How to Prepare the BEST Summer Cheeseboard!

There’s nothing better than a fun summer gathering with a beautiful cheese board to top it off! I created this cheese board to bring the fun and beauty of summer to you! It has it all from summer berries to ripe cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices to a variety of amazing cheeses, balsamic strawberries (recipe below) to salami and SO MUCH MORE! It really is the perfect way to kick off summer and enjoy a dinner alfresco in the beautiful weather. Find all the ingredients and instructions for putting this one together below! ENJOY!

xoxo

Emily

• 1 package cherry tomatoes

• 1 small cucumber

• 3-4 mini clementine oranges

• 1 small package of strawberries

• 1 pear

• several watermelon slices

• 1-2 handfuls of cherries

• 1 small package of blackberries

• 1-2 peaches

• at least 2 kinds of crackers/ bread (I used sliced French bread, flatbread crackers, mini toast point crackers, and cheese crisp crackers (all found at Kroger).

• 1 block of sharp cheddar cheese

• 1 wedge of lemon and honey Wensleydale cheese

• 1 wedge or wheel of brie

• 6-8 oz of salami

• 6-8 oz of prosciutto

• 1 small jar of honey

• 1 package of fresh baby arugula

• nuts of your choice ( I used pistachios and corn nuts)

• 1 jar of your favorite pickles

• balsamic strawberries (full recipe here)

  • 10-12 strawberries

  • 1-2 TBSP white wine vinegar

  • 1-2 TBSP balsamic vinegar

  • 1 vanilla bean or vanilla extract (just a dash)

  • 1-2 TBSP honey

  • few pieces of fresh thyme

  • few pieces of fresh basil

• optional: chamomile flowers for garnish

1. Begin by putting together your recipe for the balsamic strawberries- use recipe here. Per the recipe, you can definitely make this ahead of time and refrigerate or you can serve right away too!

2. I started my board by adding the largest items first- the watermelon slices (cut into wedges and stacking in a pile) and anything that needed a bowl: bowl of pickles (I cut these up into bite sized pieces), mason jar of balsamic strawberries, leaving plenty of space in between.

3. You will place your brie beside your balsamic strawberries and scoop a spoonful on top of the brie.

4. After that I added the different meats to the board next, again placing them on opposite sides with lots of room in between.

5. Next I added in the remaining cheeses, evenly spacing them on opposite sides as well.

6. Then you can start adding your fruits and veggies throughout, keeping in mind the different colors and distributing them evenly throughout the board. Try not to place similar colors next to each other. Start with the largest items first and work down to smaller pieces like blackberries, which are easier to fill in holes and blank spaces.

7. Next I filled in remaining gaps with the nuts and crackers. You don’t have to put all your crackers on your board if you run out of room. I often put a bowl beside the board with extra bread and crackers anyways!

8. Lastly I added some baby arugula around the edges to garnish as well as some fresh chamomile flowers.

9. Serve and enjoy!