Chapter News

A Tasty Board Meeting: December Virtual Happy Hour Recap

Charcuterie boards are much more than meats and cheeses as on-line members learned when they took part in last week’s PCMA Gulf States Chapter Happy Hour which was highlighted by a presentation from Inspiration Catering of Arlington, Texas.

The audience was treated to Inspiration Catering owners Kristene and Manny Toledo’s visual and descriptive solutions to how to construct and display charcuterie boards which one could provide as a gift or for use at their own gatherings.

The example board the Toledo’s displayed was a Mediterranean-themed board which had an array of different meats and cheeses with fruit and olives. There were also some interesting nuances that included a hollowed artichoke filled with – their own Mediterranean-style dip and then a solid honey comb on the board to allow the sweetness to slightly infiltrate some of the meats.

“Another thing on your boards that you might want to keep in mind is to have different types of cheeses,” Kristene explained. “You want to have a soft cheese, a semi-hard cheese and then, of course, something that is a little bit harder.”

The Toledo’s recommended using local farmer products for the freshest and best tasting items. They also suggested being aware of where different meats and cheeses are placed on the board as not to have the different scents of the different meats and cheeses take away from each other.

Other special items Kristene mentioned to put toward the end of your board would be items like blueberries, nuts and dark chocolate. She also suggested when laying out your board to leave part of the whole cheese like a large wedge and not cut all of it. “People can cut it when they get there,” she said. “It just looks really pretty on there.”

Non-edible items like small flowers, rosemary, etc. can help the look and feel of the board, she added.

Manny discussed some different wines that would be paired appropriately with cheeses noting that wine, whiskey and beer all work relatively well.

“Cabernet pairs well with blue cheese,” Manny said, adding that cabernet works well with Gouda as well, “The wine doesn’t take anything away from the cheese and the cheese doesn’t take anything away from the wine.” Manny said for whiskey pairings that “strong cheeses” like sharp cheeses are good partners.

Many questions from the audience surrounded different themed boards, like a Southern Charm board, Mexican board or New Year’s board.

To watch the program and pick up some ideas for your next gathering, please click here.

To contact Inspiration Catering go to the website at https://inspirationscatering.net

 

Jena VonderhaarA Tasty Board Meeting: December Virtual Happy Hour Recap