Everyone loves a good charcuterie board. Autumn lends itself to the atmosphere of nibbling better than other seasons because of the mix of nuts, dried fruits, cured meats, honey, and summer bounty. Let's look at some ideas for autumnizing your board. The ingredients are amazing, but having them on-hand in your fridge means you can make some killer meals with leftovers.
I've been a freak about ploughman platters all my life and the charcuterie board is like a more delicate version for grazing with good wine versus a hearty sandwich vibe.
fruits -
dried fruits such as apricots, tart cherries, cranberries, and apple are fantastic!
Fresh fruits like tart Granny Smith apples, persimmons, grapes, pear, and fig are ideal autumn flavors.
pickled -
Try olives, sweet or sour pickles, pickled okra, pickled peppers, or pickled watermelon rind.
cured/uncured meats -
proscuitto, soppressata, salami, pepperoni, mortadello.
relishes and chutneys -
mango chutney, stewed pears, apple cranberry chutney, pepper and onion relish, lingonberry jam, honey. I'd also love this time of year to add some sauteed onions and mushrooms.
cheeses - Trader Joe's usually carries a chevre goat cheese with cranberries or blueberries. This is off the charts autumn in your mouth! I love chunks of parmesan - a good aged wedge broken up into uneven slivers to nibble with a bit of salty relief. Growing up with Scandinavian delights, I enjoy a good Jarlsburg and Gjetost if I can find them. Luckily, I live near an Ikea with a Swedish store, but consider anything Greek, Italian, or French. Their cheeses usually balance well on a board. For autumn, you simply must offer a bleu cheese.
breads/crackers - Trader Joe's often carries a pumpkin cranberry crisp that is excellent. Seed crackers, soda crackers, rye or sourdough bread (thin sliced and toasted works great).
other - nuts are a fantastic autumn favorite - consider walnuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, or pecans. Mustards - I love grainy mustard, but there are so many good ones with wine mixed in that are utter yum! For an autumnal mix, I also enjoy a sardine on the board. If you want to add a sweet, a dark chocolate ginger, ginger cookie, or honey sesame candy are great.
wines/drinks - A pumpkin ale or dark robust beer would be fine for this mix, and many wines are a dream for this autumnal combo. I'd consider a spicy red blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, or Granache Rose. If you're going non-alcoholic, I'd suggest a good spiced cider.
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