Building the perfect board
Doesn't matter where I am...whether I'm hosting at my house, showing up to someone else's home or meeting up with friends at the beach. You can always count on me to serve a colorful and healthy board!!
I'm pleased to tell you that it's impossible to put one together that won't get you compliments for presentation. Like for real, impossible! I've been on camping trips and pulled together beautiful boards that people can't resist! I promise, it's as easy as anything could be and it's always a hit.
I started doing boards when I got tired of being the salad person. Don't get me wrong...I still love putting together gorgeous salads but boards are way more fun and you can do anything you want with them. And on top of that, with a board it's much easier to please an entire crowd because you can load that sucker up with EVERYTHING and ANYTHING!!
Finding a good board could very well be the hardest part so let's start with what a "good" board is to me.
1. SIZE MATTERS.
Don't confuse a cutting block for a cheese board! That cutting block is heavy to start with and if you're taking it anywhere you're gonna be bummed. How do I know this? I've made that mistake a few times. Even if you're serving at your own home, using a heavy chopping block will make it a bit more challenging to simply shift your guests from one room to the next (with the food they're munching on, drinks in hand!) because it's a pain in the butt to move something heavy and covered in food!
It's taken me some time and many searches at all my favorite stores...but I've finally got a pretty nice selection of boards I use regularly. I recently bought a huge one that kinda looks like a big paddle (at Cost Plus World Markets) and I love it!! Definitely have a couple of them that vary in size so that depending on the number of people you're serving you can squeeze on a little something for everyone. And if you're the type of person that likes things simple and neat, stick to smaller boards that complement each other so you can have a few out without it looking all hodgepodge - presentation IS everything!
2. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Living in LA, everyone is on some kind of diet, all the time!! No joke. Some people are doing Keto, or only eat Paleo, have decided to go vegan, don't eat fruit, will only eat nuts if they're raw...I mean, it'skinda funny and yet so true! Side note - I've totally been that person so I'm not judging!
The beauty of a board is that you can do whatever you want with it. I'm someone who loves to make everyone happy (and I love hearing how amazing my boards are!), so I try to consider my audience. I've got a good friend who is part of a super tight Crossfit group. Tight as in close, like that they're all good friends...but I guess also tight as in they workout and have tight bodies. Anyway, when I'm going to a BBQ at her house and I know she's invited a bunch of friends from Crossfit, I'm gonna make a board that appeals to them! Cheeses, meats, veggies, hummus and nuts will be devoured!! When I'm preparing for brunch with my girlfriends I like to color coordinate items on my board. Silly. Borderline ridiculous, I know, but I LOVE it!! So for my girls I might do salami, prosciutto, fresh berries, raspberry jam, some St. Andre's cheese and those delicious Raincoast crisps (the cranberry and hazelnut ones). And I'd serve Rose and pop a pink flower or two right on the board or in cute, tiny little vases! If you know there are going to be kids, do fun stuff that they'll enjoy and be able to eat without making a nasty mess. Think veggies, fruits, salami, hard cheese that's already cut or cubed and maybe even put an nice white bowl of Pirate's Booty on it. Get crackers they'll eat. It's been my experience that kids don't usually like the fancy crackers that look pretty and artisanal to us. According to my kids those are gross and they'd rather not eat a cracker at all if the "healthy ones" are the only option. Also fun for a kids board are crunchy breadsticks or the Trader Joe's Honey Wheat pretzel sticks.
3. FOOD IS ART - GET CREATIVE
Make it fun and let your inner artist out! I try to pull as much color as I can onto my boards. Sometimes, when I have the extra time and I'm feeling creative, I'll literally create what I think is a masterpiece! I get it, some people would never waste time trying to create art out of food, but if you're reading this still I think you and me are the types that would gladly spend hours prepping something we're going to serve. Am I right?
Just because it's a board doesn't mean it has to be boring. I always have little dishes scattered around my boards. It adds color if you want, style and an extra touch that says yep I'm next level. I love using tiny white dishes for things like hummus, jam, honey and quince paste. It's also nice to have small bowls or cups for things that might roll around...like grapes or tomatoes. And nuts. Whoa nuts. With so many nut allergies I've found that keeping those lil suckers in bowls, not touching the other food, is a great idea!!
Get creative with some of the food you're putting on your board too. Some of the best jams I've discovered have been things served on a board at a friend's house. Get a not so basic fig or raspberry jam, choose an interesting cracker with herbs and flavor of its own, add a seasonal cheese that you found at your local cheese shop (if you're lucky enough to have one nearby), instead of plain orange carrots use rainbow carrots, instead of sliced red bell peppers use red, yellow and orange, throw on some purple and white cauliflower, different types of radishes - my fave are watermelon radishes!
So what I'm hoping you all get outta this is that you can totally have fun with a board and put your own personal style on it. You don't need to put a million things on it to make it beautiful. Think color, think fresh and think I'll take the win for crowd pleaser!
Here's some of the basic stuff I almost always use:
rainbow carrots
sugar snap peas
radishes
cucumbers
jicama
bell peppers
zucchini
apples
pears
figs
dates
dried apricots
grapes
strawberries
raspberries
fresh local honey
jam
quince paste
nuts
olives
crackers/pita chips/thin sliced fresh sourdough or french bread
meats and all kinds of cheeses
