What is Charcuterie?
Traditionally, charcuterie refers to a platter of cut meats. The word charcuterie is a French term for “pig butcher”.
It stands to reason it would be an array of meat cuts with cheese along for the ride. Although I think a cheese board may have been an accompaniment instead of sharing a board with the precious carnivorous bounty.
I’ve been watching Stanley Tucci travels Italy and every episode seems to center around the pig. Deli meats are everywhere in Europe.
We have them in America too but our meats are “Americanized’. Few places have anything near the quality of Europe. There is a reason American’s think “New York deli” when deli meat comes to mind.
Charcuterie today.
Somehow charcuterie evolved to be any compilation of foods. It does not stop with meats, cheeses and crudité. There are boards that feature desserts, breakfast, ice creams, dips, breads and anything else you can think of.
Charcuterie boards are all the rage now but its really just a nibble board, with everything on one platter. (I love the term “Nibble Board”), unabashedly borrowed from Erin French of the Lost Kitchen. Shouts out to you Erin!
It is also an old traditional way of eating called grazing. Every culture has its tastings. That’s all a charcuterie board is. An offering of little nibbles here and there.
When you think about it, “Fine dining” could be considered a grazing of small bites. (That’s meant as a dig because fine dining plates are so small… at least by American standards).
A tasting menu is certainly a handful of small bites. Anytime you have multiple courses, it better be small bites!
Why now. Why Charcuterie?
I live in Texas. Meat country! Barbeque! 24oz steaks! Plant eaters here are looked at with suspicion, sympathy, fear or distain.
The last few years were difficult for me. Covid caused a lot of health problems for me, and it was a challenge to prepare all of our food. We did take-out or went out a lot. Eating out is never WFPB compliant, regardless of what they say.
Well after being non-compliant for a while, I am NOT happy with what even a semi-American diet is doing to my health.
What to do?
Go with the flow, eat the best we can and suffer the consequences – or – or learn to prepare food with less time and effort.
I’m retired and still spend about an hour a day for lunch and a little longer for dinner. Prep time in about 30 minutes.
My equipment does the work. I use my soup blender, oven, crock pot or Instant pot. It still requires clock time. It works for me most days, but it doesn’t work for the average family.
Sometimes I need a break and just.can’t.do.it.today!!!
So, I am trying to figure out how to give everyone else a break from the kitchen too!
Super Bowl 2023
We were planning to attend a super bowl party but frankly, we were both exhausted. We had been pushing ourselves and needed time to rest and unwind.
I had everything I needed to make a Super Bowl worthy Charcuterie board for the party.
We still needed to eat, so I made it just for us!
It featured cauliflower hot “wings” and all of the veggies that would go with it. (My recipe for the cauliflower is in this salad recipe).
We watched the game while enjoying our board with a couple of cold ones.
My hostess could not have been pleased with me. I posted my charcuterie board on Facebook for all to see. It was delicious.
It is easy to nosh!
Since the Super bowl, I have given a lot more thought about preparing small bites instead of big meals.
I’ve found a few books about it too.
Graze by Suzanne Lenzer was an interesting read.
Susanne’s ideas were spot on! She was inspiring and her story was compeling.
I passed on the book because she was too meat forward. The woman likes her cured meats. Something I try to avoid. Her story was set in my mind though.
Vegan Boards by Kate Kasbee is plant based. I was delighted to find a rendition of my Super Bowl board there. A hard copy now sits on my table inspiring lots of ideas! I’ve done things like her Taco Bowl Tuesday board (our taco night).
The concept is not new. We just never confined it to a board.
What have we here?
A simple Caprese salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Topped off with tofu cubes marinated in lemon juice and salt.
A can of chickpeas mashed with garlic, onion powder, pepper, a little salt and chopped preserved lemon. was used for the flatbread, zucchini rolls and mushrooms.
Chopped mixed olives topped some mini flatbreads that had a smear of my chickpea mash.
Zucchini ribbons were rolled around the mash, secured with a toothpick and topped with fresh thyme sprigs.
Leftover zucchini was chopped up with spinach and added to the chickpea mash to fill mushroom caps. They were topped it with Ian’s vegan panko and toasted in the oven.
In little more than the time it takes to make a tuna sandwich, this was done.
There is no recipe for this. it was just a combination of things.
Ideas for boards
- Hummus, vegetables and pita breads with mini salads for toppings.
- Think an olive tray, sliced cucumbers, Tabouleh or a cabbage slaw.
- My nearby Indian store has chickpea crisps that come with a seasoning packet for yogurt. It’s great!
- Get out your pantry items; Artichoke hearts, olives, peppers, pickled okra, cold beans… whatever you have on hand. Simply sprinkle with some fresh herbs and lemon. Add some crusty bread to the plate and be done!
- Chili or tacos with all of the toppings. You’ve done this, right?
- Deli salad fixings with potato salad, pretzel crisps, pumpernickel bagel slices, slaw. See my deli salad for inspiration.
- Fruit bar with chocolate or fruit sauces with cookies or twills!
- Sushi fillings and rice for assemble your own sushi bowls. You can do the same for bibimbap!
- Do your own pizza board. Top pita’s or 8″ pizza crusts with favorites and baked for 10 minutes.
Still craving a cheese board?
Whip up my pistachio or Aleppo Pepper vegan cheese wheels!
The cheese wheels were easy but leave out the agar agar and it’s a cheese dip you can make in minutes.
Add some fresh vegetables or fruits.
Throw in some nuts if you don’t have them in your cheese.
There are plenty of crackers that are compliant. Add some of those.
Mary’s Gone Crackers, Rye crisps, Nut Thins.
Better yet, make your own crackers when you have the time.
Leftovers can be your saving grace.
My son lived with me for 7 months while we renovated his place and allowed him to recoup from Ulcerative Colitis. More times than not, he would go for several days without eating. While we were trying to determine his trigger foods, we had lots of leftovers.
Cooked vegetables can become a dip or a soup. (Love that blender). Mash them, put them in a wrap. Top with greens or herbs.- Leftover spaghetti sauce can be used hundreds of ways. Top some grilled eggplant with it or simply smear some on a baguette and toast it.
- It’s already spaghetti? Then blend it! Fold in new vegetables and bake it like a casserole. It’s lasagna? add new layers and bake.
- Some other pasta? add herbs and fresh cut vegetables and make it a cold salad.
- Left over Mexican? Combine it into tortillas, bake them and serve with salsa.
- Fresh tomatoes on a crostini with a basil leaf? Oh yeah!
Play Chopped!
Last night I took a bunch of root vegetables. Peeled them, put them on a baking sheet and tossed them in a little olive oil mixed with lemon juice, garlic, Italian Seasoning, Salt, Pepper, red pepper flakes and fresh rosemary. Baked them on 350•F for 45 minutes.
We had garlic and herb toast and a simple salad to go with it. 10 minutes of my time!
(This photo was the leftovers from our meal). It was a whole rutabaga, turnip, parsnip, beet, onion, cauliflower florets, grape tomatoes and 3 carrots.
Guess what? Tonight, I am putting the leftover root vegetables on a crostini!
Getting a board!
Please note that ANY platters, bowls, trays, even a box lid with a towel will work!
There are even plastic ones that are portable with a lid!
My board is a wood serving tray. Measuring 24″ X 15″, it served a better purpose as a charcuterie board! In my opinion, the standard size of 14″X14″ is too small and limiting.
You don’t HAVE to have a fancy board. If you DO though, a little care will make it last a long time.
Caring for your board
I’ve used my board so often that it was starting to get dry. Dry boards crack!
It’s just like a cutting board. It needs a little love to keep your investment happy. (Charcuterie boards are not cheap).
This cutting board oil is a food grade mineral oil by Howard. See how dull and dry the board is?
Put a generous amount of oil on the clean board and cover the sides and handle as well. Let it sink in for about an hour.
Wipe it off and repeat the same process with the conditioner. Once done, to the entire bottom of the board.
Look at the final results. What a difference! That board was THIRSTY! Lol.
Summing it up!
Most of all, RELAX. Have fun. Enjoy each other.
Let people take care of themselves a little. If they want horseradish on their beets, they know where the fridge is.
This is coming from a woman who always planned everything to the max. I always made enough for an army and catered to every choice possible.
Easy is my new mantra.
