So if you fancy yourself to be the person within your group of friends that is the one that turns everyone else on to the "latest thing", then you have to be the first one to host a charcuterie plate party.
Your Charcuterie Plate
Do it up big! Turn your party into an event. Add your favorite cured, smoked and roasted meats and sausages, pates and terrines to a wooden board and viola!, you've built a charcuterie board. To serve 4 to 6 people you'll need:
- 1/3 pound thinly sliced prosciutto
- 1/3 pound thinly sliced soppressatta (dried Italian salami)
- 1/3 pound thinly sliced turkey
- 6 ounces cheese (such as provolone, Asiago, or Parmesan)
To accompany your charcuterie board, serve Dijon mustard, cocktail onions, baby cornichons or sweet and dill pickles, and artichoke hearts. Add potato salad and lentils slowly cooked with carrots, celery, and onions dressed with a sherry vinegar. Or be daring and add sauerkraut. You can also add a cheese array and serve it with honey. Add homemade crusty bread if you want to.
Cater-Hater Tips: Presentation is everything, so class up your charcuterie. Use your Wedgwood or Lennox china along with your best sterling silver serving forks, knives, and spoons. There are all types of dried meats, so choose the ones that suit your palate best. To bring out the best flavor of the charcuterie, place meats and cheeses on your charcuterie board roughly 20 to 25 minutes before your guests arrive. Aesthetically speaking, serving your charcuterie at room temperature will stop your meats and cheeses from ripping apart.
According to Sifu Renka, the photographer of the charcuterie platter shown above, following meats are served on the charcuterie platter shown above:
Maple Cured Speck (thinly sliced, dry-cured ham)
Alsatian Sausage
Fromage de Tete (aka head cheese)
Kassler (speciality of Germany; smoked and salted cut of pork loin or neck)
Landjager (made of roughly equal portions of beef and pork with lard, sugar and spices) Bundnerdfleisch (soft, from tenderloin; air-dried meat)
Chorizo (fermented cured smoked sausage)
Prosciutto (air cured ham)
Beef Salami (cured sausage, fermented and air-dried)
Regular Speck (thinly sliced, dry-cured ham)
Depending on the crowd (you invite), you can go heavier on serving the condiments and lighter on adding charcuterie accents, or the other way around. Or, do something really different and add or substitute different types smoked fish.
If you ask the question: How to host a party at my home?, you can answer that simply by taking a basic party to another level. Show your guests that you're on the cutting edge by being the ultimate party host who hosts a charcuterie plate party.
Or switch things up a bit. Come up with your version of how to host a wine party or host a book club party, and then surprise everyone when you bring out a charcuterie board of delicious meats and cheeses. If you're wondering how to do something different food-wise when you host a house warming party, a charcuterie plate party just might be your perfect answer.
You always have lasgana. You always serve burgers. Next time, do something different - host a charcuterie plate party.
Have you had or are you planning to have a charcuterie plate party? What will you serve on your platter? Tell me in the Comments, below!
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Salami, Sausage, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Home, Cooking, Food, Mustard, Bread: Technorati Tags
