Shelly Westerhausen - Platters and Boards: Beautiful, Casual Spreads for Every Occasion

You may have discovered your favorite cheese on the appetizer table at a siblings wedding. Maybe your favorite night out is a drink and crudits with your best friends. Perhaps your first date was over a pot of chocolate fondue, spearing a variety of fruits and breads to drag through the dark, warm, sweet melt. Whatever your connection to boards and platters may be, this book is meant to take those special and celebratory moments of bonding over shared food into the realm of the everyday.

Have you been eyeing a beautiful walnut cutting board or a slab of slate to use as a cheese plate? This book will tell you how to make the most of all sorts of beautiful surfaces to arrange and display memorable meals and snacks. With the trend of boards taking center stage in the exploding food scene at places such as Meat & Cheese in Aspen, Colorado, Cheese & Crack Snack Shop in Portland, Oregon, and the Cheese Plate in New Paltz, New York, Platters and Boardsis the perfect guide to help you bring these spreads into your own home.

Platters, boards, and spreads are perfect as fancy or casual starters, meals, or desserts, for a group of any size. Boards can be scaled up or down to accommodate two to two hundred hungry (or noshy) people. All the recipes in this book can easily be halved, quartered, tripled, or quadrupled to fit your needs. Youll find tips and tricks for sizing your board to fit your guest count in the first chapter.

Nothing is more versatile than a meal built on a board; it is a blank canvas for your creativity... or leftovers. Its a great way to use up whatever vegetables, cheeses, jams, or meats you have hanging around in your refrigerator, or use it as an opportunity to try new foods. Take a trip to that new cheese shop youve been meaning to visit or spend some time in the bulk section of your grocery store picking out an array of bulk foods worth adding to a board. Its the perfect excuse to buy a chunk of that fancy chocolate youve wanted to try or to strike up a conversation with someone at your local wine shop or winery about pairing suggestions. These artisan items elevate your creation to a conversation piece at the dinner table or your next party; people love trying new things, and boards allow them to sample a little bit of everything.

The process of putting a board together is almost as enjoyable as the noshing itself. Whether you are interested in using up what you have on hand or trying something new, take this as an opportunity to get inspired and be creative. Platters are easy to curate seasonally by featuring fruits and vegetables that are currently thriving in your area. They can also be built around a theme or the kind of items you have in your cabinet and refrigerator. Of course there are lots of ideas in this book for you, too.

Many of the boards in this book are centered around cheese, but dont let that fool you; boards and platters can be more than just cheese boards!