The Ultimate Cheese Plate

My neighbor invited me over this weekend and as usual I asked… What do you want me to bring? Immediately she said, your famous cheese plate!

I usually buy all of my meat, cheese and crackers at Costco and Trader Joe’s. They both have the best prices and selection. If you are looking for more variety and smaller serving sizes, then stick with Trader Joe’s!

I already had my favorite Cabot extra sharp cheddar from Costco and my local Temecula honeycomb but that was not enough to make the ultimate cheese plate so I headed to Trader Joe’s! They have an amazing cheese section and its fairly priced. I didn’t want to head to Costco on Saturday morning (I’m not that crazy!) so I stuck with Trader Joe’s for all of my needs!

The main thing to think about when making a cheese plate is VARIETY! It’s the spice of life! Everyone wants a little of this and a little of that. The main components of a cheese plate are as follows:

1. Cheese – at least 3 different kinds
2. Meats – at least 2 different kinds
3. Nuts – I like almonds or the mixed nuts from Trader Joe’s
4. Fruit – berries, grapes (whatever is in season) OR I will pick some dried fruit.
5. Honeycomb – honeycomb is DELICIOUS on extra sharp cheddar.
6. Crackers – at least 2 different kinds
7. Big Cheese board

For the cheese board above I used the following:

1. Cheese – Cabot extra sharp cheddar, Brie, Blueberry Goat Cheese log
2. Meats – Prosciutto and Peppered Salame
3. Nuts – 50% less salt mixed “Fancy Nuts” from Trader Joe’s
4. Fruit – raspberries and dried apricots
5. Honeycomb – Local Temecula Honeycomb
6. Crackers – Wheat Thins, Trader Joe’s Pita crackers and social/club crackers

You can choose whatever cheese, meat, crackers that you prefer!  I switch it up all the time! Again, variety is the spice of life! Get creative and pick a couple in each category. It is sure to be the hit at any party!