How To Make The Perfect Holiday Cheese Board

Everything you need for a perfect holiday cheese board in three easy categories!

Let’s talk cheese for a minute. Cheese is my No. 1 friend next to bread. If I could have bread and cheese every day for the rest of my life, I would. You know, if fat and carboloading didn’t make you gain weight, that is.

So any time I have a dinner party, I choose cheese as the appetizer.

The best way to eat is to graze on tons of things. Eating cheese is a perfect example of this. You try one, then try another, then a third, pairing each with a different combination of crackers and fruits until you discover what makes your tastebuds dance for joy. And then you sample more again, just to make sure.

It’s the best (and only) way to eat, in my humble opinion. 

So I’ve put together a surefire way to make your cheese board stand out this holiday season. The key to a good cheese board is the variety. The three main things your cheese board must have?

1. A combination of hard, sharp, soft, and stinky cheeses
2. Seasonal fruits
3. Damn good crackers (a simple and an exotic)

Thinking of your cheeseboard in this way makes things much easier. We humans like categories. Instead of debating over the tens of cheeses a la fromagerie, simply pick out the best hard, sharp, soft, and stinky cheeses you can find.

As for the fruits, if it’s summertime go for fruits like berries, grapes, and peaches. In the winter, choose apples, pears, and persimmons. Keeping things seasonal will not only resonate with your eyes, but your tastebuds.

Crackers complete a cheese board. Bad crackers can absolutely ruin your board. Make sure to find a cracker that works well with a variety of cheeses, as well as a more exotic one that can be munched on its own. One of my favorite crackers is the Fig & Olive Crisps from Trader Joe’s.

Finally, garnish your cheese board with things like nuts, herbs, and crudite. This keeps things interesting, and gives your guests something to snack on besides fromage.

My cheese board was made using a combination of Wisconsin Cheeses. I’ve partnered with them for my 4th day of Broma’s 12 Days Of Giveaways to gift an amazing artisanal cheese board complete with cheese knives and a cheese board. Click here to enter via Instagram. Good luck!

• Author: Sarah Fennel
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 10 mins

Holiday Cheese Board + Giveaway

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• Author: Sarah Fennel
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 10 mins

Units: USM

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound Gouda Cheese (I used Holland’s Family Marieke Gouda)
• 1/2 pound Hard Cow’s Milk Cheese (I used Emmi Roth’s Private Reserve)
• 1/2 pound Alpine-Style Cheese (I used Upland’s Cheese Pleasant Ridge Reserve)
• 1/2 pound Sharp Cheddar (I used Hook’s Cheese Company Eight Year Cheddar)
• 1/2 pound Blue Cheese (I used Roelli Cheese Haus Dunbarton Blue Cheese)
• 1/2 cup fig spread
• 2 mini cucumbers, sliced
• 1 red apple, sliced thin
• 1 bosc pear, sliced thin
• 1/3 cup roasted salted almonds
• 2 types of crackers (I used a rosemary butter cracker and a cranberry almond toast thin)
• honey
• optional: herbs for decoration

Instructions

1. Arrange all ingredients on a large marble or slate slab. Cut some slices of cheese, leaving the rest whole. Serve alongside cheese knives and napkins!