Those that know me well KNOW my deep love for charcuterie boards both big and small. They also know my adoration for good wines, white and red. Today I am going to show you MY personal how-to for making the perfect charcuterie board for entertaining, along with the best way to keep your light/white wines chilled for those spring and summer picnics (or any other outing you may choose!).
__________
To start, you'll want to pick 3 - 4 cheeses with a wide range of flavor. My favorites are super sharp white cheddar, flavored brie, goat cheese, wine soaked cheeses and Mediterranean or smoked gouda. You'll lay these out roughly on your board first.
Next, you'll want to arrange your choice of meat(s), olives or veggies, and any dips. My favorite deli selection is peppered salami. YUM! I love the texture and spice the peppered crust brings.
I always add in a small bowl of dip, usually hummus or spinach dip. These two go great with all of the essentials on your charcuterie board and are pretty universally liked.
Once you have all of the superstars of your board arranged, now we add in the crackers + remaining accent snacks! I always use 2 - 3 different cracker types: here I have flavored "everything" squares, a neutral pita cracker, and some small toasts. The toasts are great for the spinach dip!
Time to add in the FRUIT! For this board I picked two different colors/types of grapes. Sometimes I do strawberries and blueberries, or even peaches in the summer months.
Now for the finishing touches, you'll add in your nuts + chocolates. I LOVE pecan pralines, I keep them in stock and add them to almost every board I make. Trail mix is also a really good option, you can use any kind any flavor! For chocolate, I always do simple dark chocolate or a variation of.
For this board, I did the pecan pralines and dark chocolate covered cherries (my husband's fave).
Now let's POUR THE WINE! I chose a chilled chardonnay for our backyard charcuterie picnic. [warm weather calls for all the white wines + rose!]
I love that the "Winesulator" from Brumate keeps a FULL bottle of your favorite wine chilled & fresh. It also comes with a handy funnel so there's no spills! The coordinating wine tumblers hold 1/2 a bottle each, so they're much bigger than expected. The Dark Aura wine set is currently on SALE! (pictured above + linked here: Brumate Winesulator + Tumbler set)
I have swore by their slim can coolers for YEARS now, so I was beyond thrilled to add to my collection with this awesome wine set + a few other goodies! They have so many colors + styles to choose from for all of your cocktail needs.
CHEERS to outdoor fun, good food + good wine that stays cold until the last drop! Even after hours in the sun. Because nobody, and I mean NOBODY likes warm chardonnay.
