Ultimate Holiday Charcuterie Board
The holidays is my favorite time to enjoy all the appetizers, especially themed cheeseboards and charcuterie! There are so many different ingredients and combinations for these but this board pretty much has it all! It’s a collection of the best of the best of holiday ingredients, flavors, and colors and makes the most stunning Christmas appetizer or meal! You can find all the instructions and ingredients for this one listed below (everything is from Kroger)-
xoxo
Emily
green olives (any variety)
Fresh mozzarella (log- can already be sliced or unsliced- usually 16 oz)
1-2 medium/large red tomatoes
Green grapes
Salami (any variety)
Prosciutto
Smoked gouda cheese
Manchego cheese
Brie wheel (round- usually 8 oz.)
Fresh Rosemary (for garnish)
Pecans of your choice (can be salted, candied, flavored, etc.)
Oranges or Clementines (1-2 large or several smaller size)
1 sweet item! (a holiday candy, dark chocolate, chocolate covered pretzels, cookies, peppermint bark, etc.)
Boar’s Head pepperhouse Gourmaise (deli section at Kroger)
Red pepper jelly
Water crackers
2-3 types of crackers /bread of your choice (french bread, crostini, water crackers, crisps, triscuits, wheat thins, pretzels, pita chips, etc.)
I started by creating my “candy cane caprese” in the middle of the board. To do this I sliced both the tomatoes and the mozzarella into about 1/4 of an inch slices and layered them, alternating, into a candy cane shape.
Next I added all items that needed bowls/containers- the olives and Gourmaise, each with a little spoon/serving knife inside. I used small white bowls for these.
The brie came next and I was sure to space it and the other bowls, all on opposite sides of the board. I used a Christmas cookie cutter to cut out a shape from the brie (pressing it down halfway and then carefully pulling it out, and removing the rind with a spoon, leaving a small indention in the cookie cutter shape. I filled that design with a thin layer of pepper jelly using a spoon.
I sliced the cheese next, again evenly spacing them on opposite sides of the board (each on a different side of the candy cane). I like to leave a small wedge unsliced of each and then pile bite sized pieces around it.
Next I placed the fruit, slicing the oranges and leaving the grapes in bunches. I placed these in a few different areas to disperse the color, again on each side of the candy cane.
Add the meat next, I used summer sausage and prosciutto. I sliced the summer sausage and piled it between my oranges, manchego, and candy cane. I folded the prosciutto accordian style and wedged it between a grape bunch and the gouda on the other side of the board.
Now you can fill in with some of the cracker and bread throughout. If I run out of room, I also have no problem adding these to a bowl and serving alongside the board instead!
Save the smallest items for the last step to fill in on the small holes- the chocolate covered pretzels, nuts, and holiday M&Ms- worked perfectly for this.
Finally use some fresh herbs to garnish around the edges for an extra holiday touch- I used sage, rosemary, and thyme!
