Styled by Cheese

Sliced summer sausage alongside butter crackers and a cheeseball at family potlucks have come a long way. A once beloved, yet simple, staple has grown up and expanded syllables, chartering a new territory for happy hour and snack-based dinners.

Charcuterie (“shahr-ku-tuh-ree”) actually refers to a selection of cured meats, according to our friends at Merriam-Webster, but lucky for us, these glorious boards often include cheese and artful accoutrements. 

Making a curated board at home doesn’t have to be intimidating. Start with a beautiful surface and your favorite meats and cheeses, and before you know it you’ll be a charcuterie architect.

Petite bites

Impress that special someone by arranging small bites onto a perfectly shareable serving board.

Step one:
Fan out whole crackers to add texture and create a dividing line meats and cheeses

Step two: 
Slice a few squares of Medium Cheddar and overlap in the top left corner of the crackers

Step three:
Cut small wedges of Colby Jack to add extra dimension and place them opposite of the Mild Cheddar

Step four:
Fill the empty space with a small pile of sliced rounds salami

All the cheese, please

Meat isn’t needed for this platter to draw in a crowd. Pair with crackers or fruit, or graze as is.

Step one:
Break a chunk of Sharp Cheddar in half and place on the bottom right corner of your serving tray to create an anchor point

Step two:
Cut Colby Jack into wedges and place to the far left of the Sharp Cheddar

Step three:
Cut Mozzarella into slices and place to the top right of the Sharp Cheddar as you start to build the outline for each section of cheese

Step four:
Cut Pepper Jack into slices and stack to the left of the Mozzarella

Step five:
Continue building left by fanning slices of Mild Cheddar next to the Pepper Jack

Step six:
Fill in the empty space with perfectly poppable cubes of Swiss

Like clockwork

The perfect combination of savory and sweet, beautifully displayed to keep you around (see what we did there) for the whole evening.

Step one: 
Slice two wedges out of the Gouda and place at 11 o’clock on a round serving dish, with the wedges slightly separated from the round

Step two: 
Cut the Pepper Jack in half and place at 3 o’clock, with a small space between the halves

Step three: 
Fill a small bowl with jelly and place at 7 o’clock

Step four: 
Fill a ramekin with almonds and place slightly right of 9 o’clock

Step five: 
Layer one row of salami from the right side of the nuts to 12 o’clock. Layer another row ⅓ shorter of the first directly to the right

Step six: 
Fill a small bowl with honey and a dipper and place at 1 o’clock in the open space near the salami

Step seven: 
Stack a few crackers to the right of the Mild Cheddar and Pepper Jack to fill the open space

Step eight:
Add something sweet by placing a few caramels to the left of the jelly at 8 o’clock

Step nine: 
Fill in open spaces with sprigs of fresh rosemary to close gaps and add seasonal color