What do do you call a fake noodle?

An impasta.

Antipasto 

Christmas time calls for entertaining. Lots of it. If your like me I just can’t get enough of it.  

One of my favorite go to’s is a meat and cheese platter. It’s pretty, it has variety and it serves itself. 

When having a meat + cheese platter pairing is key and you can adjust to your and your guests or cultures tastes. 

The Basics:

You need to have at least four different types of cheese. Hard, soft, aged and crumbly. 

Think bleu, Gouda, cheddar, goat and Brie. 

When pairing with meats I like prosciutto, sausage and salami. 

When placing cheeses you should have things that separate and are placed around your food to break it up and look appetizing.

I like figs or grape leaves. You should also include olives, pickles grapes and the obvious bread and crackers. Nuts and some honey with a honey stick to drizzle. (William Sonoma).

Some people like to use chalk boards where the cheeses are labeled. That way guests don’t have to guess and serve themselves if they’re not familiar. It also just looks cool. 

They have chalk signs as well they you can pick up pretty cheap online or at any other home and kitchen store. 

The best part of wine and cheese “parties” or platters is all of the pairing. The not so obvious tastes like a slice of Cheddar with an apple. Or the way a certain wine tastes paired with certain foods. 

That should start you off with your basics until next weeks post where I will have recipes along with what wine pairs with what cheese. 

Until then. 

;)