Hello veggie friends,
I hope everyone had a nice weekend! One of my favorite things to do on the weekend-or any free night- is spend time with loved ones just hanging out, chatting, watching movies or playing games. And of course this needs to include food. One thing that goes perfectly for a night like this is a cheese plate. Wisconsin born-and-raised, I love cheese. Not only do I get to eat a ton of cheese, but the cheese is paired with so many other tasty things.
Although a cheese plate may sound super fancy and daunting, it is not! Cheese plates are grate because each cheese plate can be different from the next one you make. They can be used as a party snack for a larger crowd, or as a meal for more intimate gatherings. Cheese plates are also a great way to showcase local and seasonal items! I decided to share with you how I made my most recent cheese plate. I hope this can act as a template to get people started, but feel free to customize everything to what you like.
Cheese
I usually choose three types of cheese per cheese platter. Generally speaking, there are four different cheese textures: soft, semi-soft, semi-hard, and hard. I try to pick cheeses that are in different categories, or at least two different categories. For this cheese plate, I chose baby Swiss, a merlot white cheddar, and parmesan. I almost always choose Swiss because it is a very mild flavor and pairs well with spreads and other things on the platter. Besides the Swiss, I am usually open to trying whatever cheese is available. As cheese is the star of the platter, I would pick cheeses that sound tasty to you and your friends and not just grab random ones. I usually pick fancier cheeses and pay the extra money, as the taste is worth it.
Fruit
One thing I always include on a cheese plate is fruit. Apples, pears, and grapes are all great accompaniments to cheese. Berries, watermelon, even tomatoes would be good options to pear with the cheese (get it?). I would recommend going with what is seasonal by you (farmer's markets are you friend for this!).
Bread/Crackers
Bread or crackers are a great way to eat soft cheeses. They can also be good to eat in-between cheeses or just to add a little more substance. I chose a fresh french loaf for this cheese plate. My recommendation is that if you have spreadable cheese, have crackers as that will be easier to eat small amounts of cheese on.
Nuts
One thing I try to include is a little extra protein. Nuts are a good vegetarian option to add extra protein. Nuts are also filling and can often compliment the flavor of nuttier cheeses. I went with roasted, unsalted almonds for my cheese plate. You can pick different types of nuts, or maybe try flavored nuts.
Chocolate
As I have mentioned before, I love desserts and sweets. Chocolate goes surprisingly well with the other foods on this cheese plate. Even if you don't like eating the chocolate while eating the more savory components of the dish, you can put the chocolate on the plate and eat it once you finish eating the other options, as dessert. I chose a dark chocolate with sea salt caramel bar for this cheese plate, but any kind of chocolate should work.
Spreads
One thing I love on a cheese plate is a dip or spread, especially fruit spreads. For this cheese plate, I used homemade raspberry jelly and pepper jelly. I just put the jellies in small containers on the plate so they wouldn't get all over the other food. You can spread the jelly on bread, or dunk cheese and fruit in it (Swiss cheese in the raspberry jelly was amazing). Besides jellies, you could use a garlic butter or oil dipping sauce for the bread.
Drinks
Wine, for those of legal age, can be great alongside a cheese plate. You can pair the cheese platter with essentially any wine of your choice. For those who are not fans of wine, cheese plates pair well with grape juice, or a fruity punch.
I hope this helps you embark on your own cheese plate adventures. Don't forget, this is a dish best served with good people by your side (thanks for being a great dinner date, Jan!).
Have a gouda week,
-t
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