Beginnings
Autumn Charcuterie and Cheese Platter
This is a vibrant platter with colors and textures that suit the changing of the seasons. Serve a variation of this board outdoors to enjoy October's Indian summer days with a bitter IPA or a glass of rustic red such as a zinfandel that complements the cured meats' smokey flavors. A pinot noir, with its complex flavors that including cherry, raspberry, mushroom, and forest floor, also pairs nicely.
Many charcuterie boards can be meat-heavy. Like most things, balance is the key to success. Meat and cheese just tastes better when they are surrounded by lighter, more acidic vegetables and fruit. In fall, pickled veggies make a visual color mosaic that complements the rather boring colors of the bread and crackers, the mostly pinkish red tints of cured meats, and the solid neutral colors of big hunks of cheese.
Green Castelvetrano olives from Sicily have just the right fall tone--the color mimics the intense color of leaves just before chlorophyll breaks down and the green disappears--like the last bit of summer hanging on before autumn's air becomes brisk and we all retreat indoors to the comfort of a fireplace burning.
The sweetness of dried fruit complements the saltiness of the sausages, prosciutto, and salamis. A velvet textured cheese such as robiola di capra incavolata (goat cheese wrapped in cabbage leaves), a Loire Valley Valencay blue- grey ash pyramid (the cheese is dusted in charcoal), or a salt crystal studded pumpkin colored aged gouda provide mouth texture variation: silky, creamy, and crunchy options that enliven the senses.
A surprise element (or two!) is always a welcome board guest: the faintly sweet mushroom undertones and brilliant orange color of smoked mussels are at-home on a fall board or the dense, fleshy, and tender bases of tiny artichokes (they come jarred). This is a "no rules apply" assembly recipe and a guide to an easy way to entertain. Let color, texture, shapes, sizes, and most of all variety guide your choices. A voluptuous charcuterie and cheese board in which every nook and cranny is filled is a make-it-in-advance crowd pleasing way to enjoy a gathering of friends or family indoors or outside. The finished platter should reflect the vibrancy of New England during peak leaf peeping season.
