Party in a Pinch: the Cheese Board

Who doesn’t love a good cheese board?  It is the perfect appetizer or a classic dessert, and almost every guest can find something they like if you add enough variety.

Last weekend, I got together with my dear friend, Katie of Spray Paint & Chardonnay, to create a simple (and delicious!) cheese board.  We knew we wanted it to be for a small affair, but we also knew we didn’t want to lose any depth in our selections.

We also enlisted the help of our friend, Stacey of the Tilted Quilt, to create the cutest handmade napkins in the Pantone color of the year, Radiant Orchid.  You can find her step-by-step instructions here.  I love Stacey’s napkin DIY, and her instructions are so clear, even I could do it!  Making your own linens for an event is the perfect cost-effective way to add in the exact accent color you are looking for to round out your party décor.

Katie went to work creating the most amazing personalized board.  Find her step-by-step instructions here.  She is quite the DIY maven, that Katie.

We worked on coordinating florals showcasing the bright pink radiant orchid, but we kept it soft and versatile with creamy whites and some smokey green eucalyptus.  I did a cos breakdown on these blooms yesterday; see this post for more details.

There is no reason to be intimidated by building a great cheese board.  Here are a few tried and true rules:

1. Serve 3 – 6 cheeses.
2. Choose a variety.  I always have at least one creamy and one hard as well as one robust cheese.  I also love to mix up the types of milks by showcasing a mixture of goat, cow, and sheep’s milk cheeses.  In our board we used a triple cream (Delice de Bourgogne Lincet), a very flavorful sheep’s milk cheese (Cypress Grove Creamline Lamb Chopper), and a mild goat chevre (Pure Luck).
3. Provide a carb.  Here we used a french baguette.
4. Add in some protein.  We used genoa salami.  Most guests, unless you are serving to a mainly vegetarian group, will appreciate something rich and salty along side your cheeses.
5. Add in something fun.  We chose some homemade olive tapande to serve with our goat cheese, but think of fruits, nuts, honey, and marmalade to enhance the flavors of your cheese selections. Many guests appreciate something sweet on a cheese board.
6. Cheese should be served at room temperature, so make sure you place them on your board in advance of your guests arriving.
7. Allow 1 – 2 ounces of cheese per guest.
8. Be sure to keep plenty of cheese knives and spreaders available; each cheese needs its own.
9. Finally, encourage your guests to enjoy the mildest cheeses first.