Meat And Cheese Tray Recipes

HOW TO MAKE A MEAT AND CHEESE TRAY

Steps:

• Fold or roll each deli meat and place on tray in stacks (see notes above). Space meat apart on a tray or if using a round platter or plate, place in a ring leaving an open space in the middle.
• Place 8 slices of each type of cheese in a stack and cut diagonally into triangles. Fan out each stack of cheese and place on on the tray.
• Garnish with green leaf lettuce and/or fruit in the empty spaces on the tray.
• Serve with dinner rolls or bread.

MEAT AND CHEESE TRAY

Steps:

• Start with the bulkiest items first. If you are using pickled relishes on the Meat and Cheese Tray, this could be a small bowl of pickles or olives.
• Place the cheeses on the platter.
• Add the meats around the cheeses. If using sliced sausages, arrange them in a fish scale pattern opposite. For deli meats, roll each slice up tightly and stack them.
• Use the crackers to fill in any gaps.

EASY CHEESE BOARD

Steps:

• Arrange the fig leaves on a round platter. Place the grapes in the middle and the Brie, Cheddar and goat cheese around the grapes. Sprinkle thyme leaves and place a sprig of time on top of the goat cheese and drizzle with olive oil. Add the blue cheese to the cheese arrangement and artfully arrange the apricots, figs and crackers among the cheeses.

CHEESE PLATTER

Steps:

• Go to the best cheese shop in town and ask the person at the counter which cheeses are ready to serve. Taste everything; they expect you to. We all know that the Brie may look terrific, but it can be underripe and tough or overripe and ammoniated. You want only the freshest cheeses that are perfectly ripened. Take them home, refrigerate them, and then bring them to room temperature a few hours before serving.
• Second, be sure to have a platter or wooden board that is flat and large enough to hold the cheeses without crowding them. Arrange the cheeses with the cut sides facing out, and with several small cheese knives, maybe one for each type of cheese.
• Third, to finish the platter, add sliced breads or crackers, and green leaves. I use either lemon or galax leaves, which you can get from your florist. If you have a garden, any large flat leaf like hydrangea looks beautiful, but be sure they aren't poisonous and are pesticide-free!
• Overall, the simpler the design, the better the platter looks. Group each kind of cheese together and add one large bunch of green or red grapes in the center to create a visual focal point. Fill in the spaces with lots of crackers or small slices of bread.