What My Fancy Mom Thinks You Should Bring to a 4th of July Party

And here she is! (If you don’t know about my Fancy Mom, catch up here)

It’s hot, and nobody feels like cooking. One of the easiest ways to entertain this weekend is to construct an epic charcuterie board. This is more of a shopping exercise than cooking. A great charcuterie can stand in for a light dinner, and give everyone a little bit of something they love. Here are the basic elements I use to make a beautiful and satisfying creation.

First, you’ll need a large board. Large. It’s nicer to have it all contained on a single board that you can move around. I like a board like this 30” version even for a group as small as 6. It gives you plenty of real estate to play with.

The first set of ingredients I start with are cheeses. Get larger pieces than you’ll finish just for the opulence of it. It looks prettier to have the board anchored with a few large cheeses that include a variety such as a blue cheese, a creamy round cheese, a yellow cheese and a goat cheese. You’ll set your cheeses out on the board and build items around each one that go with that cheese.

It’s nice to have a pâté and possibly some smoked fish. Smoked salmon or trout work well. As does an open can of fancy sardines. Around the pâté or sardines, place some cornichon and pitted olives. If you’re using salmon, place some capers and chopped red onion alongside.

Next, think about the meats you’ll use. I like to roll up slices of prosciutto, spread out some slices of interesting salami or whatever the deli section can provide that looks a bit exotic. Thinly sliced smoked duck breast is wonderful if you can find it.

Place appropriate condiments next to the meats. It’s beautiful to have at least two types of mustard next to the deli meats. I like a green tarragon mustard, horseradish dijon and a grainy mustard. You can set these out in their bottles so that people know what they are, or you can portion them out in tiny white porcelain containers like this.

Then, begin filling in the space with:

• Dried fruit such as cherries and apricots. (These both provide good color.)

• Tiny containers of nuts such as toasted walnut halves and marcoma almonds.

• A small container of honey next to the dried fruit and nuts.

• Fresh ripe fruits such as figs, apricots, berries, grapes, kumquot and peaches. These make a beautiful filler. Use whatever is fresh and delicious.

• Crunchy raw veggies such as radishes, carrots (cut into sticks….NOT the prefab “baby carrots”), or asparagus tips (the top 3”) should be snuggled in next to the cheeses they pair best with.

Finally, insert the crackers and bread slices. I like to have a few types of crackers: a seed cracker, a flatbread cracker and a cheesy biscuit. Thin baguette slices that are lightly toasted with butter are great too. As are some pretty containers of gourmet potato chips.

General tips:

• Place everything close together and try to create height. Pick tall cheeses to provide height. Fluff up your prosciutto into a tall pile or roll meats up and stack them so that they stand up off the board.

• Group the sweeter flavors such as fruit, honey and nuts next to the creamy cheeses or blue cheese. And group the savory meats, mustard, cornichon, etc. together with appropriate cheeses and pâtés.

• Include plenty of tiny spoons, cheese knives and forks so that your friends can easily help themselves.

  Have fun!

Your friends,

Laurel & her Fancy Mom