Upgrade Your Holiday Cheese Board with These 10 Tips

Make It an Easy-to-Graze Board

With people wanting to pick and choose what they want from your board, it’s best to make it easy to graze. You can also separate the portions of your graze board onto separate mini bamboo bowls or cutting boards so that they’re easy to scoop up, or provide tongs, serving utensils or toothpicks to make it easy to pick up all your delicacies. That way, things will actually get eaten and enjoyed, not just admired.

Pick a Color Theme and Stick with It

Choosing a color scheme of only three standout holiday colors will keep your cheese board looking seasonally appropriate. If you go with only three shades, like red, green and orange, you’ll find that selecting ingredients is easy, and your overall look won’t be too wild.

Play with Shapes

No matter what platter you use, you can shape your cheese board however you’d like. Whether it’s a tree shape, a star or even the word "Xmas," you decide the shape of your board and the outline of your ingredients. Don’t be constrained by the shape of your platter. As far as shaping ingredients, take a sharp paring knife to your citrus to create pretty designs, or use star cookie cutters to cut out firm cheeses.

Design Your Board Like a Garden Bed

To design your cheese board the way you would a garden bed, sketch it out on paper beforehand. Are you going to create a winding river of crackers that undulates through the center, or are you going to sprinkle edible flowers in at steady intervals? Making sure no area is too crowded or too sparse, or using ornamental elements to fill up those gaps, ensures a sense of harmony. Spices, pieces of star anise, toasted mustard seeds, sprinkles of nuts and flower petals can all serve as filler.

Repurpose Cute Containers and Props

Look around your house and see what you already have that you can repurpose for your holiday cheese board. A rustic cutting board or slab of wood layered over some holiday fabric is a vibrant start to a beautiful board, as is a vintage tray. Walnut shells make seasonally-appropriate containers for pomegranate seeds, while ramekins are perfect for dips and sauces — just plop some vintage tea spoons or even your baby spoons in.

Don’t Be Afraid to Try Something New

The cheese and charcuterie board is the rare situation in which you can please everyone with a mixture of sweet and savory, but don’t be afraid to add something you’ve never worked with that you aren’t sure will be a hit. Experiment with things like dried persimmons, cashew cheese, muhammara dip, or even a savory board with artichoke dip, pistachio dip or guacamole.

Fold, Style, Layer and Tuck Like You’re Doing Origami

Cheese boards look more artful and organized — and overall, more impressive — if you roll, fold, tuck and style elements. Roll your charcuterie or tuck messy corners in, and layer neat cheese sliced in a rainbow. Using a small bowl, stack and spread your veggies or fruits like a flower.

Create Different Heights

Your cheese board will look more interesting if the topography is varied. Using platforms, mini cake stands, and even various platters or cutting boards, you can create a table presentation exhibiting different heights and textures.

Accessorize, Accessorize, Accessorize

Whether it’s the gold ornaments you never thought you’d use or the holly growing outside your door, inspiration is all around you. Look around your house and in your yard for ways to decorate your holiday board. That rosemary and sage growing in abundance outside your front door is the perfect accessory to a board, as is the whimsical bird decoration in your room.

Add a Wow Factor

You don’t have to make everything on the board — in fact, farming out some of the work to a master is the instinct of a kitchen genius. From mini croissants to rosemary twists, wine-soaked cheese balls to cupcakes to cookies that spell out a word, it’s fine if it’s not all made by you, but having a wow factor takes the board to the next level. Also, this is a time to splurge for the really nice crackers.

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