5 Step Holiday Charcuterie Night

The holiday season is inevitably when you will attend the most events of the year. It’s all about celebrations — whether for Christmas or New Year’s, so you know that at some point you will be hosting your own shindig or intimate gathering. I’m personally always a fan of having guests over, and getting in the kitchen to give my guests something to nibble on, but lately I’ve been all about creating a spread.

A spread that guests can enjoy themselves and also something that I can have a little fun with. A wine and cheese display and charcuterie board specifically creates a beautiful presentation for guests to dig in and enjoy different tastes and flavours. And with it being the holidays, it’s a great option that looks incredible to your guests but can be done effortlessly!

All it takes is these 5 simple steps.

Make it Festive

With it being the holidays, the first step towards creating a Holiday charcuterie board is to go for the holiday theme for the table that focuses on different textures. I went with seeded eucalyptus as a backdrop with candles to set the mood, and opted for rich and contrasting colours for the board. I especially loved the added touch of fresh rosemary that gives a pine look to the board.

The options here are endless though. Bringing in colourful spreads and finishing touches can really set the tone for the board.

The Essentials

When I say essentials, I’m really talking about the main features, which are meats and cheeses. Thin cured meat is where I begin and it typically includes a few high quality salami and prosciutto options. I find that those are the most popular and they are always gone by the end of the night. I then like to fill the board with loads of cheeses in different textures like Brie and an aged goat cheese. In this case, don’t forget your pretty cheese utensils!

Crackers and More

Crackers are step two towards creating a full charcuterie board. For this board, I went with an assortment of crackers from PC’s Holiday Insiders Collection. The entire collection is filled with everything you need for this seasons best recipes, and the cracker selection was exactly what I needed for the board. The Olive & Rosemary Focaccia Crackers are actually my favourite and the PC Sea Salt Multigrain Flatbread Crackers are amazing for a spreadable cheese and chutney combo.

Once wine is involved – more on that later — I like to add toasted baguettes as well to the board so you can really add on the meats, cheeses and spreads!

Accents

This is where I feel like things really come together to create different textures and flavours. You have your meat, cheese and crackers, but this step is all about the additional jams, fruits & veggies, nuts and spreads. To showcase the final touches, you can choose to incorporate the original jars or you can present it in additional bowls or serving dishes. I happen to love how the PC Black Label Fig Cabernet Wine Jelly looks just in its jar with a decorative serving spoon – it is also delish!

You can also get really crafty and add raw honeycomb and a honey dipper for presentation!

When it comes to fruit and veggies, you can really go with the traditional grapes and pickles, or you can experiment with figs and olives. Adding in a collection of nuts will also round out the texture of the board and using spiced and salted nuts is also a great addition to a drool-worthy board.

Don’t Forget the Wine

After all, what pairs better with a charcuterie board filled with meats and cheeses than wine? I typically like to include a few different bottles for a charcuterie gathering, but for this board, two bottles were the crowd pleasers and paired really well with the assortment on the board.

I immediately went for Kim Crawford’s Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough. I’ve picked up this bottle before, but this time it was perfect since the bottle has been “Holiday wrapped” and looks great on my table setting. The sweet and fruity notes of the wine were the ideal pairing for my board choices. Since my wine and cheese night was filled with more gals than guys, the Kim Crawford bottle was a great hit!

Another bottle that was opened and crushed was Jackson-Triggs Entourage. I seem to always rekindle my Entourage love when the holidays come around, so this addition was a no brainer. The slightly pink Brut offers notes of toast and zest that worked great against the other fruity wines, so I was able to serve different tastes for the variety of food.

It’s all about creating versatile options between the wines and charcuterie pairings!

Are you ready to have your own wine & cheese night? Get inspired and create your own charcuterie board and call your favourite people over to share!

This post was sponsored by President’s Choice. All opinions are my own

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