My contribution to a recent high school class reunion was going to be an hors d’oeuvre, so I thought it would be fun to do a cheese board and show you how easy it was Creating A Cheese Board For A Crowd.
A Class Reunion To Remember
If you’ve ever been on a committee to plan a class reunion, you know, it can be stressful. By stress I mean; finding the right time of the year, charging an acceptable amount, picking the perfect food and then, of course, getting people there. You would think this all would be a no-brainer since I live in a very small town and my graduating class consisted of 120 members. Yes, 120. Maybe stress isn’t the right word, but when you are people pleaser wanting everyone to be happy it can be something to worry about.
The evening was perfect! The weather was unseasonably warm, there was not one bite of meat left over, the homemade desserts were delicious, the music was very well chosen, and everyone said it was a great time and “best reunion yet”! As for as the number of people attending, it can always be better. We had six classmates travel from out of state and one from London. You can’t beat that. Kudos to those who made the trek to be part of the fun. We even had three teachers and some of the best spouses ever! What I really loved was hearing people talk about the next reunion. These are people committed to keeping this tradition alive and happening for a long time. Isn’t that great!
Creating A Cheese Board For A Crowd
When creating a cheese Board for a crowd, it’s best to, of course, start with the cheese. In the picture above, I was pairing the flavors and laying out the colors for the presentation. I decided to make two boards and spread out the food making it easier to grab. I enlisted my husband Tom and Dave’s wife Sarah to be my assistants, and it made it fun. I guess the most important task was to get the labels on the cheese as soon as the wrappers were removed. I knew it would be tough to remember the flavors and I wouldn’t be standing by the hors d’oeuvre table naming the cheese, so I made tags.
I headed to Trader Joe’s for the cheese because I didn’t want large chunks and I wanted a variety. I chose an Italian Truffle Cheese, English Cheddar (Tina and Mike came from London), White Stilton with Cranberries, Blue Cheese, and a Cotswold Double Gloucester. I also added two dips; a Curried Carrot and Cashew Dip (great orange color for the season) a Cilantro and Chive Yogurt Dip, and bruschetta. All very good!
Next Up – The Meat And Crackers
Sarah rolled the meat which included sausage, prosciutto, and an herb seasoned turkey. We positioned each board with stacks of each meat. The crackers were a basic rice cracker, a multi-grain cracker, and Italian breadsticks.
Garnishes – The Final Touch
The garnishes are the final touch. I like to think they add ‘the pretty.’ The garnishes started with the salty, including calamata and green olives and then pistachio nuts were scattered about. For the sweet garnishes, we added figs, apricots, dried cranberries, and Halloween gummy worms. I love anything gummy. Grapers were the last thing added. We filled all the holes with clusters of grapes. They were the finishing touch.
The Braunschweiger Ball
If you’ve been following Sock Box 10 for a while, you know that last fall I did a post on the beloved Braunschweiger Ball. It’s a treat that’s always a part of our pre-Thanksgiving meal. One of the spouses in the group has an onion allergy, so I made a baby braunschweiger ball for him. Isn’t it cute? I just had to include it for posterity reasons, of course.
Location Location Location
I can’t say enough about the beautiful location we had for our reunion. One of our classmates offered his pole barn, and it turned out to be the perfect setting for the event. In the pictures above we are getting ready for the crowd to arrive. It was fun working together with everyone and catching up at the same time.
I hope you’ve learned something new about assembling a cheese board. I like that cheese boards can be all shapes and sizes and created around the season. Do you have a tip to share? Please consider leaving a comment below.
Did you go to a class reunion this year? If you have one coming up in the next year, please consider going. It really is a tradition that needs a little shot in the arm and a lot of reviving. Go Midgets!
Thanks for stopping by, Rose