Making a Charcuterie Board, #1

Need help making a charcuterie board? Check out this blog to begin your journey.

I love to make charcuterie boards! Today, I have made a simple appetizer charcuterie board for our dinner . Our daughter, husband and son are coming for dinner. We’re having sausage/cream cheese/Rotel crescent sandwiches and white chicken chili. There is usually a request for appetizers. What better way to have those, than have a charcuterie board!

If you’ve never made one, and don’t know where to start, just follow my process. I like to have several sizes of boards and little condiment dishes. I also ordered some white paper containers that resemble french fry containers. Too, I ordered a couple of kinds of picks. A place like Goodwill is a great place to find baskets, boards and containers.

my supplies

For this board, I’m using one of my cutting boards. I covered it with parchment paper, taping it on the back. I also used a small cutting board. I arranged a couple of small ramekins at each end, for green and black olives. Another small container holds Roasted Pine Nut Hummus. Then I positioned the paper holder at the other end, to try it all out.

A temporary layout

At this point, you can have fun playing with different ingredients. Because the hummus is at one end, I arranged carrots and wheat thins close by. Next came cheese, pepperoni and pretzels. I put a pepperoni rose in the center, and a fresh carnation flower at the end.

On the small board, I arranged pick fruit kabobs, made with strawberries and blueberries. They are easy to make, look cute and are easy to pick up and eat.

I ended up not using the paper holder. I almost put the kabobs in one, but decided to put them on the other board. If I had used my larger charcuterie board, I would have used the paper holder .

There are so many options for a charcuterie board. Grapes are always good, plus cheese cubes. Try fruits, nuts , chocolates, little cookies, crackers, etc. I’ll be making different kinds of boards in future posts. I think one of the keys to making charcuterie boards is to buy ahead and keep items like olives, crackers, little cookies, etc. on hand. They can be rather expensive, if you are making a large board, and need to buy things all at once.

Have fun and let your creative juices flow! Now….I just have to keep my hubby out of the food until my company arrives.

Let me know if you liked this recipe. Hit the like button on this page. What kind of charcuterie boards do you like to make?

Hugs,

Grandma Ruddell

A BUNDT CAKE FOR FALL

I am always looking for new recipes to add to my collection, and tantalize the taste buds of my friends and family. I recently saw one of my favorite vloggers, Dawn Madsen from the Minimal Mom, make this cake, and knew I needed to try it. It fit the bill, and I took it to a dinner at my kids’ house. We all agreed it was tasty and fun. Part of the appeal was the surprise inside. Here’s the recipe.:

CANDY CORN BUNDT CAKE

–1 white cake mix, 9 X 13

–4 egg whites

–1/2 c. oil

–1/2 c. warm water

–1 1/2 c. sour cream

–1 pkg. cheesecake pudding mix

Preheat oven to 325 F.Blend everything together in a medium bowl. Divide batter into three bowls. Add food coloring to make one bowl orange, one bowl yellow, and leave the other bowl white. Put batter into greased bundt pan in layers of white, orange and yellow. Bake at 325 for 47 – 53 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes, and then remove from pan. Cool until room temperature.

FROSTING

–1 can of Cream Cheese Frosting

–Candy Corn

When the cake has cooled, put the can of cream cheese frosting in a gallon zip lock bag, with a small hole in the corner. Pipe the frosting onto the cake, as shown in the photo. Or if you prefer, just frost the cake with the frosting.

Place candy corn pieces around the top of the cake. Cut, serve. Delicious with ice cream!

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It’s a fun addition to your Fall meals!

Hugs,

Grandma Ruddell