Cheese and Meats, etc.
"Ratatouille" is one of my absolute favorite movies, and it makes me crave French food as if it were my favorite thing in the world. To be fair, I haven't tried much of French food. I've never been too much of a fan of cheese, but for some reason, I have been dying to make a charcuterie board with some brie. I see TikTok's of the art of charcuterie almost every time I go on my search feed, and I took it as a sign to be more open with my tastes. The closest thing I would usually get to eating a charcuterie board would be from Trader Joe's oyster crackers (RIP) and their salami. Now that Trader Joe's stores include charcuterie sections, I figured it would be the one-stop shop for a beginner in boards. Pictured above is my first ever board, which I must say I was particular proud of. Here, we had a small wheel of brie, a rather big ball of mozzarella, and pepper jack cheese that I cut into rectangular blocks. For my meats, I stuck with the reliable salami that I love, as well as trying out prosciutto. I have to say, this board is what started my addiction to prosciutto. Trader Joe's prosciutto is absolutely superb, especially compared to other store's brands. The board was then finished with small bunches of grapes, and red pepper eggplant spread on the side. We also tried out their tapenade, but spoiler alert, the jar version is much better than their refrigerated
Accompanying my second attempt of a charcuterie board was the "Sex and the City" movie, San Antonio wine, and chocolate caramel squares. My selection of meat and cheese were the same as before, as well as keeping the grapes the same. I also decided to try mixed berry jam, which went notably well with the brie. I also added strawberries, but I realized after that they would've been better sliced. Nonetheless, the selection was outstanding yet again. However, this time around we had to make a trip to Ralph's instead because Trader Joe's was closed. Although the board was still perfectly alright, the cheeses – and especially the prosciutto – were just not up to par with Trader's selection.
My most recent board, to the left, was a bit different from the ones before. I wanted this one to have more of a summery taste, and I thought thinly sliced nectarines would be perfect. I also sliced my strawberries for easier picking, and used this as a substitute from jam this time. For my spreads, I chose the jar of Trader Joe's olive tapenade as well as the red pepper and eggplant spread. My favorite combinations on this board were bread with just strawberry and brie – or nectarine and brie – as well as a more savory combination including tapenade, goat cheese, and prosciutto. While I prefer to have one hard cheese on my board, all of the soft cheeses we chose were perfect.
Pictured to the right is the most recent charcuterie board I've tasted, but it's not one I made. My boyfriend and I chose a selection of 5 items from the menu at Meat on Ocean in Santa Monica, CA. The items included are listed in the photo. Compared to my boards, this one was definitely a lot smaller – but very understandable for a fancy restaurant. The portions were good, and they offered us more bread. The pecans were absolutely perfect, and it made me realize to add those the next time I made my own board. I wasn't a huge fan of the chorizo, but that prosciutto was amazing! However, the brie (la tur) was the star of the board. It was all so flavorful, and the marmalade made an excellent addition to sweeten things up a bit.
I do not plan to stop making these boards any time soon, by the way. They are the perfect bites for late night movies, and the process of making it itself is so rewarding and fun. I'm looking forward to trying new combinations and spicing them up a bit more. I want to get so good, I make roses with my prosciutto.
Comments