We hosted our first official party in our NYC this past weekend and I decided to go all out on the cheese spread and create one I’ve always envied on Pinterest. I wanted it to be colorful, rich, and a little wild. It was the perfect snacking table for our get together – a little sweet, a little savory. Sharing everything I used below.. I did most of the shopping at Trader Joe’s (*TJ’s)! I also absolutely adore the book Savor — I made three recipes from it and got tons of layout inspo!
Shopping List
Crackers/Breads
- Carr’s crackers (plain)
- Brioche Toast crackers (TJ’s)
- Everything crackers (TJ’s)
- Baguette
- Breadstick crackers (TJ’s)
Cheeses/Meats
- Brie (drizzled with honey and topped with rosemary)
- Goat Cheese with herbs
- Cotswold Double Gloucester (TJ’s)
- Dutch Gouda (TJ’s)
- Gourmet Italian Meat combo (Calabrese Salame, Del Duca Prosciutto, Capocollo) (TJ’s)
Nuts
- Dark chocolate covered almonds
- Chipotle Lime Peanuts (recipe from Savor)
- Candied Maple Walnuts (recipe from Savor)
- Herb-roasted almonds (recipe from Savor)
Fruits & Other
- Pears
- Grapes
- Dried Apricots
- Dried Figs
- Raison Mix
- Dried Cranberries
- Greek Kalamata & Monzanilla Olives
- Fig spread
For the layout of the spread, I used a mix of these plates, these small bowls, these larger bowls, these measuring cups, and these mini bowls, as well as cutting boards I had of all shapes, sizes, and colors. I liked the way black plates disappeared onto the table, so I used the plates as my base and layered the other items on top. And I mean layered.. part of the key to creating a styled board is to have different levels and varying heights. It’s cohesive but feels haphazard at the same time.
I positioned my bowls on first, and then layered in meats and cheeses. I used the fruits to keep things divided and separate. Work from biggest items to smallest to fill in any gaps at the end. And voila! x