not entertaining much. And we’re home—a lot. But we’ve been adamant about trying to gracefully end most days and ease into evening with a paired-down cocktail hour for two. As a result, a hefty cheeseboard suffices as dinner for my French husband at least once or twice a week, so we always have some combination of the essentials on hand. It doesn’t require hitting an upscale cheese or charcuterie shop—one trip to Trader Joe’s can get me through a few weeks.
The basics:
A soft cheese: a wheel of Camembert or triple cream brie (Le Châtelain is a good grocery store option) TJ’s soft goats milk cheese in the blue and green container is a new favorite — spooned into a small bowl and sprinkled with thyme leaves or chopped sage
A hard cheese—Cypress Grove’s Midnight Moon or Humboldt Fog are two favorites, or a good gruyère. TJ’s pre-cut tapas sampler is great in a pinch.
Water or rosemary crackers, or a baguette—I buy fresh ones, quarter and freeze them so we always have some to warm up
Sliced prosciutto or thinly sliced saucisson—TJ’s Columbus Salame Secchi is a fan favorite
TJ’s Marcona truffle or rosemary Marcona almond, or pistachios
Sliced apples or dried apricots
Pitted olive mix or cornichons
Honey or jam (lemon and pear work well)
Mini cucumbers, cut in chunky rounds and sprinkled with salt
Fresh fig, when in season, cut down the middle
Tip: When we have a drawer full of various half-eaten soft cheeses too scant to serve on their own, I use an old trick I learned from a food editor I worked with: mix them all together well until smooth and serve in a small bowl with a spreader. Never fails to be delicious.
