How To Assemble a 4th of July Cheeseboard!
This 4th of July cheeseboard has all the bright summer colors and textures I love and of course plenty of red, white and blue! What better way to enjoy your time together with friends and family than having a fun, easy-to-assemble charcuterie board with all your favorite summer goodies! This one has a great selection of both sweet and salty items, snacks, fruits, desserts, and more! You can find the list of ingredients and all the instructions for putting this one together below!
xoxo
Emily
One package of each item I used will create an XL board pictured for 10-12 people, but not everything listed is needed. Feel free to mix it up and use your favorites as well as anything to work with allergy/dietary restrictions.
Fruit: 2-3 different options is best but feel free to use as much as desired! I used watermelon, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, blueberries, and strawberries.
Veggies (choose 1-2): cherry tomatoes, red peppers, cauliflower
Cheeses (choose at least 2-3): white cheddar cheese, asiago, brie, blueberry goat cheese, mozzarella, pepper jack (I used brie, blueberry goat cheese, + asiago)
Meats (at least 1-2): salami, pepperoni, prosciutto, summer sausage (I used summer sausage, salami, and pepperoni)
2-3 crackers/breads/chips of your choice - I used blue tortilla chips, beet crackers, and a couple different kinds flatbread/toast crackers.
Fun additions (optional or choose 1-2): salsa or pico, cheese dip spread/dip (pimento, boursin, jarlsburg dip), olives, nuts. (I used spinach artichoke dip and salsa)
Something sweet (choose 1-2): yogurt pretzels, chocolate, cookies, etc. (I used 4th of July yogurt decorated pretzels and 4th of July decorated sugar cookies- both from Meijer!)
Optional : star cookie cutter and some kind of red jam, and flag tooth picks!
Also optional: edible flowers or fresh herbs/greens for garnish (I used chamomile)
Prep all produce (wash, dry, cut). Most of my fruit I left whole but I sliced about half of the strawberries (left some whole for the board as well), sliced watermelon into wedges with rind still on, sliced peppers into bite sized slivers, and sliced about half the cherry tomatoes in half.
I placed my brie first right in the center since it was one of the largest items. Totally optional, but I used a star cookie cutter to cut out a star shape from the brie, then filled with some raspberry jam (any red jam will work!). To do this, press the cookie cutter into the top of your brie as far as it will go down. Carefully pull it out to create a star shape outline in the brie. Next use a spoon to carefully scoop the rind out of the brie inside the star shape only, leaving the creamy brie showing inside the star. Carefully top the star shape with a small scoop of jam and spread out within the star outline. If you mess up, you can flip your brie over and try again (you’ve got 2 shots!). I surrounded the brie in the center with cut up strawberries in a circle.
Place two small bowls (one for salsa and the other for cheese dip- or any other kind of dips you’re using) diagonally in opposing corners of your board. Fill with salsa and dip, and add a spoon or spreader for serving.
I placed the larger fruits/veggies next (cauliflower and watermelon). I placed the watermelon in the corner around the salsa bowl to keep it from getting other foods soggy.
Next I placed the remaining cheeses and the meats. Be sure to place your other cheeses far away from the brie with plenty of space in between. I usually cut up about half the cheese into bite sized pieces and leave one chunk to pile it beside. Soft cheeses like goat cheeses you don’t have to cut up at all. My salami and pepperoni already came sliced so I just placed it directly on the board kind of wrapping one around the goat cheese and one around the asiago.
Now you can start filling in all the remaining holes with the rest of the fruits and veggies. Just keep in mind during this part to try to keep space in between like colors. You will have a lot more red than anything but you can use the blueberries and blackberries to break it up and also leave space for your crackers and desserts in between.
Finally finish by adding your crackers (these can slip inside tight spaces stacked tightly sideways) to fill in any holes as well as the dessert items (the pretzels especially work perfectly for small holes throughout). You can add both of these in several different places throughout, they don’t all have to stack together in one spot.
You want your entire board to be filled in from corner to corner as much as possible with no holes. You can use any extra fruit or small items like crackers/desserts to fill in as needed.
To garnish I used little stems of chamomile throughout for a pop of a different summery color as well as some flag toothpicks! These are totally optional but a fun way to add an extra pop to your board!
