Put some chocolates out there. They will love you.

Anonymous wrote:Instead of lunch on Thanksgiving, we are putting out a big charcuterie board for people to graze on. Thanksgiving dinner will be at actual dinner time around 6pm. I did one last year and it was a huge hit and my family has requested this again. I would love to be more creative and would love suggestions to go beyond cured meats, cheese and olives...

We do this every year for thanksgiving, Christmas and new years! I try to hit salty, sweet, savory, acidic, and bitter. I choose pretty bland crackers and veggies so that the meats and cheeses carry the flavor. My family’s palate skews acidic, so we go heavy on those flavors. Other than cured meats, cheeses and olives, we do a combination of the following

Selection of fresh fruits - grapes, berries, thinly sliced pear/apple
Selection of dried fruits - apricots, figs, cherries, melon
Raw vegetables - carrots, bell peppers, celery, cucumber, radish
Pickled/preserved vegetables - cornichons, piquante (peppadew), pearl onions, capers, roasted red peppers, sun dried tomatoes
Selection of mustards - we always have 3 or 4 types because mustard is our favorite condiment
Selection of crackers/crusty bread
Selection of nuts - this depends on if we have any nut free guests coming. Usually I get nuts from Trader Joe’s
One or two fruit jams - fig, orange marmalade etc
Tapenade
A little pot of Calabrian chile infused honey - this is my favorite! If you don’t have this, you can mix some Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes into honey

Anonymous wrote:I heard a young woman say that charcuterie boards are for old people that outgrew their boogie lunchables

Makes me laugh -- kind of true!!

Not at all true.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard a young woman say that charcuterie boards are for old people that outgrew their boogie lunchables

Makes me laugh -- kind of true!!

Boogie or bougie?

Anonymous wrote:I heard a young woman say that charcuterie boards are for old people that outgrew their boogie lunchables

Makes me laugh -- kind of true!!

Boogie or bougie?

I heard a young woman say that charcuterie boards are for old people that outgrew their boogie lunchables

Makes me laugh -- kind of true!!

grapes, pears, almonds, crusty bread, pita, hummus, guava paste (cubed)

Make sure you cover all the flavor profiles.

Honey roasted sesame sticks from Trader Joe’s go fast when I put them out. Sweet, salty and crunchy. Jam and spicy mustard to accompany the cheese and crackers.

Plenty of fruit and veg options for people who want to eat a bit more lightly before a big thanksgiving dinner. Or make a separate fruit and veg platter.

Get the book “Beautiful Boards.” Tons of eye-appealing options that you can tailor to your family’s tastes.

fresh honeycomb

This is what Pinterest and Instagram are for. You’ll find hundreds of ideas.

Do a mediterranean theme with grape leaves, baba ghanoush, etc.

Look on pinterest for insp.

In addition to meat/cheese/olives, I like nuts, pickles (think beyond cornichons), and fruit (figs!).

Crusty bread and seasoned olive oil for dipping, nuts (I got some rosemary and sea salt cashews that are lovely), grapes, dried fruits.

Instead of lunch on Thanksgiving, we are putting out a big charcuterie board for people to graze on. Thanksgiving dinner will be at actual dinner time around 6pm. I did one last year and it was a huge hit and my family has requested this again. I would love to be more creative and would love suggestions to go beyond cured meats, cheese and olives...