For this week’s post, I joined forces with charcuterie extraordinaire and Pullman, WA local Audrey, from A La Board NW. She specializes in charcuterie and cheese boards for catering local events. I was so excited to sit down with her, learn her top tips for creating charcuterie boards at home, and nibble on some of these delicious goodies.
Charcuterie boards offer many options, satisfy a number of cravings, and also cater to dietary restrictions. Since every guest gets to choose what they eat, charcuterie boards are great for anyone with gluten-free, vegetarian, and low carb diets! They’re perfect for casual girls nights or elegant Thanksgiving dinners, and the smallest of celebrations to the greatest of gatherings. While they’re packed with complex flavors and look beautiful, they are very simple to assemble – especially when you know these 3 secrets!
As much content as this guide has, it really is as simple as pulling cheeses, meats, crackers, and produce out of your fridge and cupboards, throwing it on a cutting board, and arranging it to please the mind’s eye. The best boards are made from curiosity and creativity – plus a little wine to help you get there!
Secret #1: What To Buy
Spreads: One of my favorite ways to add extra interest and excitement in charcuterie boards is to serve it with spreads! Spreads that I often use are mustards, jams, and honey. Mustards add spice, zest, mild sweetness, and a light bitterness that kicks your bite up a notch. Jams pair really well with softer cheeses and fatty meats.
Secret #2: How Much To Buy
This can be a tricky one, when you’re standing in the grocery store staring at the cheese selection. Do I need 3 or 4 wedges? Is that too little? What if I have a ton leftover?
Well, here’s a little trick-of-the-trade formula so you never have to second guess again! First, figure out how many people you’re serving. Typically serving sizes for meats, cheeses and starches are around 1 ounce, and the normal serving size for fruits and vegetables is 2-3 ounces.
What does this mean? Let’s say you’re expecting 10 guests. You will need total:
- 10 ounces of each cheese
- 10 ounces of each meat
- 20-30 ounces of fruit
- 20-30 ounces of vegetables
- 10 ounces of crackers or bread
Some people will enjoy more, and some will enjoy less, and this formula accounts for that. Pretty easy, right?
Secret #3: How To Assemble Charcuterie Boards
You’ve chosen all your items, you have the perfect amount of each, and now it’s time to assemble your board!
You’ll notice that the prettiest charcuterie boards focus on variation in textures and colors. For example, bright red cherries alongside a wedge of creamy brie make both foods stand out and instantly look more appetizing.
Start by laying out your starches, taking up about 1/3 of the board. Add your cheeses in separate spots of the board, and place your meats in between. Then fill in any empty spots with fruit, nuts, extra crackers – whatever looks good to you! Nestle small containers of mustards and jams in between. (For these boards, we used shot glasses for the condiments. They’re the perfect size, and inexpensive!)
I love quick and easy desserts, and as someone who always dreads doing the dishes, I especially love one bowl desserts! These peanut butter blondies are so delicious, full of creamy peanut butter and melted chocolate. And just dirtying one bowl? Added bonus!
As you know, I’m all about decadent dessert recipes. My Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake comes to mind…or S’mores Cupcakes! But life is all about balance, so I like to throw an easy and healthy recipe idea onto the blog every once in a while too! Especially when it’s a healthy and delicious refined sugar free muffin recipe! (Muffins are my weakness.)
These blackberry muffins are sweetened with honey and coconut crystals, for a totally guilt-free dessert or breakfast recipe! They’ve become my go-to summer breakfast recipe idea. Easy, quick, healthy, delicious. And by the way, I’ve linked some of my other favorite healthy brunch recipes at the bottom, if you’d like some more ideas!
Makes about 12-18 muffins
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream or full-fat plain yogurt
1/2 cup melted salted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries, halved
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line a muffin tin with liners. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, flour through cinnamon, and set aside.
Prepare the topping: Combine the flour, brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon and salt in a small mixing bowl. Add the butter, and gently mash the ingredients together with a fork. Finish quickly with your fingers until the mixture resembles course crumbs. You can also do this by pulsing together ingredients in your food processor. Stick in the fridge until ready to use.
In another large bowl, combine the eggs, honey, buttermilk, sour cream, melted butter and vanilla. Whisk together until smooth and all ingredients have come together. Then gently stir in the dry ingredients. You can also do this in your stand mixer if you’d prefer, with the paddle attachment on low speed. Gently stir in the fresh blackberries.
Fill each liner with about 3/4 full of batter, and then top each with the streusel topping. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Enjoy!
More Healthy Breakfast/Brunch Recipe Inspiration:
You guys, it is full on summer over in my part of the world! We had a really long drawn out winter, short and sweet spring, and I feel like I woke up one day and it was 90 degrees out! I love summer though, so I’m not complaining. As I write this someone is mowing their lawn, and the smell of fresh grass is coming through my open window. Pure summer, right there.
And you know what else is pure summer? This cake! I’ve always felt like 4th of July really kicks off the summer season. It’s officially July, the weather is almost always hot and sunny, and everyone is full into their summer routines. Well believe it or not, the 4th of July is just three short weeks away, and it will be here before we know it. So today I’m sharing my ultimate 4th of July dessert – Red, White and Blue cake!
This delicious cake is beyond perfect for whatever 4th of July event you’re planning, and is guaranteed to be the talk of the party. The very best part is cutting into it and seeing those fun colors pop through! Sure to delight kids and adults alike.
Cake Ingredients:
2 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup full-fat vanilla yogurt (greek or regular is fine)
1/2 cup buttermilk
Red and blue gel food coloring
Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients:
2 cups butter, softened (4 sticks)
6-8 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream, if needed to thin out the frosting
Cake Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line the bottoms of three 6″ cake pans with parchment paper.
Whisk together the dry ingredients, flour through salt.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the sugar until combined. Add in the eggs, vanilla, yogurt and buttermilk and mix on low until all ingredients are incorporated. Then add the flour mixture, mixing on low until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
For A Red, White and Blue Cake: Distribute the cake batter evenly into three bowls of the same weight – I used three large cereal bowls. Using a kitchen scale, distribute the cake batter evenly between the three bowls. Empty one bowl into a prepared cake pan (this will be your white).
For the other two, add red and blue gel food coloring. I recommend this kit! You will want to use gel, because liquid will change the cake consistency. The colors will strengthen slightly as they bake, but make sure that the red and blue look about the color that you want the cake layers to look.
Spoon the red and blue batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Allow to cool about 10 minutes in the cake pans, and then invert the cakes onto a cooling rack with the “top” of the cake down. This will help flatten the cakes. Once the cakes come to room temperature, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour before frosting.
Buttercream Directions:
Whip the butter in you stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add vanilla extract. Increase the speed to high, and mix about 2-3 minutes. Add heavy cream if needed.
If you want to see a video of this cake coming together, be sure to follow me on Instagram (@thiscelebratedlife)! I’ll be posting it in the next few days, and you won’t want to miss it!
Is there anything that screams summer more than a strawberry shortcake recipe?? If you’ve never had homemade strawberry shortcakes, stop what you’re doing right now and make these. Right now. Barely sweet, with most of the sweetness coming from the strawberries, these shortcakes are a serious game changer, and a perfect dessert recipe idea for anyone who doesn’t usually like sweets. But I promise my sweet tooths will love it too!
