S/O Charcuterie boards

They can be whatever you want them to be! Look on Pinterest for some inspiration and then go from there.  

My boards usually have:
- a variety of cured Italian meats (proscuitto etc) from the Italian market near me

- cheeses--soft and hard. Usually a brie bc my family loves it, but also some hard sharp cheese and something smoked

- jam--Stonewall Kitchen or Trader Joes red pepper jelly or Stonewall garlic onion jam (or something similar)

- olives (I pick up jars of interesting olives when I see them) or from the olive bar at the grocery store, and some regular old canned black olives or DD will riot!

- Dried and fresh fruit -- whatever looks good --grapes, berries etc., pomegranates when in season

- assortment of crackers, toasted baguettes etc

- dark chocolate chunks or sometimes a fruit covered in dark chocolate 

- fresh vegetables like radishes, snap peas etc.

- nuts --salted almonds, flavored almonds etc


ETA: There's a good subreddit r/charcuterie for good inspiration too

If you have a Trader Joe’s I would check them out. We do figs rather then apricots (allergies, not due to flavor). I think the most important part is having a variety of cheeses, some soft, some hard, some sweet, some with unusual flavors, etc.
Trader Joe’s has the best cheeses at good prices. Definitely get the one with the red wine crust, it is the best! Some places call it Drunken Goat (it is not chèvre, just a hard cheese made with goat’s milk ), I don’t remember what they call it at TJs, but it is always the first one gone off the board.

I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to charcuterie boards! Mine are never as fancy as those I’ve pinned, but I agree with ops. Put your favorites on there, Trader Joe’s and even Aldis has pre made, fancier options.

DH and I will have "charcuterie night" for dinner occasionally. We don't make it into a board/display, we just fix our own plates. It's nice to have something acidic available, because the meats and cheeses are fatty. We have done various pickles, DH likes olives, we had a roasted red pepper spread from Trader Joe's that was really good. We like to have 2-3 kinds of each item: meats, cheeses, we get an assorted pack of crackers so there are options there too. Or the little garlic toast rounds are good. We have never done a jam type item, I might check that out for next time. Basically, I just walk around the deli area of the store and pick out whatever looks good. The challenge is usually restraining myself so we don't end up with way more than the 2 of us can eat over a few days.

Flowergirl has a pretty comprehensive list. I must try dark chocolate too!
I also often add cherry tomatoes and cucumber strips, the tomatoes add some color. But you can’t go wrong, really.
If you search grazing table on Pinterest you see a lot of examples.

Great thread. So many ideas!

A friend of mine orders from this place often. You might find some ideas here: boardandbordeaux.com/

Thank you for this!  Bookmarking in the event that we ever get to entertain again.  

For vegetarian and WFPB friends I make sure we have:

• olive tapenade
• tomato bruschetta spread
• hummus and/or cashew butter
• vegan cream cheese/cheese wheels (everyone devours any and everything Miyoko's)

I don’t know, I like food so I like anything on a charcuterie board, even the dried apricots which are good with both a nice sharp hard cheddar and with Brie.

Sliced or bite sized pieces of everything you & your family like should be good

My family has gotten competitive with multi layer charcuterie boards with many many things.

I saw one on Half Baked Harvest that had a Mediterranean theme, complete with a swirl of hummus. Looked delish!

Great suggestions! Thanks for the thread, OP!

Oh do it! DH and I share a small charcuterie for dinner at least a couple of times a week with a glass or two of wine. Meats and cheeses and pickles and olives keep well in the fridge.

Prosciutto!!!! It must be on the board! 😋
Genoa and hard salami
Turkey slices
Pepperoni
Pate
Brie
Colby jack cheese
Goat cheese
Feta
Munster
Manchego
Mustard-dijon and the seedy version of dijon (can’t remember its name)
Whatever other types of condiments you enjoy.
Some people like jelly-I almost never put the jelly on anything
Grapes
Black olives
Green olives
Pepperchinis
Strawberries
Pears
Crackers. Any kind works. We use 3-4 kinds
Sliced baguette. Sometimes it’s lightly toasted

Pretty much any kind of meats, cheeses, fruits, and condiments you like. Part of the fun is arranging everything on the platter so it’s pretty to look at while you graze.