This summer I’ve really been into charcuterie boards (I’ve had two of them). Not going to lie – up until three months ago, I didn’t know what charcuterie was. To me, it’s called a meat and cheese board. Otherwise known as the appetizer I huddle over at every family party. They’re fun to get at restaurants, bring to a potluck, or just make to snack on at home. 

My mom and I recently hosted a wine tasting party through Wine Shop at Home and we had a lot of fun putting together our own charcuterie board. The best part about it was that everything was from Aldi. Artisan cheese & meat can get expensive, but luckily we were able to put this board together for a fraction of the price that it’d normally cost. Aldi has an awesome selection of everything you’d need for a charcuterie board. All the food in this picture ended up being right around $50. Some of it was actually used for a different recipe that is pictured below (tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil).

If you’re hosting a wine tasting party, the types of cheese you’ll buy depend on what wine you’re sampling. In this case we bought 7 different types of cheese, 2 types of salami, and added some fruit and nuts in the mix. There’s really not one “right way” to make a charcuterie board — just make sure you have a variety of cheese and meat. There should be a little something for everyone!

As far as assembly goes:

1. Keep color and texture in mind when you’re styling your board. I like the look of mixing fresh and dried fruit.
2. Start in the middle and work your way out.
3. Add in the nuts and fruit in places that look a little sparse. Notice in the picture that each cheese is boarded by some type of fruit.
4. Finish the board by adding a few sprigs of fresh rosemary.
5. Add in little ID cards to name each type of cheese. The little chalkboard signs were found in the dollar section at Meijer.

Many people add crackers to their charcuterie board. If you don’t have enough room you can put them on a separate dish like we did here!

If you haven’t hosted a wine tasting party, I’d highly recommend it! Wine Shop at Home has some great wines and party packages to choose from.

Cheers,

Miranda