Charcuterie Board

 

The idea for this came from Spilled Milk’s Episode 551: Charcuterie Platters and I thought it was brilliant – it had just never occurred to me to serve this as a meal (and, to be honest, I’d never served it at all, even though I have been delighted when presented with a charcuterie board by others). It was perfect because I am always looking for dinner ideas, and this looked like it would check a lot of boxes: it’s hardly any work, it lets you use up odds and ends, you can customize it to suit your family’s tastes, and it’s super fun. 

I also thought it could be part of my “Tips to get a child to eat healthy meals” series (see Part 1 and Part 2) because it can help kids try new foods. I served things that my kids love (Ritz crackers! pepperoni! raspberries! olives!) and things they are more reluctant to try (pears? bell peppers? dried apricots? goldenberries?), and in this format they were less intimidated and more willing to at least have a bite. The pear was perfectly ripe, too, so it was a great opportunity for the kids to have one delicious slice without committing to the whole fruit. 

When I put this on the table at dinner, the Engineer called it “splendid”. Both kids were initially flabbergasted, then the Fox said, “Wow! Is it a holiday?” He eventually told me that I was “the best chef, along with the one who does tricks” (we went to a hibachi grill a few months ago). High praise! As for the Little Prince, he said, “Cool! Thank you for making this!” Really, you’d think I invented the wheel or something. My kids even insisted on taking pictures with their own cameras – the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, I guess. 

Of course, charcuterie boards may not be trendy anymore since they have just been replaced with butter boards and cream cheese boards, but I highly recommend them anyway. You can find great charcuterie board inspiration here. It was super fun to shop for this, and fun to assemble as well! 

One of the best purchases I’ve made was these tiny melamine ramekins, which are great to hold individual servings of dipping sauces or, in this case, spreads like hummus and “cheese” (see below) as well as olives and pickles. The best part is that I never have to worry about them breaking, yet they are sturdy enough to feel like quality pieces. 

I want to give a shout-out to Boursin, which now makes a *dairy-free* garlic and herb spread! I had periodic cravings for Boursin, and seeing that I can have some again was wonderful. I hope they make a cracked black pepper version soon! 

TL;DR: This was fantastic, and I highly recommend charcuterie boards for dinner.