When it comes to easy entertaining, nothing beats a simple cheese board. I like to keep all the elements either sweet or savoury, depending on whether we’ll be enjoying it after dinner or before. A sampling of artisan cheeses from a specialty shop is a wonderful treat, but for last-minute, budget-friendly hosting, I have a few guidelines for putting together a lovely platter with varied flavours and textures from the grocery store.
1. Danish feta; 2. New Zealand aged cheddar; 3. Tasmanian double brie - I like to serve a selection of foreign and local cheeses: one hard, one soft, and one goat or sheepsmilk cheese. (Blue is the logical fourth choice, but not my personal favourite!)
6. Cracked pepper water crackers 7. Nairns fine milled oat cakes (gluten free) 8. Sesame seed water crackers - I also like to serve a selection of biscuits with different flavours and textures: one quite plan, one a little spicy, and one oaty.
4. Spiced sunflower kernels from the Wednesday CBD markets; 5. Marinated olives from the deli counter; 9. Red capsicum dip - I always add a few nibbles to accompany the cheeses and biscuits to add colour and give guests who aren’t mad for cheese other options.
Keep lots of replenishments on hand – a cheese board should always look plentiful!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Beautiful Cath. YuuuuUUUUmmmm I love cheese. Envious of the amount of entertaining you do, I think it’s fantastic
Ah cheese! My most favourite thing!
I love a good cheese board and this is a wonderful selection for entertaining. I’m also a fan of a little bit of fig jam.
It all looks so lovely – you’ve given me a craving for cheese now!
I can’t live without cheese. I was unable to eat dairy for a year or so and once I was able to eat it again, it made me appreciate cheese even more. This reminds me of the platter we got on our last day in Copenhagen this year. Thank you for the lovely memory trigger! You’ve presented it so beautifully.
Gosh, I hope that comment didn’t sound all “oh i’ve been here. I’ve been there travelling”?? It wasn’t meant to sound like that, oops. Just those little moments where you sit down to appreciate something – and your platter reminded me of that one. It was the last thing we ate before heading to the airport and it was lovely and memorable.
Your comment was lovely – and I always appreciate hearing from you!! Personally, I adore Copenhagen, and would never find the mention of a great travel destination snobbish! x Catherine