Harvest Charcuterie Board + Cranberry Rum Bubbly Cocktail

One of my favorite entertaining go-to's is a charcuterie board. Even better is turning it into a charcuterie table.

One of the staples of a charcuterie board is meat. Some of my personal favorites include sopressetta, prosciutto, and a hard salami.

Another staple for a charcuterie board is cheese. I recommend a mix of both hard + soft cheeses. Stella cheese has some really quality, yummy varieties; I grabbed a soft crumbled blue and a hard parmesan.

When it comes to the fruit, embrace seasonality! For a harvest charcuterie board especially, seasonal fruit like apples, pomegranates and grapes are all the rage.

And it needs some crunch! Crackers, nuts, chips, etc. For this board, I also incorporated kettle chips: mesquite BBQ for another orange color and smokier flavor, and maui sweet onion to counter sharper cheeses.

Now it's time to assemble your board! If you make it more of a table like mine, I like to stretch butcher paper or brown craft paper taut across the table. I also use little pieces of masking tape under the table to keep it in place.

Start by placing your "cornerstone" pieces around the board. For this harvest board, I made sure they were seasonal and went with pumpkins!

Think in waves! Start by waving + wrapping other elements around your cornerstones to begin building up and fleshing out your board.

I added rows of crackers next to pumpkins, or waved apple slices around a tub of Stella blue cheese crumbles. It’s an easy way to get it going and create groupings that can repeat themselves in other places on the table.

Meat presentation hacks: Use long toothpicks to skewer meats and fan them out for added texture. Wrap pretzel rods in prosciutto! Prosciutto is yummy, but not  pretty, It pairs well with pretzels so wrap them up for added flavor and texture!

As you’re creating your charcuterie board, don’t be afraid to step back for a birds eye view to see what needs more where. Ideally, everyone will have everything within reach.

And now for the drink! All you'll need for this Cranberry Rum Bubbly Cocktail is rum, cranberry juice, ginger ale, and sugar for the rim. Go to the blog post for details on how to put this together!

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