If you ever come over to someone in my family’s home around 5pm you will be offered a cheese board. It is just what we do! Guest is at the house? A spread of nuts, cheeses, crackers and olives is immediately put out. This means two things: 1) that enough cheese is always in the house to put out the spread and 2) that we are anticipating hungry guests (even if they aren’t). I can look at this ritual now and appreciate it for the culture my family built around hospitality. We want you to come, relax, linger in conversation for a while and leave well fed. I have carried this ritual into our family’s life and hold the cheese plate as equally important as the meal that will be served. My tried and true cheese plate is not overly complicated and, honestly, don’t follow too many rules.
We serve cheeses we like, usually 3 different ones but not more than 5.
When possible we go local. St. James Cheese Company in New Orleans is one of our favorite places. It is also fun to talk to the cheese mongers and learn! They know a lot about cheese. But Trader Joes is also a favorite place as well as our local co-op. The co-op will usually have small pieces that are being discarded from packaging that you can grab for a few dollars if you want to sample something new!
Keep the cheeses you pick out varied with a mixture of soft, semi-soft, and aged cheese. Varying milk sources is also a good idea but not always necessary. We usually have a sharp cheddar, a soft goat cheese, a triple cream, and a manchego.
Calculate the correct amount of cheese per person. Andy and I aren’t always the best at this as we like to have left over cheese–we are Midwesterners after all– but usually 3-5 oz of cheese per person is safe.
Keep it simple with the sides. A fruit paste or jam, crackers or bread crisps, olives, fresh fruit (grapes or a cut up apple), dried fruits (apricots or figs are one of my favorites), nuts and honey. You can also add charcuterie and cured meats to make it really hearty or keep it just to the cheeses.
As far as serving, a big round wooden cheese board can be really beautiful! But whatever you have on hand (even just a cutting board) will say to your guests, “I’m glad you’re here, sit and stay awhile”.
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