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Giggles Galore » Dinner Party » How to Build the Perfect Cheese Board

Dinner Party Entertaining Giggles Galore Thanksgiving

How to Build the Perfect Cheese Board

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The season for entertaining, parties and gathering with family and friends is finally here!  If you are hosting a get together this holiday season don’t let the menu stress you out.  I’ve partnered with Albertson’s to show you how to build the perfect cheese board, one of my favorite party appetizers.

Albertsons Cheese Board

I love setting out a cheese board with a variety of different cheeses and meats, not only because its easy to throw together, but it’s always a crowd favorite!  This holiday set out a cheese board with a variety of cheese, crackers, bread and fruit for an easy, yet impressive appetizer. This is probably one of the easiest appetizers you’ll make, but it looks way more impressive than a bowl of salsa.

The Perfect Cheese Tray

Specialty Cheese Tray

Putting together a cheese board may feel a little overwhelming with all of the different cheese varieties out there, but here are 5 tips to help you create a cheese board for your next party.

1. Choosing the Cheese

  • Try to include a variety of textures and flavors, select 3-5 different types of cheese from the four different basic cheese categories: aged, soft, firm, or blue.
  • Serve at least one familiar cheese

2. Accompaniments

  • Offer a selection of crackers and breads in all different shapes, textures and sizes for guest to pair with their cheese.
  • Provide sweet and savory condiments, for ease and convince you use jarred condiments like sweet preserves, honey, and spicy mustard.  You can also added things like artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, and olives.
  • Include sweet and salty pairings like cured meats such as prosciutto and salami.  Add assorted seasonal fruits like grapes, pears or dried fruits such as figs, cherries, apricots and cranberries.  For additional texture and flavor add candied nuts or pistachios.

3. Serving Tips

  • Separate strong smelling cheeses on different plates so they don’t over power the other cheeses.
  • Set out a separate knife for each variety of cheese depending on the different types of cheese.
  • The cold mutes the flavor so remove the cheese from the refrigerator an hour before serving.
  • Label each cheese so guest can easily identify the different varieties. You could also include a few notes about each variety to give guest an even better idea of what to expect with each different type of cheese on your cheese board.  I like using a chalkboard tray (which is actually just a sheet of metal I cut and painted with chalkboard paint) to display the cheese.  This way I can write with a chalk paint pen which cheese is which to help guest identify which ones they want to try.

4. How Much Is Enough 

  • Determining how much cheese to serve can be the hardest part of putting a cheese board together.  For an appetizer cheese tray plan on buying 3 to 4 ounces per person, but if your cheese board will be the main event plan on buying 3 pounds for 6-8 people, 6 pounds for 16 and 9 pounds for 24.

Cheese Tray Gouda

Specialty Herb Goat Cheese

Set out small appetizer plates for guest to sample and try their favorites, but don’t be surprised if guest steal little nibbles as they walk by.  A beautiful and delicious cheese tray is hard to resist! Meat and Cheese Appetizer Tray And if you are still unsure of how to build the perfect cheese board visit your local Albertson’s where you’ll find lots of specialty cheeses and helpful information from friendly.  Plus starting Nov 21- 23 you can receive 25% off all specialty cheese, just in time for your Thanksgiving dinner party!  And that’s not all Albertson’s wants one of you to win a cheese basket full of delicious goodies worth over $100.  The giveaway run from 111/14-11/26 and one winner will randomly be selected.  Enter with the Rafflecopter widget below.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Mariah

Mariah

Mariah Leeson is the creative mind behind www.gigglesgalore.net. With a passion for celebrating, Mariah created Giggles Galore to inspire families to celebrate life’s little moments with creative, budget friendly ideas. She loves cooking, reading, crafting, hosting parties and most of all spending time giggling with her family.
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30 Comments

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Comments

  1. Lisa Breece says

    November 15, 2014 at 3:58 am

    I love all cheeses, but my favorite is sharp cheddar.

    Reply
  2. Courtney h says

    November 15, 2014 at 3:47 pm

    My favorite type is havarti

    Reply
  3. Marie says

    November 17, 2014 at 10:46 pm

    A variety of cheeses would be amazing!

    Reply
  4. Cristy says

    November 18, 2014 at 6:31 pm

    Wine and cheese – the perfect pairing for holiday gatherings! Love the cheese board!

    Reply
  5. Layne says

    November 18, 2014 at 8:08 pm

    Yum – we love cheeses so any of these would be amazing .

    Reply
  6. Susan Noble says

    November 18, 2014 at 10:12 pm

    I love cheese! My favorite during the Holiday time is Goat cheese with cinnamon and cranberry. I love cheddar, Gouda, Brick, Brie, and a variety of others on my cheese boards for entertaining. Look forward to using these great tips for my holiday parties this year as I always have a cheese board tray and fruit tray.

    Reply
    • Mariah says

      November 20, 2014 at 5:18 am

      Oh yum Susan, I have to get your recipe for Goat cheese with cinnamon and cranberry…that sounds delicious!

      Reply
  7. Tonya (Soiree Event Design) says

    November 18, 2014 at 10:44 pm

    Love cheeseboards. Such a great idea for holiday entertaining. EASY & YUMMY!

    Reply
  8. Lindi Haws says

    November 18, 2014 at 11:57 pm

    After spending months in France, I am a sucker for Camembert. I can’t get enough! Super cute idea girly!

    Reply
    • Mariah says

      November 20, 2014 at 5:18 am

      Officially jealous Lindi, I would love to spend months in France! On the bucket list for sure. 🙂

      Reply
  9. Toni Thomson says

    November 20, 2014 at 3:03 am

    Yummy! I love cheese and this cheese board is fab!

    Reply
  10. Paula Biggs @ Frog Prince Paperie says

    November 24, 2014 at 3:38 pm

    ALL great tips! Cheese boards are a great party staple for a reason–they are fabulous!

    Reply
  11. Jennifer ~ BellaGrey Designs says

    November 24, 2014 at 3:56 pm

    Great idea for holiday entertaining!

    Reply
  12. Keisha - Cupcake Wishes & Birthday Dreams says

    November 24, 2014 at 6:58 pm

    Love a good meat and cheese tray! Love how you put everything together.

    Reply
  13. Digital Mom says

    November 24, 2014 at 9:08 pm

    Anything spicy! I love a good spicy cheese with crackers.

    Reply
  14. Autumn @MamaChallenge says

    November 25, 2014 at 11:47 am

    I could eat nothing but cheese!

    Reply
  15. Carli Eklund says

    November 25, 2014 at 5:39 pm

    Love sharp white cheddar!

    Reply
  16. Belinda says

    November 25, 2014 at 8:59 pm

    I love cheese! My faves are medium cheddar, feta, and munster!

    Reply
  17. Jamie Roubinek says

    November 27, 2014 at 2:06 am

    I learn about new cheese all of the time. Like for instance, I had never heard of White Stilton with Cranberries but it’s so pretty that I want to eat it! 🙂

    Reply
  18. Stephanie F. says

    November 27, 2014 at 2:26 am

    I like muenster and cheddar cheese. :’)

    Reply
  19. Laurie Lichtenstein says

    November 27, 2014 at 2:54 am

    i love cheese Pepper Jack adds interest to my cheese board

    Reply
  20. Laurie Lichtenstein says

    November 27, 2014 at 2:55 am

    I really enjoy Pepper Jack cheese. It adds interest to a cheese board.

    Reply
  21. Jill says

    December 3, 2014 at 3:58 pm

    Great tips! Thanks for sharing just in time for the holidays!
    Thank you for stopping by the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop this week. We hope to see you drop by our neck of the woods next week!

    Reply
  22. Lynn says

    November 10, 2015 at 5:25 pm

    One of my family’s favorite evenings is game night with a meat/cheese tray that we snack on all evening. Ours has been rather higgledy piggledy thrown together in the past, so thanks for the guidance. We’ll put it in play over the holidays I’m sure.

    Have a great week.

    Lynn

    Reply
    • Mariah says

      November 16, 2015 at 1:17 am

      What a fun family tradition Lynn. And you are absolutely right, a cheese board is perfect for family game night!

      Reply
  23. Marie at the Interior Frugalista says

    November 13, 2015 at 10:11 am

    Pinning this to share and refer back to when I prepare for our annual Sleigh Ride gathering. I’ve always been hit and miss when putting together my cheeseboard, but now I can do it with intention and purpose. Thanks for the tips!

    Reply
    • Mariah says

      November 16, 2015 at 1:10 am

      Thanks Marie! Can we just talk about how lovely an annual Sleigh Ride gathering sounds, that just sounds like the perfect way to celebrate the holidays with friends and family!

      Reply
  24. Kimberly Lewis says

    November 14, 2015 at 4:14 pm

    This is perfect! Pinned and tweeted. We appreciate you taking the time to party with us! I hope to see you on Monday at 7 pm, so we get to see your fabulous new creations. The party goes until Friday at 7 pm. Happy Saturday! Lou Lou Girls

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Pineapple Cheese Ball - Giggles Galore says:
    November 21, 2014 at 5:31 am

    […] entertaining this holiday season you don’t want to miss my tips for putting together the perfect cheese board and you absolutely must add this pineapple cheese ball recipe to your party […]

    Reply
  2. Holiday Cranberry Punch - Giggles Galore says:
    November 24, 2014 at 10:21 pm

    […] they can be enjoying great conversations with family and friends! So make your favorite party food, cheese boards are one of my go-to entertaining favorites, load up your plates with good food, pour yourself a […]

    Reply

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Welcome, I’m Mariah the creative mind behind Giggles Galore. I’m an event stylist, creative consultant, blogger, social butterfly and multi-tasking mom. I believe that the little details are what set ordinary events apart from EXTRAORDINARY events! [Read More …]

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