Maria Zizka - Boards, Platters, Plates: Recipes for Entertaining, Sharing, and Snacking

Maria Zizka

Photographs by Erin Scott

Artisan | New York

For Graham

frizzled shallot dip + potato chips + Marcona almonds + olives

romesco + charred green onions + anchovy toasts + Manchego

* party size *

tiny roasted summer squashandgoat cheese sandwiches + tiny ham-and-butter sandwiches + seven-minute eggs + radishes + Comt + cornichons

baked cheese + garlic-rubbed baguette croutons + chicories + fig jam + apricots

cauliflower pakoras + yogurt-mint sauce + mango chutney + masala cashews

chilled pickled shrimp + tortilla chips + mango-jalapeo salsa + avocado

radish-cucumber-chicken salad + leafy green tangle + country-style bread + grapes

hummus + muhammara + labne + radishes + olive-oil marinated cheese + pita bread

* party size *

beet dip with pine nut crunch + lemon-basil white bean dip + quick pickles + honeyed ricotta + prosciutto and melon + seeded crackers

fresh mozzarella and cherry tomato bites + pistachio pesto + olive tapenade + focaccia

grilled vegetables + green goddess sauce + seven-minute eggs + flatbread crackers

vegan rainbow rolls + peanut dipping sauce + jicama + pineapple + vegetable chips

cured meats + provolone + spicy pepper mayonnaise + iceberg slaw + sesame loaf

baked new potatoes + real bacon bits + garlic-chive butter + sour cream

pita chips + crispy chickpeas + harissa-sumac sauce + manouri cheese + black olives

steamed rice + spicy tuna filling + nori + shichimi togarashi + edamame

* party size *

Parmigiano twists + garlic-anchovy dipping sauce + balsamic vinegar dip + summer vegetables + Italian cheeses

aioli + haricots verts + boiled potatoes + Nioise olives + shrimp + seven-minute eggs

* party size *

bite-size latkes + homemade applesauce + sour cream + smoked salmon + sliced cucumber + dill

oysters on the half shell + vodka mignonette sauce + lemony frise + buttered toast

bulgogi-style beef + lettuce cups with so many herbs + gochujang dipping sauce + kimchi

* party size *

popcorn chicken + cornbread bites + hot honey + homemade ranch + carrots and celery + cabbage ribbons

smoked salmon + caper berry cream cheese spread + pickled green onions + crackers

lamb kofta + yogurt-mint sauce + herb salad + pita bread

lemon-rosemary shortbread + chocolate bark + gluten-free coconut macaroons

* party size *

tahini swirl brownies + chocolate-dipped strawberries + chocolate-hazelnut spread + pretzels + dark chocolate truffles + chocolatepeanut butter cups + mixed nuts + figs + plums

sugared grapes + green apples + salted caramel sauce + candied walnut crunch

graham crackers + toasted marshmallows + warm chocolate sauce

hibiscus-glazed scones + barely whipped cream + berry jam + fresh fruit

halva-stuffed dates + honeycomb + baklava + figs

Enjoying a meal on a board starts off with appreciation for the foods beauty: ripe fruit cut into bite-size pieces begging to be picked up, crunchy seeded crackers peeking out from behind paper-thin slices of prosciutto folded like billowy linens, creamy dips with warm breads to drag through them. The presentation of the board gives you flexibility in how you go about enjoying it. You can jump around from component to component, a bite of this followed by a bite of that, or home in on one element at a time. There are no rules to creating a boardyou can have dips and spreads, sandwiches and sliders, vegetables or fruitsbut in a well-crafted board, everything goes together. And boards are fun; you eat with your hands, not a fork and knife.

Putting together a board is cooking, for sure, but it often feels more like a combination of foraging, matchmaking, and composing. The hardest part is usually gathering all the delicious ingredients. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind:

1. Looks matter. We eat with our eyes first, so make sure to consider a boards appearance. Arrange the multiple components in a natural way (i.e., composed but not painstakingly tweezered into place). Keep it real and let the food fall where it falls, especially if that happens to be a little off the edge. Whenever possible, choose a medley of colorful ingredients.
2. Stay flexible. Part of the beauty of a good board is that it can sit out on your table for a couple of hours without wilting or getting cold. Most board foods arent too temperature sensitive, and if they are, you can always keep them well chilled by serving them on a bed of crushed ice, like oysters on the half shell.
3. Make it fun to eat. Boards are interactive and shouldnt require plates or utensils. All you need are your hands or maybe a toothpick. And go for dips galore, because who doesnt love dipping?
4. Embrace store-bought components. A board should have a variety of componentsideally three or morebut nobody has all day to cook everything from scratch. Assembling a board ought to be less time-consuming than cooking a multicourse meal. Thats where store-bought ingredients come in. Most avid cooks will tell you that homemade foods are superior to their supermarket counterparts. But there are countless exceptions to this rule: crunchy candied walnuts, spicy harissa, specialty crackers of all types (seeded, flatbread-style, whole-wheat), jarred roasted peppers, and berry jam, just to name a few. Many of these store-bought foods are right at home on a board. They might not be the centerpiece component, but they do help make a board more bountiful, without asking for hardly any of your time.

On the topic of store-bought ingredients, whether youre buying fruits and vegetables or a bag of tortilla chips, always choose the highest-quality ingredients you can afford. Buy fresh breads, cookies, and pastries (like baklava for the for some favorite store-bought brands to try, and embrace the search for producers that you admire and trust.

Determining a boards precise yield is tricky. Much depends on the eater(s) and the occasion. Sometimes, you might want to make a board as a complete meal. Other times, you might assemble two or three boards and serve them together to friends. Most of the recipes in this book serve two hungry people. All the recipes scale easily; you can double or triple the quantities for a single component, or you can fill out a board by including additional components such as a sliced avocado or a few bunches of grapes. If you're gathering with a group, check out the party-size boards for feasts to feed eight to ten people.

Please dont be afraid to substitute ingredients. Make the most of gorgeous seasonal produce. If sweet peppers look especially perky at the market, go ahead and use them in place of the radishes in the .