Festive Cheese Basket
★★★★★
PREP TIME
15 minutes
SERVES
6 to 8 as an appetizer
Ingredients
6 ounces
(one round) soft-ripened goat cheese
6 ounces
Gruyère
6 ounces
washed rind cow’s milk cheese, such as Epoisses or Taleggio
4 ounces
salami di Parma, thinly sliced
4 ounces
dried figs, cut in half
4 ounces
dried apricots, cut in half
3 ounces
dried cranberries
1 ounce
pomegranate seeds
1
box fruit and nut crackers
3 ounces
candied walnuts
1
jar fig jam
1 bunch
fresh thyme
Instructions
- Set your foundation. Place your plate in the basket and add a ramekin and mini gourd.
- With a sharp knife, slice the Gruyère into long, thin rectangles. Slice the round of soft-ripened goat cheese in half, and keep the wheel of washed-rind cheese whole (whether it's a round or wedge). Spread out the different cheeses evenly on the plate.
- Fold the salami in half, and in half again. Layer this down the center of the plate in a curved shape to make our "salami river."
- Create “produce ponds” around the plate, filled in with dried figs, dried apricots, and dried cranberries. Once those are on the plate, sprinkle pomegranate seeds over the dried figs to add a pop of color.
- Fill in the rest of the empty gaps with the crackers and mixed nuts.
- In the empty ramekin, scoop in the fig jam.
- Garnish the plate with sprigs of fresh thyme.
