TRICK OR TREAT CHEESEBOARD

TRICK OR TREAT CHEESEBOARD

I get to wear a lot of hats at Di Bruno Bros. but one of my favorite parts of the job is photographing cheeseboards. They’re fun to put together and even more fun to eat afterwards! I wanted to create a board for Halloween with cheeses that you could pair with all that candy that’s inevitably coming your way. You could nibble on this in between answering the door for Trick or Treaters, or save it for later when you have too much candy in the house. Whatever your excuse (meaning, a perfectly valid reason) to make this, it will serve as an appetizer, dinner AND dessert!

Whenever I put a board together I start with the cheese and build around it. It seems obvious, but it’s easy to get overwhelmed in the store with options, and you could easily end up with things that don’t really go together. I like to choose cheeses that are different in both flavor and texture, but still have a focus – like cheeses that will taste good with chocolate. If you don’t know where to begin just make a beeline to the cheese counter and strike up a conversation with the monger. They’ll point you in the right direction and give you lots of samples too. At the heart of this board I’ve got Beecher’s Flagship Reserve, an award winning cheddar, Rogue River Blue , a spicy blue wrapped in pear brandy-soaked grape leaves and a sweet goat gouda you may know and love, called Brabander.

Have you heard? Rogue River Blue was just awarded the title of WORLD”S BEST CHEESE at the 2019 World Cheese Awards in Bergamo, Italy!

After you’ve chosen your cheese, you can start adding accompaniments like charcuterie, jams, nuts, etc. For this board it was suggested to use a sweet salami to complement the cheese. Then I chose some fall flavors, a Caramel Spiced Pear Jam and Cloister Cinnamon Whipped Honey. Nuts are good addition to any board but Di Bruno Bros.’ Black Lava Cashews deliver the salty/sweet crunch like no other and will fit right in with your chocolate treats. I picked two different textures of crackers that are hard to resist on their own: dark and crunchy Raincoast Crisps and soft and chewy Effie’s Oatcakes. And lastly, I added a few dried orange slices because they make a wonderful cheese vehicle and they look so beautiful on the board!

Assembly is simple. I like to cut up firm cheeses for easy consumption and prefer softer spreadable cheeses whole. Place your cheeses and jars on the board first. These are your anchors. From there you can arrange the other elements around these items. Save the smaller nibbles like nuts and candy for last, because you can pour these things into the remaining nooks and crannies. Make sure to give all your jars individual spoons or spreaders or else things can get messy fast. Arranging boards also allows a lot of room for creativity! Finish with festive elements like flowers or mini pumpkins to make it unique.

BOARD ELEMENTS:

• 8 oz Beecher’s Flagship Reserve
• 8 oz Rogue River Blue
• 8 oz Brabander Goat Gouda
• 4 oz Veroni Salami Milano
• Di Bruno Bros. Black Lava Cashews
• Effie’s Oatcakes
• Raincoast Crisps, Date and Almond
• Cloister Cinnamon Whipped Honey
• Caramel Spiced Pear Jam
• Dardiman’s Dried Orange Slices
• Halloween candy of your choosing! Chocolate based treats will pair best, but don’t let that stop you from adding candy corn and gummy worms!

PAIRINGS:

• Brabander, Spiced Caramel Pear Jam, Effie’s Oatcake
• Rogue RIver Blue, Dardiman’s Dried Orange
• Beecher’s Flagship Reserve, Veroni Salami Milano, Cloister Cinnamon Honey

Where will you be this Halloween? Trick or Treating? Hosting a fabulous costume party? On the couch bingeing on horror flicks? Share your cheeseboards with us! #dibrunobros