There is something very special about this festive time of year where friends and family call on one another and share time together celebrating. Family visits, Christmas brunches, church celebrations, caroling parties, game nights, and New Year’s Eve parties, among many other merry gatherings, fill this time of year with fellowship in our homes and the homes of others.
One thoughtful, beautiful, and creative gift to serve or bring with you as you travel this holiday season is a charcuterie board filled with the fresh and colorful bounties of this winter season.
Juicy citrus, sweet jams and nuts, honey drizzled cheese and crackers, crunchy fresh veggies, and so much more can be crafted together on the same wooden board to create a spectacular and decadent array of hors d’oeuvres to gift and share.
Enjoy creating this sumptuous, yet easy board with those around you this Christmastime, and let your creativity guide you. Happy New Year!
Note: All the ingredients for this lovely board, as well as the suggested items to mix and match at the end of this post can be found at Weaver’s Orchard.
- Prep Time: 5 min, 10 min,20 min
- Cook Time: 20-30 min
- Total Time: 55-60 min
Ingredients
Candied Pecans:
- 2 cups Weaver’s bulk pecans
- 2 tbsp. local honey
- 2 tsp. sea salt
Sugared Cranberries:
- 12 oz bag cranberries
- 1 egg white
- 1 tbsp. water
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Board:
- 1 pomegranate
- 1 blood orange
- 1 grapefruit
- 2 bartlett pears
- Original Bellavitano Cheese
- Merlot Bellavitano Cheese
- Montchevre Honey Goat Cheese
- Di Bruno Bros. Pinot Grigo & Fig Cheese Spread
- Olli Salumeria Soppressata
- 1 box Firehook Multigrain Flax Baked Crackers
- Di Bruno Bros. Fig & Acacia Honey Jam
- Di Bruno Bros. Strawberry & Prosecco Jam
- 1 jar local (or Weaver’s) honey
- ½ pint mini sweet peppers
- 1 bunch homegrown carrots
- ½ pint mixed whole nuts
- 2 cups candied pecans
- 2 cups sugared cranberries
Instructions
Candied Pecans
- First, preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread pecans evenly over surface.
- Drizzle honey over nuts and sprinkle sea salt.
- Bake the pecans for 10-15 mins or until honey starts to caramelize and nuts are slightly darker in color. Cool and store in airtight container.
Sugared Cranberries
- Preheat the oven to 200 Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Rinse and strain cranberries, then put in a bowl.
- Whisk egg white with water in a separate, wide bowl.
- Sift confectioner’s sugar onto a plate.
- A handful at a time, toss the cranberries into the egg mixture, then roll cranberries in the sugar, coating well. Place sugar-coated cranberries onto the baking sheet and repeat until all cranberries have been coated.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a few cranberries have burst and their juice is oozing.
- Let cool completely before handling. Stores best uncovered and in a single layer.
Board Building
- Slice citrus and pears, and break the pomegranate into chunks.
- Peel carrots and cut into matchsticks. Slice peppers in half or leave whole.
- Next, assemble all of your ingredients in front of you on the counter, ready to go. This makes board building much easier since you can use your artistic sense to add a little bit of this here and a little bit of that there, filling in gaps and balancing ingredients and colors.
- While there is no specific way to organize a board, it may be helpful to start with your biggest items. Arrange cheeses, jarred items and any pretty glass or ceramic containers filled with homemade candied pecans and sugared cranberries on your board.
- Next, I recommend adding piles of carrots to several parts of the board, as well as pomegranate chunks, piles of pear, grapefruit and blood orange slices, and piles of crackers wherever you like best. These can be placed all over in random places or in very tidy rows and shapes. The creativity is up to you! Continue adding until your board is bursting with ingredients, variety and colors.
- Some tricks: Scatter whole nuts and peppers into gaps and corners of your board that are open. Place sugared cranberries and loose pomegranate earls by and on cheeses to add a pop of color. Add salami last and tuck into any crevices.
- Replenish board items throughout the night with leftovers as needed. Enjoy!
Notes
Time: 1 hour (35 minutes active)
Makes: 1 large festive charcuterie board, serves 15-20
Additional Weaver’s Ingredient Ideas:
- Meliora Baked Focaccia Bites
- Di Bruno Bros. Spicy Soppressata
- Ile de France Brie
- Sicilian olives
- Bella Pizzelle
- Di Bruno Bros. Cocoa Hazelnut Biscotti
- Figs
- Clementines
- Apples
- Herb sprigs for decorating